This week, I joined Informatica onsite at the National Police Chiefs’ Council Innovation and Digital Summit 2025, supporting customer conversations as part of Cloud Perspective’s Platinum Partnership. The event brought together digital leads, chief constables, and data specialists from across the UK’s 43 police forces, and while the appetite for innovation was strong, the reality on the ground told a different story.
The Lay of the Land
While collaboration is growing, through initiatives like the 7 Force Strategic Collaboration, many forces still operate with distinct systems, budgets, and digital strategies. This decentralisation has led to varying levels of data maturity and integration across the UK. One stat that really hit home, shared by digital leaders at the summit, is that up to 70 % of police technology budgets are still spent maintaining legacy systems. That’s not transformation, it’s maintenance. And it’s costing us.
Add to that the results of recent Digital Maturity Assessments, which revealed poor data quality and limited integration across the board, and it becomes clear: most forces aren’t ready for AI. Not yet. Many leaders acknowledged this openly. There’s caution, not just around the hype, but around the risks of misuse, bias, and governance gaps. And rightly so. AI without clean, trusted data is just noise.
What Informatica Showed and we discussed with attendees
At the booth, Informatica laid out a clear framework for readiness, focused not on selling AI, but on preparing for it. Their messaging centred on eight foundational capabilities, including data quality, interoperability, fraud detection, and regulatory compliance. The takeaway was simple: More than just for AI, trusted, unified, and well-governed data is the critical bedrock upon which reliable day-to-day operations and confident, effective frontline action are built.
As Paul Pitman, Account Director at Informatica (event sponsor and attendee), put it:
“The ambition is there, but the data foundations just aren’t. Forces are spending the bulk of their budgets keeping outdated systems alive, when what they really need is a path to interoperability and trust.”
It’s a sentiment that echoed across the summit, and one that reinforces the urgency of investing in data maturity before chasing AI outcomes.
The Art of the Possible
This is where Cloud Perspective plays a key role. Our mission isn’t just to implement tech, it’s to educate and empower. We help forces understand what’s possible when the data is ready: clean, compliant, and connected.
Imagine a future where:
- Citizen engagement is streamlined through virtual agents like “Bobbi” allowing the public to report incidents online, with every detail logged and traceable.
- AI automation handles routine administrative tasks, freeing up officers to focus on frontline work and community safety.
- Supply chain forecasting reduces waste and budget loss in prison management by predicting resource needs more accurately.
- Predictive analytics assess the likelihood of escalation in reported incidents, helping forces prioritise response and allocate resources effectively.
- Intelligent decision-making becomes faster and smarter, because it’s based on unified, trusted data across departments.
- Fraud detection tools surface hidden relationships between suspects, cases, and locations, enabling smarter investigations and cross-force collaboration.
- Resource planning is driven by real-time risk modelling, helping officers stay safe and respond faster to emerging threats.
These aren’t distant ambitions. They’re already in motion. But scaling them requires investment in data maturity first.
Moving Forward
The summit made one thing clear: transformation won’t come from technology alone. It will come from leadership, collaboration, and a shared commitment to doing things differently.
We’re already working with several forces using Salesforce and Informatica to streamline reporting, improve data quality, and prepare for AI integration. But this isn’t about one vendor, it’s about one vision: a safer, smarter, and more connected policing system.
If you’re part of a DDaT team, a chief constable, or simply someone wondering where to begin, start with your data. And let’s build the future together.
About Cloud Perspective and the NPCC Innovation Summit
Cloud Perspective is a Salesforce integration and consulting partner, and a Platinum Partner of Informatica for over 14 years. With 150+ successful project deliveries, we help public sector organisations unlock the full value of their data, connecting people, platforms, and outcomes. As part of the Agentforce 360* ecosystem announced at Dreamforce, we’re uniquely positioned to support UK policing in delivering the National Policing Digital Strategy.
The NPCC Innovation and Digital Summit 2025 was hosted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), in collaboration with the Police Digital Service (PDS), the Office of the Police Chief Scientific Adviser, and its Digital, Data & Technology and Science & Innovation Coordination Committees. The event brought together senior leaders from policing, law enforcement, and industry to explore how data, technology, and innovation can shape the future of UK policing.
Explore the strategy: National Policing Digital Strategy
*Subject to the closing of Salesforce’s acquisition of Informatica
