Deltek Clarity Study: How are UK-based Architecture, Engineering & Consulting Firms Approaching the Next 12 Months?

How are UK architecture, engineering, and consulting firms navigating the challenges and opportunities of 2026?

2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for architecture, engineering, and consulting firms. New technologies based on AI and large language models (LLMs) bring both opportunity and risk; volatile global markets are making waves across project-based industries, and cybersecurity threats continue to grow.

With these complex factors in play, firms need a clear understanding of how their peers are navigating business and project complexity, financial management, and IT innovation.

To help you get a picture of your market, we've been collecting feedback from industry professionals for the last seven years. The 7^th Annual Deltek Clarity Industry Study brings together responses from 375 senior decision-makers across Europe and Australia to examine how the professional services industry is responding to the challenges and opportunities of 2026.

This blog will explore key themes impacting UK-based firms and how they're responding compared to those in other countries. Read on for the key trends or explore the full research to learn even more.

Technology Opportunities and Risks Remain Front of Mind

Technology priorities are becoming more concentrated—and more urgent—for UK firms. As digital exposure increases and AI shifts from experimentation to operational reality, leaders are homing in on the technologies that most directly influence resilience and performance.

Improving cybersecurity (30%) and operationalizing and optimizing AI (29%) are the top two priorities for UK architecture, engineering, and consulting firms this year. These concerns rank significantly higher in the UK than in other surveyed markets, where just 21% and 22% of Australian leaders and 19% and 21% of German respondents, respectively, identify the same priorities.

Beyond AI and cybersecurity, the focus begins to diversify. More than a quarter of UK respondents (27%) cite infrastructure expansion and investment in organizational growth as a key priority, alongside investing in or implementing new technologies (25%).

Notably, UK firms place far less emphasis on streamlining processes, with just 10% identifying it as a priority compared with 24% in Australia and 35% in Germany. This suggests that UK leaders may be viewing technology less as a tool for incremental efficiency gains and more as a lever for managing risk and enabling future growth.

The Biggest Risks Come from Broader Economic Challenges, but Cyber Crime is Ever-present

When asked to identify the top three risks facing their organizations, UK leaders cite a mix of challenges, with economic pressures prominent.

• 64% say inflation is a top risk
• 64% say the same about cybersecurity breaches
• 61% cited global political uncertainty
• 58% say recession

While the broad makeup of risks identified is economic, cybersecurity remains a major factor, as it did in last year's Deltek Clarity Study.

Interestingly, UK leaders are unique in how often they identify these as top risks. While German firm leaders identified the same concerns, they did so at a much lower rate, with 43% ranking inflation as a major risk, 36% identifying cybersecurity breaches, and 44% mentioning recession.

Firms are Focused on Staff Skills and Training

The Deltek Clarity survey also asked firm leaders about their staffing challenges. 36% of UK leaders identify training, upskilling, or reskilling staff as one of their top three challenges. Beyond staff skills, we saw "lack of employee engagement" (27%) and "wellbeing of employees" (26%) as key challenges.

Overall, 41% of firms report having increased their team size since 2025. Looking ahead, we see 67% intending to increase their workforce this year – a slight drop from last year's survey, where 78% planned to increase their headcount.

While this might suggest a lack of growth opportunities this year, UK leaders are still more positive about expanding headcount compared to leaders from other parts of the world. Just 63% from Australia and 55% in Germany say they'll grow their teams this year.

Profit Margins Continue to Improve

Last year, UK firm leaders reported a positive outlook for profitability. This year looks to be even better, with estimated Gross Profit Margins rising from 24% in 2025 to 35% in 2026.

Looking ahead, 74% of UK firms expect their gross profit margin to increase during 2026. While this overall level of optimism is broadly in line with that of firms in Australia and Germany, expectations around the scale of improvement vary significantly. Nearly a third of UK leaders (31%) anticipate a significant increase of more than 10%, compared with 24% of firms in Australia and just 12% in Germany, highlighting a notably more confident outlook among UK respondents.

Automation and Cost Reduction Will Pave the Way to Profitability

So, how exactly do these firms intend to achieve this increase in profitability?

38% of UK leaders say that "automating manual processes" will play a factor. Closely behind this is "increasing control of costs", with 36% identifying this as a priority. In the same vein, respondents identified "implementation of AI throughout the business" (25%) and "technology and automation" (23%) as the two largest internal profit drivers in the UK.

Overall, UK respondents say they were more likely to have already adjusted their business models to adopt these changes and boost profitability than respondents in other regions. 29% of UK respondents say they've made business model changes compared to 18% in Australia and 15% in Germany.

Project Management Performance Is Closely Tied to System Integration Quality

UK professional services firms are ahead of many global peers when it comes to project management system integration. Still, the data suggests that how systems are integrated now matters as much as whether they are.

Four in five UK respondents (80%) report having mostly or fully integrated project management systems, compared with just 61% in Australia. This maturity provides a strong foundation, particularly as firms seek to scale digital delivery and embed AI into core project workflows.

However, the challenges UK leaders continue to face point to the limits of partial or siloed integration. Nearly half (45%) cite the adoption of AI as their greatest project management challenge, while a third still struggle with manual systems that aren't integrated (33%), managing the quality of deliverables (33%), and project document workflows (33%). Issues around collaboration for deliverables (34%) and embedding automation (34%) further underline the operational strain caused when data, tools, and teams are not fully connected.

These pressures are also evident in project delivery outcomes. Changes in client requirements are the most common challenge encountered over the past year (40%), followed closely by technology integration or data management issues (36%) and project delays (35%). Together, these findings suggest that while many UK firms have taken meaningful steps toward integration, gaps remain in linking people, data, and processes across the full project lifecycle.

A Defining Year for A&E and Consulting Firms

2026 will reward firms that move beyond incremental change. Those that succeed will be the ones that integrate technology more deeply, manage risk more proactively, and equip their teams for new ways of working. The Deltek Clarity Industry Study captures this shift—and provides a practical lens into how firms are responding today.

Dive into the full report to see where your organization stands—and what leadership will need to look like next.