Reflections on Deloitte Experience Transformation 2025

“Data is an ingredient to a better experience. It’s the experience that counts, not the data.”Kamran Ashraf, Head of Digital Lab, National Highways

It’s not unusual for industry events to surface different viewpoints. Leaders bring different responsibilities, pressures and priorities to the table. What is far less common, is genuine consensus. At Deloitte’s Experience Transformation 2025 event, that consensus was clear. Across national infrastructure, city transport and digital transformation, leaders from very different contexts arrived at a shared conclusion: investment in data and AI is accelerating rapidly, yet realised value is not keeping pace.

Charlotte Warburton, Deloitte’s Partner and Public Sector Transport Lead, grounded the discussion in scale:

“The economic value of data in the UK is equivalent to £192 billion - nearly 7% of GDP. Yet only 6% of organisations see AI ROI within a year.”

The figures highlight both potential and pressure. The question is not whether to invest in data and AI, but how to ensure that investment translates into measurable impact, distilled across four key takeaways.

Value before volume: aligning AI to strategic intent 

Charlotte’s message made this first takeaway clear. Data and AI create value when they are anchored to strategic objectives. When organisations start with the problems they need to solve - improving safety, increasing reliability, strengthening resilience - technology becomes a focused enabler.  

In the public sector, this carries additional weight. Investment decisions affect people and their communities directly. Demonstrable value is not an aspiration; it is an expectation. 

Data as an ingredient: putting people at the centre 

At National Highways, this principle guides our own work. Our core takeaway is consistently the fact that every dataset represents a real person - driving home after a night shift, visiting family, or maintaining critical infrastructure. Data proves its value when it reduces risk and supports better decisions on our roads. 

In the past year alone, our partner HAAS Alert has sent over 19.6 million life-saving alerts to road users, providing critical warnings about oncoming emergency vehicles. Every five minutes, HAAS Alert pulls data from our developer portal to deliver these alerts. 

Data proves its value when it reduces risk and supports better decisions on our roads, translated into real-time action when technology enables human outcomes. 

Integration in action: designing connected systems from the outset

The themes discussed throughout the day - alignment, scalable infrastructure and human-centred design - were brought to life through Deloitte’s HarmoniCity installation.

Standing in front of a live, interconnected city model makes the complexity of modern infrastructure more visible. Transport, emergency response, utilities and digital services operate not as isolated systems, but as a coordinated ecosystem.

This visibility reinforces a simple truth and a fourth takeaway: transformation succeeds when systems are designed to work together. No dataset exists in isolation. Roads connect to cities. Cities connect to services. Services connect to people. When data flows responsibly and intelligently across that ecosystem, value compounds.

Shared direction: enabling safer journeys through collaboration 

What stood out across the event was the consistency of perspective. Despite different organisational contexts, leaders described a common direction for the sector. 

For Digital Lab at National Highways, we similarly prioritise measurable outcomes, inclusive design and collaboration across partners. Unlocking value from data requires coordinated effort across public bodies, technology providers and the people who use our roads every day. In transport, improved experience carries a simple and powerful meaning - helping people get home safely. 

Wondering how you can partner and engage with our Digital Lab? 

Visit our Digital Lab website to discover our innovative projects, register on our Developer Portal to access our data services. 

Sources 

UK data economy estimate: UK Parliament Data Protection and Digital Information Bill  

AI ROI statistic: Deloitte - AI ROI: The paradox of rising investment and elusive returns