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Notes from the workbench

Practical, opinionated writing about software that earns its keep — no hype, no filler, occasionally a strong opinion about spreadsheets.

11 June 2026

LLM integration for SMEs: a pragmatic guide (without the hype)

Where AI integration genuinely pays off for small businesses, where it doesn't, what it costs, and how to pilot safely under UK GDPR.

11 June 2026

Why an AuDHD-founded studio ships better software

What AuDHD means in practice for a software studio — hyperfocus, pattern recognition, systems thinking — and the honest costs we manage around.

11 June 2026

Choose a Software Development Partner in Cambridge: 12 Questions

An honest buyer's guide to choosing a software development partner in Cambridge — 12 questions to ask, and which answers should disqualify a vendor.

11 June 2026

Hardware-Software Integration: The Firmware-to-Cloud Gap

Connected products rarely die in the firmware or the cloud. They die in the gap between. Here's where it happens and how to close it.

11 June 2026

Legacy System Modernisation: Escaping the Big-Rewrite Trap

Why big-bang legacy software replacement usually fails, how the strangler-fig pattern works, and when a full rewrite genuinely is the right call.

11 June 2026

MVP development for Cambridge startups: what to build first

How Cambridge startups should scope an MVP — what to fake, what must be real, and how investor demos and Innovate UK milestones distort the build.

11 June 2026

When to Replace Spreadsheets with Custom Software

Spreadsheet sprawl has real costs: silent errors, key-person risk, no audit trail. When (and when not) to replace Excel with custom software.

11 June 2026

From lab to product: software for biotech and research spinouts

How biotech spinouts turn research code into product software — instrument integration, lab data management and provenance, without burning runway.

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