Wise words and waggishness… July 2026

By Marc Ambasna Jones 05 Aug 26 Reading time: 1 mins

“It’s all very good sitting in the lab saying this is cool, this is really neat. But it’s not a product until you find out if someone actually wants it and is willing to pay for it.”

Dr Jenny Bailey Cooper, co-founder of Ferryx, on pivoting from plans to make a probiotic yoghurt drink to developing a tablet called Ferrocalm, to tackle IBS flare-ups.

“Quantum computing is advancing across multiple hardware modalities. Standards should make it easier for different technologies to evolve together.”

Katia Moskvitch, communications director at quantum control systems company Quantum Machines, talking about why it is key to keep standards technology-neutral, in our article What does the UK government’s quantum standards push mean to the sector?

“Firms with money have the laboratories, the installed equipment, the test data, the patents and the committee representation. They are simply better placed to shape the choices.”

Michael Lewis, professor of operations management at the University of Bristol Business School, on where the complications can start in developing quantum standards.

“We’ve set the bar in the wrong place… the biggest risk we’ve just imposed on our organisations is the slowness to change, not the implication or the output of that change.”

Simon Gooch, senior vice president of Expert Services at security software firm Saviynt, on why the industry’s biggest problem is not just hackers, ransomware, or state actors, it is the slowness with which companies react to change.

“I want AI to power a new industrial revolution that drives good growth in every postcode.”

New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham on plans to utilise AI to help drive innovation and growth in UK, from our article Built in Britain: why deep tech spinouts can drive economy.

Marc Ambasna Jones / Editor

Working as a technology journalist and writer since 1989, Marc has written for a wide range of titles on technology, business, education, politics and sustainability, with work appearing in The Guardian, The Register, New Statesman, Computer Weekly and many more.