by Ian Nicholls – November 2026
Around 1970, my dad, Bev Nicholls, was the lead programmer on one of the UK’s early computer-controlled motorway signalling systems, developed using an Elliott 905/MARCH 9050 computer at Borehamwood. GEC-Elliott was winning major motorway control contracts at the time and developing real-time traffic management systems.
One of my favourite stories from that era happened on Christmas Eve.
Without my dad’s knowledge, some of the programmers had arranged for a message to appear on the motorway signs:
“Happy Christmas Mr Plod.”
Apparently the Chief Constable, who phoned my dad, was less amused than the programmers.
It is a story that always makes me smile, but it also reminds me just how much technology has changed.
And with AI governance now firmly on the agenda, it’s worth looking back at how far we’ve come.
Back then, software was entered using punched paper tape. Computing power was incredibly expensive. Memory was measured in kilobytes, not gigabytes. Developing and deploying software required specialist skills, patience and a lot of manual effort.
Fast forward more than 50 years.
Today, I can sit down with Claude, GitHub Copilot or Microsoft Copilot, describe an idea in plain English and generate working code in minutes. What once took days or weeks can often be accomplished in hours.
It is tempting to think AI is unique.
In reality, technology has been transforming the way we work for decades.
We’ve moved through wave after wave of innovation:
- Mainframes and punched tape
- Personal computers
- Client-server applications
- Virtualisation
- Cloud computing
- SaaS
- Automation
- AI
Each generation has helped organisations become more productive, more efficient and capable of achieving more.
At the same time, each wave has created new challenges around cost, governance and control.
The same evolution has happened in Software Asset Management.
Many years ago, SAM was largely about counting installations and proving licence compliance.
Then came device-based licensing.
Then user-based licensing.
Then cloud subscriptions and SaaS management.
More recently, FinOps emerged to help organisations understand, optimise and govern cloud consumption.
Now we’re entering the next phase: AI governance.
Today, organisations are asking questions such as:
- Which AI tools should we allow?
- What business data is being shared with AI services?
- How do we govern AI usage responsibly?
- How do we measure the value AI delivers?
- How do we control AI-related costs and consumption?
In many ways, these are simply the modern versions of the governance and optimisation challenges organisations have always faced.
At The SAM Club, we’re seeing this evolution happen in real time.
The fundamentals haven’t changed.
Organisations still want to reduce risk, optimise costs, improve governance and maximise value from their technology investments.
What’s changing is the technology itself.
From punched tape and motorway signalling systems to SaaS platforms, FinOps and AI, the goal remains remarkably similar:
Use technology to help people achieve more.
If your organisation is looking to optimise software spend, improve Software Asset Management practices, gain control of SaaS subscriptions, establish FinOps processes, review Microsoft licensing, or develop practical AI governance, we’d be delighted to help.
Get in touch with The SAM Club for an informal conversation about how we can help you maximise value from your technology investments while reducing cost, complexity and risk.
Technology will continue to evolve.
The organisations that benefit most won’t necessarily be those with the newest technology, but those that understand how to govern it, optimise it and turn it into real business value.