Automation Without Chaos: Why Your Data Foundation Matters First

We were at FTT Lending 2025 in London last month, not just as sponsors but in the thick of the conversations happening on and off stage. One question kept surfacing, whether it was during panel sessions, coffee breaks, or chats around the booth:

What’s the biggest hurdle in lending right now?

And the answers? They echoed each other. Automation is the goal. But the data underneath? Still a mess for many.

Everyone Wants Automation. Few Are Ready for It.

“Lenders are under pressure to move fast. Faster decisions, faster onboarding, faster everything,” said Kate Bullman, Head of European Sales and Global Partnerships at GDS Link. “But when your data’s stuck in old systems, full of gaps, or just not structured properly, automation becomes more of a risk than a reward.”

Many lenders told us they’ve already started automating parts of the journey. But they’re hitting a wall. Data is spread across too many platforms. Onboarding flows aren’t capturing what’s needed. And some teams are still passing around document photos by email.

As Kate put it, “The technology might be new, but the problems are old. Automation without a data strategy magnifies the cracks already in the system.”

The Cracks Are Showing

Some of the most common themes we heard at FTT Lending included:

• Teams making decisions based on inconsistent or outdated data
• Lack of clarity around how models are working or why they’re making certain calls
• Automation tools bolted onto legacy systems without any visibility into performance
• Disconnected internal teams working from different datasets

“Someone told me they’d fully automated a credit process, but when they got pushback from compliance, they couldn’t explain why the model made the decision it did,” Kate said. “That’s a huge red flag, especially here in the UK where regulation is becoming more stringent.”

Get the Foundation Right Before Building Anything On Top

There’s a temptation to rush into automation. But without laying the proper groundwork, starting with data, you’re setting yourself up for more problems.

“If the foundation isn’t solid, everything on top of it will be shaky,” Kate said. “We spend a lot of time helping lenders take a step back and really look at where their data lives, how it’s being used, and what needs to change before they add anything new.”

Some key questions lenders should be asking:

• Is our data clean, consistent, and reliable?
• Are we capturing the right information at the right time?
• Can we trace the logic behind each automated decision?
• Do all teams have access to the same source of truth?

If you don’t have clear answers to those questions, it’s not time to automate yet.

What’s Working for the Lenders Getting It Right

There were some bright spots. A few lenders shared how they’ve made real progress by focusing on the fundamentals and putting their data strategy first.

“They’re prioritising aggregation, structure, and governance,” Kate said. “They’re connecting systems, cleaning data before it hits any decisioning models, and making transparency part of the process from the beginning.”

It’s a methodical approach, but one that pays off. When the foundation is solid, automation becomes a tool for scale and consistency, not confusion.

We see it firsthand with lenders using our Decisioning Platform. They bring together internal and third-party data, define attributes that support their lending strategies, and apply rules and models that are fully traceable. They know why a decision was made and what to adjust when the market shifts.

And they’re not starting from scratch. “Lenders are often surprised by how much they can improve with the systems they already have,” Kate said. “It’s about making the data usable, layering in the right logic, and having a platform that helps connect the dots, like we’ve done for many of our UK customers including Capital on Tap.”

This isn’t about chasing the latest trend or bolting AI onto broken processes. It’s about building something that works, lasts, and gives lenders the confidence to move forward.

Get the data right, and everything else becomes possible.

Watch the full interview! 

Want to see how GDS Link helps UK lenders build the proper foundation to seize every opportunity with smarter automation? Read the GDS Link Solutions Data Sheet and start building your foundation today.