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Paul Fjelrad · Feb 11, 2026 · 7 min read
Data Plumbing: Getting the Basics Right Before You Dream Big
No matter how fancy your dashboards look or how clever your AI sounds, if your data plumbing is leaky, clogged or just plain broken, all that value evaporates.
Paul Fjelrad · Nov 6, 2025 · 6 min read
Letting It Evolve: The Benefits of an Emergent Architecture Approach
We don't have to get everything right the first time. Your first design is going to be wrong — and that's ok. Avoid big design up front and evolve your architecture.
Paul Fjelrad · Nov 13, 2019 · 5 min read
The dangers of opt-out culture
Do me a favour and put "opt-out" in google and see what comes back. It will seem that we get to opt-in or opt-out of almost everything.
Paul Fjelrad · Oct 15, 2019 · 4 min read
Modernising Energy Data Access - Zero Carbon Communities
On Wednesday 16th October I will be presenting at the Innovate UK, Knowledge Transfer Network event, the vision of a 2050 zero carbon community.
Paul Fjelrad · Oct 4, 2019 · 1 min read
DOS4 Digital Outcomes & Specialists
Watchmen Consulting is proud to announce that it has been awarded a place on the Digital Marketplace DOS4 framework for Digital Outcomes & Specialists.
Paul Fjelrad · Sep 4, 2019 · 1 min read
National Digital Twin Day
So I've been asked to get involved with the Centre for Digital Built Britain and in particular looking at the strategy at a national level.
Paul Fjelrad · Feb 14, 2018 · 1 min read
Is Data A Thing?
Software Engineers vs Data Engineers vs Data Scientists. You'd think we'd have gotten our collective heads around this one but recent debates say otherwise.
Paul Fjelrad · Oct 3, 2018 · 1 min read
Evolve Your Architecture
Fascinating article showing the evolution of data platform architectures from traditional databases to data warehousing to big data.
Paul Fjelrad · Jun 19, 2017 · 1 min read
The Data-Driven Energy Sector
A data-driven energy sector is the way forward to unlock the potential of smart meters, lead to a truly smart-grid and enable innovation.
Latest from LinkedIn
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LinkedInJun 4, 2026
Aiming for Architecture Coherence
The most common flaw I see during one of our Architectural Assessments is dissonance, when what is planned and strategised in the boardroom doesn't reflect the reality of your technology foundations. Architectural Coherence is "what the boardroom plans, the repo delivers". So ask yourself, how honest are you being with yourself about the state of your architectural and technology foundations? Behind the shine and the glamour of your product's public face, what does it look like in the engine room?
LinkedInJun 2, 2026
Why does Data Enable Everything?
How does data enable everything, and yet many organisations actually don't have a data problem, they have a decision problem? If you don't have a foundation for effective decision-making, then maybe we should have a conversation about Architectural Coherence.
LinkedInJun 2, 2026
The Scale-Up Conundrum
This is the Scale-Up Conundrum. Architectural Dissonance is where the understanding in the Boardroom no longer connects with Technology under strain. If any of this is familiar to you, drop me a message and we'll have a chat.
LinkedInJul 16, 2025
Your data is not as secure as you think it is, and I’ll tell you why.
Ok, so that’s a provocative statement and I’m generalising somewhat, but let me explain why it’s true in so many more organisations than it should be. I am a sailor, and that’s not something I do, it’s something I am.