Finalist Q&A: Darwin Technology Solutions, UK IT Industry Awards

'Leadership teams need to understand what genuinely requires investment, what can be improved within their existing estate and what is simply market noise.'

The UK IT Industry Awards celebrate and promote the organisations, teams, projects, technologies and individuals who are shaping the future of IT, our industry and digital society.

This year's winners will be announced at a live awards ceremony on Wednesday, 11^th November in London, and A-LIGN Compliance and Security UK Ltd is hoping for a gong.

We talked to Darin Welfare, Divisional Vice President, International to learn more about the company's biggest challenges and achievements over the past year.

Darin Welfare leads the company’s growth across EMEA and APAC. Under his leadership, A-LIGN’s international business has grown over 60%, helping organisations achieve and maintain compliance with confidence.

With extensive experience across the technology and services sectors, Darin has a proven record of building businesses, developing high-performing teams and forging lasting customer and partner relationships. Having lived and worked in China, Germany and the UK, he brings a truly global perspective to his leadership, and a passion for people, customer experience and helping organisations succeed in an increasingly complex digital world.

What prompted you to enter the UK IT Awards this year?

EMEA is one of our fastest-growing regions. We now serve more than 650 customers here, with new customer bookings up 45% year-over-year and existing customer bookings up 60%. Our EMEA headcount has increased by nearly 40% since 2024. That growth deserves visibility in the UK market, and these awards put us in front of the technology leaders and buyers we work with every day.

What would winning this award mean to both your people and your customers/partners?

For our people, it recognises 565 cybersecurity-dedicated professionals who focus exclusively on audit and compliance delivery and collectively hold more than 1,100 cybersecurity certifications.

For customers and partners, it validates a choice they have already made. Organisations like Synthesia, Teleperformance and Park Place Technologies trusted us with high-stakes audits. Independent recognition reinforces that trust, and the 96% customer satisfaction rate behind it.

What would you say is your company's proudest achievement over the past year?

A-SCEND, our proprietary audit management platform, achieved FedRAMP moderate equivalency. This makes it the first platform of its kind that can handle CUI and manage CMMC assessments, allowing for increased efficiency at every step of the audit process. A-SCEND is the only audit management platform built to FedRAMP moderate equivalency, meeting the security standard required under DFARS 252.204-7012. This means clients can safely store CUI in A-SCEND without creating compliance risk. A-LIGN also holds ISO 27001:2022 certification and we maintain our own independent SOC 2 Type 2 report. We meet the same standards we help clients meet.

What lessons has the industry learned, and what changes does it still need to make?

Poor-quality audits create avoidable risk: rejected reports, delayed deals, and reputational damage. Poor audit readiness can cost roughly £55,000 in remediation and up to three months of rework per incident. Tools built specifically for auditing, rather than general project management software, help prevent that.

Two things still need to change. First, organisations should be able to build on work they’ve already done. Most pursue several frameworks over time, and the requirements overlap significantly. Organisations that complete SOC 2, for example, already meet around 43% of the requirements for ISO 27001, so they shouldn’t have to start again from scratch each time they add a standard. Second, AI in compliance needs to be transparent and clients need to have the ability to opt-out of AI-driven features in the platform if they wish. Auditors must remain accountable for every decision.

What have been the biggest challenges of the current year so far, and how have you overcome them? How have your people and partners helped?

Growing rapidly and maintaining our quality was of key consideration this year. Our global service delivery staff is up 37%, and every new hire must deliver the same audit standard. Fully funded annual certification training and A-LIGN University, a dedicated internal training program, make that possible.

Emerging frameworks were the other area in which we were able to grow. When Synthesia set out to be among the first organisations globally to achieve ISO 42001, the framework was entirely new to the industry. Our assessors worked alongside their team and identified process gaps before formal fieldwork began.

What do you see as the main opportunities for the industry in the coming 12 months? How do you plan to capitalise on those opportunities?

Emerging frameworks are the biggest opportunity. Organisations need to demonstrate responsible AI governance, and regulations like NIS2 are raising expectations. We’re expanding A-SCEND’s support for ISO 42001 and NIS2 so we’re ready before the next standard arrives.

Efficiency is the second. Teleperformance reported a 25% reduction in audit preparation effort by using A-SCEND, A-LIGN's audit management platform. We’ve invested over £39 million in A-SCEND R&D to extend that across more frameworks and more of the UK and EMEA market.

The UK IT Industry Awards will take place on 11^th November in London. Click here to view the shortlist and here to book your table.