# Marcus Povey

> Personal blog of Marcus Povey — technologist, software architect, fractional CTO, and writer exploring the intersection of AI, software engineering, digital strategy, and what comes next.

## About

Marcus Povey is a UK-based software engineer, platform architect, and technology strategist with over 25 years of experience designing and delivering complex, data-intensive systems for organisations operating at scale.

By day, he is Head of Information Technology at Instruct-ERIC, a pan-European research infrastructure organisation, where he leads IT strategy, digital services, and AI strategy. He heads up ARIA — Instruct's flagship access and data management platform — and has contributed to EU Open Science policy, represented Instruct at international conferences, and led work packages across major European science projects including EOSC-Life, EOSC-Future, BY-COVID, and others.

In parallel, Marcus runs Practical Alchemy Ltd (https://practical-alchemy.com), a boutique consultancy through which he provides fractional CTO and senior software engineering services to clients across the UK, EU, and US. Past clients include KQED (media), Sophos (cybersecurity), Minds LLC (decentralised social), and Latakoo (broadcast technology). He co-founded the Known open collective and has contributed to decentralised web standards that influenced the W3C Activity Streams specification.

Marcus writes about AI, software engineering, technology strategy, digital sovereignty, open source, and the rapidly shifting landscape of what it means to be a developer in the age of AI.

## Blog

- URL: https://marcus-povey.co.uk
- Topics: AI, software development, platform engineering, open source, technology strategy, digital freedom, the future of work

## Social & Professional Profiles

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mapkyca/
- GitHub: https://github.com/mapkyca
- GitLab: https://gitlab.com/mapkyca
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mapkyca.bsky.social
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/mapkyca
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7615-8299
- CV/Resume: https://mapkyca.info

## Company

Practical Alchemy Ltd is Marcus's consultancy, providing:

- Fractional CTO services
- AI strategy and integration
- Platform architecture and system design
- Full-stack software engineering
- Cloud infrastructure and DevOps (Kubernetes, containerised platforms)
- Technical leadership and team mentoring
- Digital strategy for research infrastructure and complex organisations

Website: https://practical-alchemy.com

## Current Projects

- ARIA — Access and data management platform for Instruct-ERIC (https://www.marcus-povey.co.uk/2026/04/07/what-is-aria/)
- *The Work After Coding* — A forthcoming book on AI and the future of software development: https://the-work-after-coding.practical-alchemy.com

## Hiring & Contracting

Marcus is available for fractional and consulting engagements through Practical Alchemy Ltd. He works with organisations that need experienced technical leadership without a full-time CTO commitment, or engineering expertise for complex platform and AI projects.

To enquire about working together:
- Website: https://practical-alchemy.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mapkyca/
- Email: marcus@practical-alchemy.com