FIDARE insights

Estate managers know the pattern. One contractor installs cameras. Another delivers Wi-Fi. Someone else adds lighting control. Each project works in isolation, until, over time, nothing really works together.

The result isn’t just complexity. It’s wasted spend, blind spots in security, frustrated staff, and principals who wonder why technology never feels invisible.

This is the hidden cost of technology sprawl. And it can be fixed.

Family estates don’t need more technology. They need experienced technical leadership.

Because when systems multiply, and every supplier claims success, the one thing missing is accountability.

The CIO role transformed how businesses managed complexity. Estates now face the same choice.

Privacy at the gate is easy to see: walls, hedges, long driveways.

Privacy online is harder, and far easier to lose.

A single staff post with hidden location data. A supplier who leaves remote access active. A smart app quietly shipping usage patterns abroad. Piece by piece, a picture emerges.

Most estates have backup generators, water reserves, and fire procedures. They plan for the obvious interruptions. But ask about connectivity, and the answer is often a shrug. “If it fails, we’ll deal with it.” The reality is that connectivity isn’t just another utility, it’s the estate’s uptime guarantee. When it falters during a board call, a security handover, or a weekend of guests, it’s not a minor inconvenience. It’s visible downtime, and downtime is never acceptable.

Factories silenced. Dealerships unable to process vehicles. A global brand briefly brought to its knees, not by supply chains or strikes, but by a handful of young hackers.

Jaguar Land Rover’s breach this year is more than a car maker’s story. It is a reminder that in a world where everything is digital, the threat no longer comes through the gates, it comes through the inbox, the supplier, or the overlooked connection.

Most estates are protected by high walls, secure gates, and trusted staff. Yet many are left wide open where it matters most, digitally.

Criminals don’t break in with crowbars, they send an email, mimic a trusted voice, or exploit a careless click. Increasingly, estates are targeted not because of weakness in their physical defences, but because of misplaced trust in their digital ones.

Technology in great estates should be invisible. Yet too often, it becomes all too visible, in the form of repeated failures, frustrated staff, and emergency vendor calls at the worst possible moments.

This “firefighting model” is widespread. But it doesn’t have to be.

Behind the scenes of numerous esteemed estates, multiple suppliers function with minimal coordination.

One supplier focuses on AV installations, another on security, and yet another on networking. Each touts their individual solutions, pushes for upgrades, and shifts blame onto others in case of issues.

This fragmented approach results in redundant expenses for the family, unnecessary intricacies, and the need to constantly address preventable issues.

Smart homes offer convenience and comfort by adjusting lighting to suit moods, heating to anticipate comfort, and cameras for discreet protection. However, the increased connectivity of these residences brings along potential vulnerabilities, creating entry points for errors, intrusions, and exposure.

In most UHNW estates, technology is expected to be invisible. The principal should walk into a room, and the lights respond instantly. Music should flow seamlessly from one wing of the property to another...