TechNation200 Almanac 2015/16

TechNation200 Almanac 2015/16 | Partners
2015: the year the clichés rang true
After 20 years or so
of working in various
digital/tech communities
right across the UK, I believe
there are two clichés that
get wheeled out annually
towards the end of the year –
at Christmas parties, awards
ceremonies or, indeed, both.
The fi rst is that technology
is developing faster than ever,
with an ever-increasing speed
from idea to market.
The second is that the
convergence of different
technologies is, at last,
coming to pass, creating a
(future) world where we are
ubiquitously connected to
an internet that meets all our
human needs.
Refl ecting on 2015, who
am I to disappoint you? Both
assertions hold up when
looking at the state of the
tech nation over the past 12
months. The more interesting
topic of conversation when
we’re sporting our tuxedos or
falling out of our party dresses
is, perhaps, to explore exactly
where the rates of tech change
are happening and where the
convergence has made the
most exciting difference.
The evidence is clear. The
two areas of digital tech that
have accelerated far beyond
the pack are those focused on
block-chain (distributed ledger)
applications and interactive
user experience design (UX).
Blockchain tech is
increasingly deployed with
varying success across not
just fi ntech and cyber-security,
but also digital healthcare,
legal and content production
and consumption. The
applications are potentially
endless, so the steam isn’t
running out anytime soon.
And even before the
world began to discover
VR and to thirst for
truly immersive user
experiences, UX design had
won the ideological battle
over CEOs who demanded
any mobile service, so long
as it was blue. Today there
is no such thing as product
design – only user-centred
service design, which may
happen to include real-world
manifestations of great UX.
Which brings us to the
subject of convergence. The
past year has brought an
acceleration of wearable tech,
pay tech, internet-of-things
tech and autonomous tech,
which, being increasingly
stitched together, is beginning
to offer a glimpse of what Adam
Greenfi eld calls Everyware.
Don’t replace your fl eshy arm
with a robotic one yet – but,
equally, start to think where
your digital business can add
value as these disparate fi elds
come together. Convergence
here will really speed up when
the security and UX can be…
oh, please see above.
Jon Kingsbury, head of digital
economy, Knowledge Transfer
Network. www.ktn-uk.co.uk
Beating the business fear factor
New research from
NatWest shows that the
nation’s appetite to set
up in business and become
self-employed is greater than
ever – but the fear of failure is
holding the majority back.
The latest edition of the
NatWest Entrepreneurship
Monitor – a quarterly survey
of people across the UK –
shows more than a quarter of
respondents think now is a
good time to start a business.
However, only 5% are actually
currently setting up on their own.
This reveals that, despite
improving economic conditions
and a widely held desire to be
self-employed, few people are
actually taking the plunge.
The other fi ndings include
that 43% have considered
starting their own business and
nearly half would prefer to be
self-employed, but 56% are
held back by the fear of failure.
In addition, 57% of
respondents who want to
start their own business say
business advice is the thing
that would help them most, but
just one in 10 would consider
going to a bank for advice.
Furthermore,
over half of
adults who
want to start a
business don’t
think there is enough support in
their local area.
These fi ndings show that
we have a nation of potential
entrepreneurs, but a lack of
knowledge is holding us back.
NatWest wants to fi ll these
gaps by helping people to
take their ideas forward.
So in partnership with
Entrepreneurial Spark and
KPMG, we are launching free
business accelerator hubs in
our buildings across the UK.
Hubs in Birmingham, Brighton,
Bristol and Leeds opened
in 2015, with further hubs in
Manchester, Belfast, Edinburgh,
Cardiff, Newcastle and Milton
Keynes due to open in 2016
and in London the
following year.
Our plan is to
support 7,000
entrepreneurs
over the next fi ve years through
this partnership. As part of the
programme, we are providing
aspiring entrepreneurs with
free facilities, business advice,
mentoring and support networks
and access to the region’s wider
business ecosystem.
Our Entrepreneurship Monitor
shows that starting your own
business is more popular than
ever, with more fi rms registered
with zero employees. In fact, last
year was the fi rst time there had
been over fi ve million businesses
in the UK, of which more than
99% are SMEs.
The enthusiasm programmes
such as Entrepreneurial Spark
generate shows that the
appetite is there for people to
set up on their own – it is just
about creating the right network
of support to help them do it.
For more information about
NatWest’s support for startups in
the technology and media sector,
and our activities within London’s
technology and media community,
contact director Jeff Mudge
on 07786 703491 or jeffrey.
mudge@natwest.com. For further
information about Entrepreneurial
Spark powered by NatWest, visit
www.entrepreneurial-spark.com
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