Tech Nation is an interactive data project that demonstrates the growth of digital clusters across the UK. It brings together extensive data via a report and interactive online guide. The project has been developed and curated by Tech City UK, the government-backed organisation focused on accelerating the UK’s digital economy, in partnership with DueDil.
Tech Nation’s in-depth analysis reveals the strength of the UK’s tech clusters in driving national economic growth. It confirms that the exponential growth of digital businesses is a phenomenon reaching far beyond the capital.
Significant findings in the report are that: digital job growth is predicted to outperform all other occupation categories by 2020 with the highest rates of digital employment exist in Inner London, Bristol & Bath, Reading, Greater Manchester and Leeds.
74 per cent of digital companies in the UK operate outside of London with the highest density of digital companies (as a proportion of overall companies) are based in Brighton & Hove, Berkshire (inc. Reading), Edinburgh and Cambridge.
The UK’s fastest growing tech clusters in terms of new digital companies formed since 2010 include: Liverpool, Inner London, Belfast, Greater Manchester, Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove, South Wales and Bristol & Bath
Developed and delivered by Tech City UK, with key community partners, DueDil, as well as CareerBuilder, Adzuna, Crunchbase, AngelList and f6s, Tech Nation is the first time the UK’s digital businesses, areas of specialism and employment figures have been comprehensively analysed.
Baroness Joanna Shields, Chair of Tech City UK and Digital Adviser to the Prime Minister, comments, “The UK is recognised on the world stage for its tech and digital strengths. Today’s report reveals the depth of the sector and the complex array of skills, specialisms and strengths that truly make us a Tech Nation. The unprecedented level of detail and analysis of business starts, revenue and job growth give us a first hand view of the clusters and businesses that make up the UK digital economy. We are a Tech Nation and we hope this project will inspire innovation and growth for years to come.”
With 1.46 million digital jobs existing across the country and 74% of digital businesses operating outside of London, the report demonstrates the UK’s digital business revolution is a nationwide growth story.
Gerard Grech, CEO Tech City UK, said, “I believe our findings will help inform policy-makers, investors and the wider business community about the sheer breadth and depth of the UK’s digital prowess. This is the first time that the UK’s digital clusters have been so thoroughly analysed, revealing their strengths and importance to the digital economy. It shines a powerful spotlight on how far we’ve come in the digital tech sector, and where we are heading.”
Damian Kimmelman, Founder of DueDil, comments, “The data from the Tech Nation interactive online guide shows that the opportunity for digital to change the economy isn’t just coming from tech giants such as Google and Amazon. Growth in the sector is happening across the country in businesses large and small. DueDil tracks these companies over time and I predict we will see a lot more in the next few years.”
Speaking about the report Geoff Smith, managing director, Experis, said: “These findings complement our own recent research, which shows a particularly buoyant jobs market for mobile and web development skills. As this Tech Nation report suggests, and in line with our own findings, we’re seeing emerging tech hubs in cities outside of London, including Cambridge, Glasgow and Birmingham, which are actually among the cities paying top IT salaries outside the capital.
“We’re pleased to see that the Government is committed to supporting the growth of the digital industry. We’re already noticing progress towards establishing the UK as the technology centre of Europe. The next step is for more businesses to realise the value of establishing remote working centres across the country, helping bring prosperity to all parts of the UK and ensure that the benefits of the new tech nation are felt across Britain.”
