We then wrapped up with an amazing panel discussion titled “Catalysing the Industrial Strategy in the West Midlands using Big Data”. The purpose of this session was to consolidate everything we had discovered from the earlier sessions in the day, and use this to provide insights which would steer our discussions around next steps for big data in the region.

Our panel handled some challenging questions, and gave their take on where we currently stand as a region and what they would like to see in the data sector going forward. Kari Lawler (Founder Youth4AI and WMCA Youth Board Member) gave an invaluable contribution representing the future leaders of the tech sector, and having her say on how we should engage and upskill the generation which is likely to be implementing these new big data techniques. Iain Mansell, as Networks and Partnerships Manager at the Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands, spoke about the crucial role of innovation hubs and support networks in the region and ending the silo mentality of support provision to make accessing this support far simpler for both the public and private sectors. Harmil Pardesi from MyEd Ltd, as the industry representative on the panel, made the appetite for industry to engage with local authority on data projects clear, and gave us food for thought as to how we can improve that engagement going forward.

All in all, the Industry and Policy: Development Through Data 2019 event was a huge success and we can’t wait to see what comes of some of the discussions had by all.

Startups are thriving

Technation found that between 2011 and 2016, there was a 130% increase in the number of tech startups in the city. As well as this, Brum had the second most startups in the UK (behind London) in 2018. The incredible support for entrepreneurs likely has a part to play, with places like Barclays Eagle Lab and Birmingham Innovation Campus offering funding, advice and workspaces for new ventures.

It’s diverse

26% of digital tech workers in Birmingham are BAME, a fantastic statistic compared to the UK average of 15%. There are also numerous meetups for women in tech throughout the city, and Brum is hosting the 2019 Midlands Women in Tech Awards. This diversity is only going to benefit the industry going forward as it brings a range of experiences, ideas and thoughts to the table.

It’s great for networking

Birmingham is a hub for meetups, making it easy to access and share knowledge. Not only this, Brum is also home to a number of conferences and industry events (Birmingham Tech Week being just one of these). The benefits of networking are undeniable, and it’s something that the city is definitely good at. In Birmingham, chances are an event related to something you are interested in won’t be too far away.

It’s growing, fast

We already mentioned that Birmingham’s startup scene is rapidly growing, and this has had a knock-on effect throughout the industry. There are now over 13,000 tech companies in the West Midlands, and it’s worth around £5billion to the local economy. Birmingham is a powerhouse, a true force to be reckoned with, and this staggering growth should put it firmly on the tech map.

It already has a nickname

The cluster of tech businesses in the city mean Birmingham has been dubbed the ‘Silicon Canal.’ Move over Silicon Valley.

#Repost from https://birminghamtechweek.com​

Birmingham Tech Week aims to celebrate the growth, diversity and innovation that drives Birmingham, whilst promoting collaboration within the city’s tech scene. These trends, plus many more will be covered at talks and events throughout the week. Visit our website for more information.

This event will highlight the amazing uses of big data for both Industry (SMES and corporates alike) as well as LA’s. BDC is a great example of how these two sectors can be impacted by big data techniques, and the event will discuss how SMES in the region can continue to benefit from better use and understanding of big data!

The event will include keynotes and practical demonstrations, followed by panel discussions around collaborative work in big data and talks on how to monetise and visualise the unseen data.

Registration is now open for the event taking place at iCentrum – SPACES ARE LIMITED – book your space now via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/industry-and-policy-development-through-data-tickets-67005249505

We look forward to seeing you there!

We also had an incredible judging panel, including esteemed members from the Cabinet Office, NHS Digital, Local Government Association, Crown Commercial Service and the Government Digital Service. Everyone came together to recognise and uphold the organisations and individuals who have been making great strides towards digital change, improving efficiencies and radically redesigning public services.

“It was an honour to be a Judge at the Public Sector Paperless Awards 2019. This prestigious event has grown year by year and the quality of entries is exemplary. There is so much digital innovation happening in the public sector – congratulations to all the winners!” Stuart Laws, Defence Innovation-Ideas at Ministry of Defence

One finalist (a Chief Technology Officer from a large NHS Trust) commented, “With a champagne reception, a tour of Concorde, canapes, comedian, table wine, a lovely meal, awesome dancers, casino, live band and a coach to and from my hotel can you try a bit harder next time. As a very frequent attendee to award ceremonies, it was the best one I have ever been to!”

John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister in a statement to the HMRC on Twitter stated, “Really good to see Help to Save win another award.”

We were joined by some of the most exemplary government and private sector organisations, where there were great opportunities for businesses with parallel goals to network, share ideas and make plans to collaborate in the future. We also enjoyed being entertained by our eccentric comedian host, Milton Jones. The live band played party classics and kept the audience entertained throughout the evening.

View the winners here: http://paperlessawards.co.uk/winners

After a night of success at the Paperless Awards, Mark Blanchard, Public Sector Director at GovNewsDirect said, “Now in its 3rd year and close to a total of 1000 nominations submitted, the Public Sector Paperless Awards has grown to become a unique celebration of outstanding public sector digital transformation.”

He further added, “The Awards programme continues to grow and receive recognition. It’s a unique opportunity for public sector organisations to network, share best practice and be recognised for their commitment to smarter working and digital excellence.”

Finally, in his closing speech, Blanchard announced that, in anticipation of our Awards 2020, “GovNewsDirect have officially partnered with the Government’s Smarter Working Programme. As part of an executive agency under the Cabinet Office, we are working jointly to ensure the categories for next year reflect the transformation seen and look to deliver another amazing programme. In addition to the Awards in 2020, we will also host a conference on the very same day, including keynote presentations in a plenary line-up and break-out workshops with an accompanying exhibition.”

The programme offers excellent support services and guarantees the development of projects with major companies which have a strong footprint in the Basque Country. These include Mercedes-Benz Vitoria, ABB, Bridgestone, Iberdrola, Repsol-Petronor, Michelin, and Danobat Group. This innovative programme boosts the immersion of international start-ups in one of the most vibrant industrial ecosystems in Europe, securing business contracts and cooperation with large industrial companies.

In the last edition of the programme, 524 start-up candidates from 64 different countries were received of which 32 were selected by 40 collaborating companies to undertake 44 industry 4.0 projects.

In addition to offering a contract with one of the top Basque companies for the development of an Industry 4.0 project, it also offers technological collaboration with Siemens, Amazon and Microsoft.

Join us at Innovation Birmingham in order to know more about the program!

15.00 – 15.15 Registration and networking

15.15 – 15.30 Serendip: Challenge-led Innovation in Birmingham

15.30 – 16.00 BIND 4.0 Accelerator Program Presentation

• Amaia Martínez (BIND 4.0 Coordinator-SPRI)

16.00 – 16.30 Rountable discussion with BIND 4.0 participants

• Chair: Amaia Martínez (BIND 4.0 Coordinator, SPRI-Business Development Agency)
• Jokin Lopetegui (CAF – Partner Company)
• David Greenberg (CEO EAVE – Startup)
• Niamh Brannelly (Product Manager OSASEN – Startup)
• Mikel Irizar (Managing Director of StratToExec – Mentor)

16.30 – 16.45 Questions & Answers

16.45 – 17.00 Networking & Basque Tapas

The global number of mobile workers is set to increase to 1.88 billion in 2023. That’s 43.3% of the entire workforce! Thanks to trends like globalisation, cloud technology, and the internet of things, mobile working is no longer a sci-fi concept. We’re beginning to discover how much we can accomplish when we take advantage of our mobile devices.

Smartphones, laptops, and tablets can all keep your employees connected to the office wherever they are. This essentially eliminates the need for the traditional office and gives your team the freedom they so desperately yearn.

According to studies, a little bit of mobility can go a long way. In fact, the 2019 ‘Engagement and the Global Workplace’ report by Steelcase, shows that 88% of employees feel more engaged at work when they have control over their professional experiences. That includes control over the device that they use.

The question is, how do you support the rise of the mobile worker? How do you make sure that you have the right technology systems in place? Below, we highlight five quick-win ways to introduce or improve a remote working policy…

Begin with your connectivity

The first thing you’re going to need to support mobile workers is a solution that offers remote access to employees wherever they are. This means implementing a “virtual private network” or VPN. The VPN technology strategy gives businesses a way to secure their connections to a public network, so that you can support your teams, without leaving gaps in your security strategy.

One particularly appealing thing about VPNs is that they’re safe, but they don’t necessarily require any extra client software. The network handles authentication, so remote users with the correct credentials can access information wherever they are, at any time. What’s more, the VPN can be used as an internal network strategy to isolate areas of sensitive data – including HR and accounting records.

Take control of your mobile solutions

Let’s face it, IT managers are suspicious of any device that they don’t have control over – and they should be. If you want to manage mobile workers safely, then you need a mobile solution that’s going to protect your network. By introducing a Mobile Device Management (MDM) policy, you can make sure your staff are protected from the potential dangers of mobile working.

As the cost of mobile hardware continues to fall, and employees begin to demand more flexibility in their careers, the right mobile device management strategy could be the key to your company’s future.

Introduce a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy

When it comes to improving mobile worker performance, some businesses decide that the best option is to allow people to use their own preferred devices. If employees can use their own technology to complete workplace tasks, they often become more productive and take better care of their devices too.

However, you must also make sure that you have a strict policy in place to defend your sensitive data if you decide to join the BYOD revolution. If you’re unsure how to do this, give Nice Network a call and one of our members of staff will guide you through it, free of charge, as part of our free ‘comms health check’ offer for businesses.

Handle network control and authentication

Network security will always be a crucial consideration for your IT teams and business leaders. You’ll need a secure authentication strategy to protect your current environment and your future. Most companies use password access, but simple passwords are often easily stolen by malicious individuals. Ensuring that you have a hardened authentication strategy in place is a good way to manage mobile workers.

With SOTI MobiControl, you can implement additional authentication features such as two-factor and biometric passwords. You can also consider strategies like Single Sign-On, to better control employee data access.

Address your provisioning procedures

Finally, every company needs guidelines that they can follow when adding new mobile workers to their community. There’s more to embracing remote working than simply giving someone a mobile phone and username. You’ll need a complete provisioning strategy – complete with exit guidelines to follow when you need to remove someone from your system.

A simple checklist that covers how to onboard someone new into your technology environment is a good investment here. Make sure that whenever an employee leaves your company, their access to your system is immediately rescinded, so your data remains secure.

Alloy Wire International, which employs 31 people across manufacturing sites in the Black Country and Yorkshire, broke through the £11m barrier in 2018 and immediately pushed the button on the acquisition of 560mm single block and 200mm multi-block drawing machines.

These installations will help increase capacity and will ensure AWI continues to deliver its industry-leading three-week lead times, so crucial for customers in the automotive, aerospace, nuclear and oil and gas sectors.

There has also been a number of infrastructure improvements, including internal and external refurbishments, new floors in the flat wire rolling department and, following consultation with employees, a re-organisation of the manufacturing plant to deliver further production efficiencies.

Ian Fitzgerald, operations director at Alloy Wire International, commented: “Our rapid growth has been driven by our ability to provide over 60 high-performance alloys to our customers quicker than anyone else and this is something we need to maintain.

“That’s why we’ve decided to look at our manufacturing facilities and identify certain areas where the installation of new machinery would be beneficial. This has seen us source and configure new wire drawing machines, which come with touch screen technology that gives the operator more real-time information, such as length to weight conversion and machine temperatures.”

He continued: “In addition to giving us the additional capacity and maintaining our three-week lead times, we will also now be able to take on larger volumes.”

Alloy Wire International makes round, flat and profile wire in a range of material, with more than 60 currently available to choose from, each offering superior corrosion resistance and/or excellent performance at high temperatures.

The company currently holds more than 200 tonnes of stock at any one time, ensuring it can offer customers in 55 different countries fast response times for the most demanding requirements.

Its commitment to quality has also been strengthened, with recent success in gaining the ISO 45001 accreditation and being re-approved to ISO 14001 and the aerospace and defence standard AS9100 (revision D).

Mark Venables, managing director of AWI, concluded: “The investment isn’t going to stop there. We already have plans in place to purchase a multi-hole oil drawing machine and laser guided re-spooling winders.

“None of our purchases are off-the-shelf. There is always the opportunity to configure the machines to our exact production requirements and this means we can manufacture the best quality wire, quickly and in the varying volumes demanded by our global client base.”

For further information, please visit www.alloywire.com or follow @alloywire on twitter.

The new body, which has been developed by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in conjunction with the region’s three Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), will be chaired by Deloitte’s international industry heavyweight Ed Shedd.

Birmingham-born Shedd will preside over the board, which will comprise top talent from across the region’s screen businesses and will serve as a single point of contact for national and international film, TV and game makers.

It is hoped the new body, which will be industry-led, will revolutionise the current screen industry, helping to drive investment, growth and thousands of new jobs.

Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said: “The West Midlands has a strong screen industry with a string of success stories – not least Leamington Spa’s gaming cluster which employs 10% of the UK gaming industry.

“However we have learnt from the region’s Channel 4 bid and from engaging with industry leaders that there is a lot more that can be done to support the screen sector so the West Midlands can truly be recognised as a world-class centre for creative content.

“We plan to see 29,000 new, high skilled jobs in the digital and creative industries by 2030, but we will not be able to achieve this without having an industry body in place to help the region capitalise on the fast-growing creative sector.

“For the screen sector to realise its full potential, the brightest and best entrepreneurs from the industry need to have the structure and mandate to drive forward that growth. This new body will provide just that.”

With an aim to launch in the autumn of this year, the body hopes to act as a coordinating and powerful voice for the sector. Existing networks like Film Birmingham, Screen Central and Silicon Spa will partner with the new body to deliver programmes of activity, which will be at arms-length from local government.

There are four key aims of the new body, including:

• Develop a single delivery plan and help turn strategy into action
• Secure and deliver both public and private funds
• Commission a variety of programmes of activity
• Both lobby and promote the West Midlands screen industry

Inaugural chairman Shedd, who is Deloitte’s TMT North and South Europe leader, is a well-known screen industry figure operating at an international level with a wealth of experience.

He said: “I am extremely excited about becoming the inaugural chair of this new Screen Industry Body.

“The screen industries are undergoing fundamental transformation, driven by the advent of near ubiquitous, high-speed connectivity in both fixed and mobile forms. The West Midlands is perfectly positioned to respond to and benefit from that transformation.

“The traditional media structure and locations that have dominated UK and global media are changing. Creatives no longer need to be wholly present in London, New York and LA. I look forward to working with industry, WMCA and partners to establish this powerful industry structure to help the region capitalise on this opportunity.”

Other members of the new board will be announced in the coming weeks, with applications for those in the screen industry opening soon.

As well as announcing the new Screen Industry Body, the WMCA has also produced a report around the region’s screen industry and where its future lies.

It comes after the UK’s first Local Industrial Strategy was launched in the West Midlands earlier this year, with greater economic emphasis placed on the creative sector going forward.

Councillor Ian Brookfield, the leader of City of Wolverhampton Council and the WMCA’s portfolio lead for Economy and Innovation, said: “As the new portfolio lead for the Local Industrial Strategy and the creative industries across the West Midlands, I welcome the mayor’s announcement today of a new screen industry body.

“It is important that this body serves to support the whole of the region, in all its diversity and difference. I want to ensure that creative talent and businesses from the Black Country to Birmingham, from Coventry to Leamington Spa all have the chance to benefit from this new opportunity.

“So, I am making a commitment today as creative industries lead to work with my colleagues at the WMCA and the various city councils and LEPs to support this new exciting phase for the West Midlands screen sector.”

Mayor Street announced the new body and report at a West Midlands Screen Bureau event this week. The third Design Lab event, which debated the structure and recent developments around the screen industry, was the final event in a programme supported by the BFI’s Creative Clusters Challenge Fun through National Lottery investment and supported by both the WMCA and Birmingham City Council.

BFI CEO Amanda Nevill has welcomed the news of the new industry body.

She said: “We really congratulate the West Midlands for having the foresight to capitalise on one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK, worth over £100bn to our economy today.

“This is great news for a whole range of businesses that will benefit from a thriving screen sector in the area, creating jobs and new international trading opportunities.

“It has been great to see BFI National Lottery funding being part of this new chapter supporting the next generation of creative storytellers in The West Midlands.”

The Industry 4.0 collaboration space will be based at the Hartree Centre at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory, at Sci-Tech Daresbury.

It is the first time that three distinct and yet complementary experts in the field of computing (STFC Hartree Centre), analytics (Atos Codex) and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions (MindSphere) have come together and combined their expertise to offer industry the opportunity to discover new pathways to growth.

The accelerator program is offering businesses of all sizes the chance to produce proof of concepts, mentorship to help them acquire Industry 4.0 technologies like big data analytics, IoT, modelling, simulation and sensor technology through the Made Smarter programme, and the opportunity to develop end-to-end digital solutions.

The IDA will also signpost firms to external funding programmes such as Innovate and the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Brian Holliday, executive management board of Siemens plc and managing director for Siemens Digital Industries, said: “Staying competitive in the evolving technology landscape isn’t easy, yet the opportunity to drive productivity has never been greater.

“By harnessing the combined power of these three partners the IDA has a mandate to do just this; increase industrial productivity providing new pathways to growth.

“Combining the unique capabilities of Siemens, Atos and the STFC Hartree Centre in one accelerated environment, we aim to cut through the noise to help businesses overcome their own digitalisation challenges and realise the opportunities presented within Industry 4.0.”

Adrian Gregory, senior executive vice president and CEO, Atos UK and Ireland, added: “This facility will deliver new levels of data-driven insight and opportunity in direct alignment with the challenges set out in the Made Smarter Review. Through our continued partnership we are pleased to support the Hartree Centre as a beacon of innovation, where the enormous potential of digital technologies can be harnessed and applied, helping businesses to remain fit for Britain’s digital future.”

Alison Kennedy, director of the STFC Hartree Centre, said: “At the Hartree Centre we work with companies in a wide range of industries to help them benefit from advanced digital technologies like supercomputing, big data analytics and AI. We’re thrilled to be able to offer our expertise in this exciting and unique partnership which will offer UK companies a practical, collaborative space to accelerate the exploration and integration of Industry 4.0 technologies and improve productivity.”

The IDA aims to address many of the challenges set out in the independent Made Smarter Review commissioned by the UK Government, including:

• Upskilling the UK workforce in high-demand digital areas e.g. data, simulation, IoT
• Creating a thriving high-value manufacturing environment
• Building demonstrators to prove the art of the possible to UK businesses
• Providing access to industrial digital technologies for UK manufacturers
• Improve UK productivity levels which are lower than global rivals

The Made Smarter Review estimates that if successfully implemented, these solutions could add £455bn to UK GDP within the next 10 years.

The Hartree Centre, where the IDA is based, provides collaborative research, innovation and development services that accelerate the adoption and application of high-performance computing (HPC), big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in UK industry.

Backed by over £170m of UK Government funding and strategic technology partnerships including Atos, Siemens and the University of Liverpool’s Virtual Engineering Centre, the centre enables businesses and researchers to use digital tools to gain insight, value and competitive advantage.

The Data City is a Data as a Service (DaaS) company that uses open data, the web and artificial intelligence to create robust, real-time data relating to the economy and innovation in the UK. It uses a brand new approach, with unique technology which enables it to map, for the first time, emerging UK sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).

This week it publishes the first 2019 Digital Technology Census, which shows the true number of companies active in digital technology by measuring emerging sectors which have previously not been quantified.

This is because companies previously classified as, for example, manufacturing, are now also embracing new technologies such as IoT, digital and fintech.

To uncover these findings, the Data City created Real Time Industrial Classification (RTIC) codes – which provide insight on sectors not represented in the Standard Industry Classification (SIC codes) used by Companies House.

It analysed the 4.06 million active companies in the UK, using artificial intelligence to monitor their websites and digital footprints to correctly identify areas of activity.

It then classified the data geographically to reveal the top 29 cities in the UK, looking at active businesses combined with the number of events and meetups held, to find the most thriving innovation communities by industry sector, and demonstrated the findings in an interactive online map.

The census provides a clearer picture of the UK innovation landscape, to help inform business and public sector decision-making around investment and growth. It evaluates eight main sectors: artificial intelligence & data, eCommerce, cyber, digital (as a sector in its own right), gaming, Internet of Things, MedTech and fintech.

The top ten cities overall according to the new census are:

London
Manchester
Reading
Brighton
Milton Keynes
Birmingham
Leeds
Bristol
Edinburgh
Glasgow

However, when focusing exclusively on the emerging digital technology sectors, removing well-established ‘traditional’ digital and data businesses and concentrating on advanced digital businesses, other innovation hotspots were highlighted.

Although London still leads the way, closely followed by Manchester, Birmingham takes third place overall with particular strengths in eCommerce.

In this specific emerging digital technology area, we can see even more clearly the limitations of the SIC code classifications, with over 58% more organisations found using The Data City’s RTIC formula.

Other key findings show that:

• London clearly leads the UK digital technology rankings for events and organisations, with Manchester (2nd) and Reading (3rd)
• London and Manchester are leading the way on emerging sectors driving the new global technology economies of the fourth industrial revolution
• Smaller cities also rank highly overall, with particular areas of excellence in key sectors
• Reading is third overall, and second in digital, cyber and IoT technologies
• Brighton ranks fourth overall but third in digital and gaming
• Leeds has good representation in all areas and ranks third in gaming
• Milton Keynes has particular strengths in digital, eCommerce and cyber
• Both of Scotland’s largest cities score highly, with Edinburgh 9th and Glasgow 10th overall, but Edinburgh 4th in fintech.

Alex Craven, co-founder of The Data City said: “The 2019 Digital Technologies Census provides the clearest picture yet of the digital technology landscape in the UK. Using data from Companies House and individual businesses’ own websites, it shows how active the community is across eight main sectors, and allows comparison between cities and regions.

“Our new classifications allow us to ascertain levels of activity in emerging sectors that have never previously been fully evaluated, making this a methodology for the 21st century.

“The Data City has created a useful tool for businesses, investors and public sector policymakers. Using real-time data such as ours to identify areas of strength can help inform innovation policy, provide an objective basis for investment and inform individual business decisions such as where to locate.”

This report summarises the key findings of the 2019 UK Digital Technology Census.