Chamber launches digital hub to support business growth

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North East England Chamber of Commerce research showed a huge potential for digital technology to boost regional business growth and has launched a digital hub to help as a result. 

The work was led by the Chamber’s digital steering group, chaired by Gill Hunter, managing partner who is a specialist in technology law at Square One Law, with information from the Chamber’s quarterly economic survey and roundtable discussions with business leaders.  Findings revealed that almost all participants and respondents believed digital transformation was more important for them following the pandemic. Results also showed the reasons for this view was to improve business agility, customer experience and operation efficiency. 

Gill Hunter said: “The last 18 months has been meant that businesses have really appreciated the differentiating role technology can bring to their business. This has led to increased focus on the business’s digital strategy, ensuring it aligns with their overall business strategy. From the conversations I have had, it is clear business leaders are grappling with a multitude of issues, so this initiative is to sign post relevant information to business leaders to support their digital transformation and develop their digital leadership skills.” 

The research also showed 40% of business respondents are currently forming a digital transformation strategy. 25% already have a strategy in place which is being followed but 25% are only implementing digital transformation on an ad-hoc basis and have no formal strategy.   

As part of its campaign to help create a well-connected and Stronger North East the Chamber’s digital hub on its website will have tools, tips and advice on how a business can grow, or create efficiencies using technology. It will also include links to digital skills and leadership training resources, funding available and businesses who can help. There will also be case studies detailing how companies have overcome challenges with the help of digital technologies. 

Amber Burney, Chamber policy and engagement executive said: “We believe it is ever-more important companies are encouraged to adopt technology and digital processes. They play such a significant role in increasing business productivity, reaching customers, reducing a carbon footprint and futureproofing businesses to make them more competitive.”  

Simon Michie, chief technology officer, Pulsant said: “The UK is in the midst a major technology transformation that is creating new opportunities for businesses is the North East of England. It used to be that businesses closer to technology hubs in the Southeast were at an advantage but the emergence of edge computing is breaking down the barriers of location. We’re now seeing regional businesses leverage UK-wide edge computing platforms to gain immediate access to the cloud-based services they need to innovate and grow.” 

The Chamber will be running a campaign on social media from mid-September to showcase the digital hub and businesses which can help with digital transformation. 

Visit the Digital Hub here.

Great reasons to do business in the NE

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Digital leadership is often referred to as being the navigation of a business towards digital transformation in order to stay competitive and agile. With a plethora of ‘digital’ solutions on offer, any business leader would be forgiven for handing ‘digital’ over to the technology experts – who surely must know what is right for the business? However, in my opinion, with the digital landscape more fragmented than ever, now is the time for business leaders to take a different view of digital and embrace all it has to offer. Our region is a great place to do business and to ensure it continues to be a great place to do business, we need to make sure our businesses’ digital capabilities are maximised.

Many senior managers will say they are ‘doing digital’ or have digitised their business, but often that means investing in new IT equipment which may (or may not) have an impact on business performance.

Being digital is so much more – it is about business first, technology second. It is about finding solutions to business problems using digital technologies, and that requires vision and leadership. Because of the diversity of approach to digital, there are different stages of digital maturity within different businesses. It’s important business leaders not only understand how digitally mature they are as a business, but also what the art of the possible is so that they can develop a roadmap for the future.

A business’s digital strategy needs to be aligned with the general business strategy – it cannot be developed in isolation and again, that requires leadership from leaders who understand digital. It is not simply the technology itself, but the impact it could have for the business. The beneficial impact of a properly aligned digital strategy can be wide ranging for any business which is why it is so important to have the leadership and the strategy to support it. The benefits are far ranging from increased focus on innovation, better use of business data, improved customer experience to more cohesive and streamlined communications and improvements in processes, efficiencies, and productivity, but business leaders need to have a digital mindset to fully embrace all that digital has to offer.

Digital leaders will set the vision, influence their people, define processes, look for continual improvement and track impact. Although it is essential businesses have stable and secure infrastructure, people are undoubtedly the most important factor in digital transformation, not technology. Leaders must understand how their employees and teams relate to and interact with that technology too. Most leaders are committed to investing in acquiring the right skills for them and their workforce to make the business successful but, all too often leaders are unable to identify and access suitable support and training.

 I’m not advocating that all business leaders become technology experts and add another string to their bows, but business leaders need to get involved, get educated and make decisions about their businesses having considered all possible solutions, including digital ones. And they need to be properly supported to do so.

At Square One Law, we work with all different types and sizes of businesses and I know from the conversations I have had there is a need for better signposting and visibility of the support and funding available to support digital activity, including digital leadership and the management of change.

We are working in partnership with the North East England Chamber of Commerce to try and set out clear recommendations to Government to enable the North East to capitalise on its potential as a centre of excellence for digital business. Having established a Digital Steering Group with a number of Chamber members from a variety of sectors, we have explored key themes on digital leadership and funding & growth finance, and in June we’ll be holding a final roundtable on digital skills and upskilling your workforce.

If you want to participate in our campaign or share your businesses digital transformation journey, please email [email protected]