The price of not going digital
Date published:
Why is it important to digitise and harness data? Chamber Assistant Director of Policy Rachel Anderson gives her thoughts as part of a project with Square One Law.
Anyone who is over 40 or who has a 9-year-old will know that there are certain aspects of the technology revolution which have passed them by. Once you displayed a natural killer instinct for playing Jet Set Willy on a Commodore 64 whilst your bemused parents looked on. But now, it is a challenge to keep up with the latest graphics requirements and social media platforms where you too can watch bemused as your 9-year-old watches videos of other people playing computer games.It’s the inexorable march of technology, it is, honest.
If technology in the home can leave us bemused and feeling a bit out of the loop then the same applies to the roll out of new technology infrastructure, if we fail to understand it, we leave ourselves open to falling behind. Most people see superfast broadband as a necessity these days and will generally demand it of builders constructing new housing but what about the next generation of technology? As we move towards more flexible and homeworking, how will houses be valued which don’t have the latest connection technology? Will mortgage lenders or insurers view houses without connectivity in the same way they view those without mains gas or water connections? What about places with transport connections that don’t offer wifi, will people want to travel there? When the region is in competition with the world for the best and brightest, stuff like this matters.
And what about all that data? When your fridge tells you helpfully that your Gorgonzola is a day past its use by date and tries to order three kilos, that data has to go somewhere. As the moment it is held in either London or Norway. In truth, the contents of your smart fridge aren’t going to be that interesting to international espionage but why should someone in a datacentre in Norway get to know you like kimchee on your cornflakes? The North East is not that resilient in terms of data storage and we don’t have a datacentre located here. There have been enquiries, but they take a huge amount of land, a LOT of power and employ about 3 people. However, whilst datacentres in themselves aren’t big job creators they do tend to cluster other tech businesses around them who are data and speed hungry who do employ a lot of people.Inward investors will look for data resilience as a requirement even more when looking for new locations and if the North East hasn’t kept up it will be watching bemused as other areas steal its clothes.
This isn’t just a problem for those in the tech industry, everyone has a part to play from Elected Mayors and Local Authorities to planning teams, builders and transport providers. All of them know technology is important but like many parents, haven’t yet grasped just how important it is.
Rachel Anderson
Assistant Director – Policy