dynamo north east research project 2014 - policy findings and recommendations

8/10/2019 Dynamo North East research project 2014 - policy findings and recommendations

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Dynamo North East research project - policy findings & recommendations

Dynamo North East research project - policy

findings & recommendations

Just get in touch. We'll work it out!

Headlines:

1. Bigger than expected enterprise IT cluster

2. Hidden gem at tipping point for fast-forward growth

3. Local IT economy actively seeks assistance with collaboration, new business

development, and recruitment

4. Dynamo North East can create real value as a rallying point to make this happen

Executive summaryNorth East England is fortunate to have an unrecognised source of future jobs and a

foundation stone for future prosperity - enterprise IT. This research and the work of Dynamo

North East aims to further test our hypothesis and provide a rallying-point for future work to

build on hard-won successes to date.

We present the results of our survey, a sample of local IT players, which creates for the first

time an understanding of the IT economy in the Region. We present various estimates for IT

and Communications jobs here, which are as high as 32,000. These numbers are set in the

context of official statistics for these segments of our national economy, along withcomparators from other high profile industries locally, and comparable professional services

sectors. We estimate 1500 job vacancies in IT, with the potential for up to 2000 opportunities.

We present an analysis of these findings, summarise with our conclusions, and suggests

pragmatic next steps to be considered by the Dynamo Board, local industry players, and

wider stakeholders. Key to this is the establishment of a Dynamo membership organisation,

run by a skeleton staff who will assist with collaboration, finding new staff, and helping

members win new business.

We propose that Dynamo will also coordinate activities in schools organise networkingevents and answer ad-hoc queries and enquiries -- whilst working closely with existing

players in adjacent markets. Further work could include providing assistance for inward

investment and business dating services to bring together providers to work on larger new

business opportunities.

When we started this research, we had 300+ contacts on our database. We have since

grown it to 800+ key contacts and we believe we're only part way through a job of work our

hunch is that there are still significant number of IT experts working as employees in

organisations whose main objectives are only supported by technology -- rather than being its

main focus.

2014 Dynamo North East 1


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These people are also part of the North East IT economy: if we can successfully create a

deep and liquid pool of IT expertise and grow the IT 'pie', then we all gain. Moving from a

situation where individuals are 'cannibalised' from a limited reservoir, to one which we add to

homegrown talent and combine with those we attract from afar will help rocket-boost our

existing success stories, and provide the building blocks for new ones.

A big thank you to research sponsors, Sage

We would like to thank Sage, our Dynamo 14 Event Partner, for supporting this research to

help define the North East England IT economy.

Thank you also to our survey respondents

In God we trust, the rest must bring data - God hasnt filled out our survey [ok, He could be

spoofing someone else], but lots of other people have. Were really grateful to them.

Quotes

This document is leavened with quotes from our survey correspondents, answering ourquestions What can Dynamo NE help you with? and What else would you like to

contribute?. We hope these give you a flavour of our successes and can-do attitude.



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IndexRecruitment & Driving profile of region for new staff

Executive summary

A big thank you to research sponsors, Sage

Thank you also to our survey respondents

Quotes

Index

Contacts

Chairman

Vice Chairman

Press contact

Digital

Introduction

Why Dynamo? Thinking and backstory behind Dynamo North East

Whats Next?

Document structure

Sector overview

Evidence of a boom? Foundations for further success?

Diversity

Sector mapping a snapshot of the North East IT economy

Key research findings

Quantitative insight

Headquartered here?What kind of organisation are you?

What can Dynamo NE help you with?

Where are your Customers?

Customer Vertical sector

Top three customers

Clusters of customers

Qualitative insight

What can Dynamo help you with?

What else would you like to add?

Potential growth of the NE IT economySustainability

Code Clubs and Girl Geeks

Direct, and Indirect

Business dating

Numbers of Vacancies

Analysis

Industry-led

IT cluster-in-the-making

Skills: fixing our education pipeline

Working to fix our jobs pipelineGrowing the pie and the Boulder Hypothesis

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Conclusion / summary

Implications for regional IT cluster

Impacts/actions/conclusions for Dynamo's service/model/response

What next?

Timescales

Appendix

Methodology

Dynamo survey

ONS dataset

Social Study 2013 -- The Economic Impact of BT in the United Kingdom

Our working

North East Key Points

Across the North East...

Board Biographies

John Hunt

Charlie Hoult (Chair)

Stuart Lynn

Anthony McMenzie

Mike OBrien

Bob Paton (Vice Chair)

Paul Watson

The Boulder Thesis

Contacts

Chairman

Charlie Hoult - [email protected]| 07973 163784

Vice Chairman

Bob Paton - [email protected] | 07770 634447

Press contact

Sarah Hall - [email protected]| 07702 162704

[email protected]

http://twitter.com/dynamonortheast

http://www.dynamonortheast.co.uk

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Introduction

Demonstrate that there are excellent IT capabilities in the North East and that end

users don't need to look south for the best service in the UK - in fact we deliver some of

the highest quality capabilities in the market

Headlines:

1. Dynamo is an industry-led initiative to firstly, Define, and then Grow - the North Ea

IT Economy founded by local IT business people and a University academic

2. This report aims to back up our hypothesis about a hidden capability in enterprise

IT

3. This report presents the results of our recent survey, set in a wider economic

context, and offers suggestions about pragmatic next steps

Why Dynamo? Thinking and backstory behind Dynamo North East

Take the managing director of Accenture in Newcastle, Bob Paton, and combine him (if thats

possible) with Charlie Hoult -- scion of a family with a substantial property business in the

east of the city -- who had recently returned home to the Region after building a technology

marketing business in London.

Add a shared hunch that North East England was not giving itself credit for a hidden

capability in enterprise IT mix in commercial focus and add informal conversations at the1

school gate together with Bobs passion for developing the Regions future champions of IT

and you have the foundations of Dynamo North East, an IT cluster-in-the-making.

Initial activities brought together a Board (detailed in the Appendix), which has given rise to

this research and our inaugural conference on May 1st in Newcastle upon Tyne. Dynamo has

four streams of activity:

Be a focal point for regional IT growth

Promote our region externally

Develop skills and education

Support regional research and development

Why now, why this report: Defining the North East IT EconomyWe have all shared the experience of the recent economic downturn. 2014 has fortunately

brought increased economic and business confidence, and a desire to act on previous

thoughts of what next?. Dynamo seeks to capitalise on this moment, and also on the

insights gained over the last eighteen months of preparatory work by the Dynamo founders.

1Enterprise IT is hardware and software designed to meet the demands of a large organization, including

greater requirements for availability, compatibility, reliability, scalability, performance and security, among

other things. We use enterprise IT to mean a broad swathe of software and services (cloud computing,healthcare and industrial control systems) cf

http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/enterprise-IT-enterprise-class-IT

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The goals of this report are reflected in the strapline, Defining the North East IT Economy --

to put the flesh on the unifying vision of Dynamo, which is Growing the North East IT

Economy [our emphasis]. We encourage readers to consider afresh a quiet success story,

and what it means for prosperity, local planning, and inward investment decisions for the

Region, and further afield. Now is the time to step up to the challenge of delivering on our

streams of activity.

This report is offered as a benchmark for future activity, in the knowledge of the hard but fun

work to be done to continually define and grow the enterprise IT capability in the Region.

Whats Next?

So, what would Dynamo need to do and become, to deliver value to its membership and

wider stakeholders to make a difference to the lives of local people to build even greater

innovation so that we become recognised for excellence and become a magnet for inward

investment and high calibre people.

Even if what gets measured gets managed is an imperfect goal, our present lack of visibility

is arguably far worse with a longer-term time horizon and goals, we are confident that -- by

bringing people together around a shared vision that attracts passionate support from across

the local IT spectrum -- we can build something we can all be proud of.

Document structure

We set the wider context through a pen-portrait of the NE IT economy

Present our findings from our online survey both in graphs and in quotations

Set out our computations of growth opportunities and associated reflections

Provide an analysis of these findings, combined with insights gathered during the

survey process

Draw these strands together in a conclusion, and propose pragmatic steps forward



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Sector overview

Regional Pride - we have a very healthy IT delivery and support capability in the

region. Would be good to expose and share that.

Headlines:

1. The North East has a wide and diverse IT capability spread over IT, digital, and

University sectors, with a long-established track record. Examples are provided.

2. Increasing business is being won outside the Region and overseas

3. A 2x2 matrix is provided to give a feel to the players in our space

Many people come to consider North East England in a new light when they learn of the

sheer diversity, scope, and quiet success that characterises our IT economy. Our data tell us

there are 32,000 ICT jobs in the Region, and the potential for up to 2,000 more -- one majorglobal IT player alone contributing 2,500 heads averaging 35k p.a., on career paths of

growth and dynamic prospects. BTs regional impact study claims 4,100 staff live in the

region. Please see the Appendix for details of our methodology.

The local IT ecology has a good distribution of firms from large, medium and small

including representation from global IT firms, through stable mid-size firms (100-200

headcount), as well as small firms (20-50 headcount), and a lively start-up scene.

Undoubtedly a strength of the regions cluster which elevates it above other UK regions is the

density of government work through DWP, HMRC, NHS BSA and other agencies. These

firms have a support eco-system which has been running for 40 years and has spawned askilled workforce.

The North East is also known as a branch plant economy. Some of the manufacturing base

of old has morphed into global shared service centres including call centres which now

operate multi-channel (highly tech) comms centres. So, a tour of the business parks will

identify P&G, Tesco Bank, Balfour Beattie, RightMove, British Airways, Convergys, Sitel and

other corporates that operate significant IT teams in the region.

IT Systems Integrators serve the most successful global businesses from here, as well as

major Public Sector accounts supporting the UKs defence, healthcare, and pensions

systems. HP, Capgemini, Accenture, Fujitsu, Capita, Sapient and Atos all have fast-growingfootprints, and share our stage along with dynamic young disrupters and established

mid-market players.

Sage is a leading supplier of business software to 6.3m businesses worldwide, with more

than 13,000 employees, group turnover of 1.4bn, and UK revenues of 248.1m. Sage is a

fantastic North East startup success story of 30 years standing with its headquarters just

north of Newcastle including 1400 staff on site.



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Evidence of a boom? Foundations for further success?

Collaboration, Training and retention of staff in the North East

Why has this sector not come to the attention of policy-makers in the past? We suspect this

is because the growth in the sector has meant that many of these firms are self-financing

after start-up and this growth has been so strong that the management are focused on

delivery rather than profile-raising.

There are many examples of mid-sized firms, often owner-managed, in the region.

Mi-Cases software underpins a multi-agency/institutional approach to offender management,

correctional services, drug and alcohol abuse, policing, probation, healthcare and the court

system. Orchard Systems is the UK's leading independent provider of specialist software

solutions to the public and social housing sectors, and is one of the North-Easts

fastest-growing private businesses. Scott Logic develops software for capital markets,energy trading, e-trading, healthcare, oil & gas, and the public sector.

Smith Electric Vehicles manufactures zero-emission commercial electric vehicles,

employing 50 IT staff at Birtley, who create and maintain real-time telematics software and

infrastructure which monitors electric vehicle performance across the globe. Dontyne

Systems offers software and services aimed at the optimum production of gear components

and their use in the transmission industry.

Diversity

In the digital space, Palringo is a group chat app for desktop and mobile, whose audiencesend 50 to 60 billion messages a month to a global audience of 25 million users. Bede

Gaming, employing 50 staff, is a leading supplier of software to the online gambling and

social gaming industries the Performance Horizon Group empowers global brands,

agencies and publishers to optimize and take control of their performance marketing

campaigns. PHG was founded by the team who created, grew, and sold the buy.at Affiliate

Marketing Network to AOL in 2008.

Startups in the region cluster around Ignite100 in Newcastle, which operates accelerator

programmes for digital startups in their custom incubator space. Alumni include ScreachTV,

which allows venue owners to publish rich-media, ads and real-time experiences to screens:its a global market worth over 30bn p.a and ScreachTV have so far played over 100m

pieces of content on their network.

Our mobile developers include Gospelware, who created an app which allows US

paramedics to instantly record patient injuries and their details at the scene of an accident

and share it with doctors - thus preparing them for the patients arrival at hospital. Digital

Sparks data collection and performance monitoring platform gives UK doctors, nurses and

admin staff vital information on patients who have suffered a stroke by charting their progress

and rehabilitation needs using iPads and tablets, and generating sales of around 400k for

the year ending March 2013.



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These vibrant success stories give rise to policy issues such as talent recruitment / retention

and immigration into the Region, either through mature hires or graduate retention. Were

addressing this through an cluster-in-the-making called Dynamo North East, made up of IT

employers, technology hubs, education, local government and employer support initiatives.

Sector mapping a snapshot of the North East IT economy

Experience of world-class IT development. Experience of taking an idea, building a

product, achieving sales around the world and winning customers away from the Silicon

Valley big names.

The chart below is our best effort to create a picture of the local players we know about. It

includes services providers and end users, the colours representing different types of

players.

We have created our own ranking between digital & enterprise (vertical axis), and startup

& established. These are offered only as a rough and initial typology, and so capabilities of

these organisations will be different from our rankings.

This is offered as a basis for discussion, and to help provide a sense of the dynamics in play

here.



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Key research findings

Promote the image and capability of the North East to attract talent and investment to

help deliver future growth.

Headlines:

1. Many respondent companies are headquartered in the Region

2. We have a healthy diversity of competences across the IT spectrum

3. Respondents want to collaborate, win new business, recruit new staff, and big up

the Region

4. They serve local customers, and also work nationally and globally

5. Customers are also diverse. and vertical mini-clusters are apparent

Mindful as we are that our results are a sample, there is greater detail about our online surveyand methodology in the Appendix.

This section is split into two: we have been fortunate to receive both quantitative (numerical)

responses, and also qualitative (information / discursive) responses for our survey

correspondents.

Quantitative insight

Headquartered here?

We are fortunate that we have many senior decision makers resident in our Region. As well

as leading individuals working full time here, we have many North Easterners who live here

and work elsewhere. There is also a thriving North East diaspora to draw upon - and attract

back to the Region.



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What kind of organisation are you?

This pie chart is a representation of responses to this multiple-answer question -

percentages are of the total number of responses, giving an idea of the spread of capabilities

in the Region.

What can Dynamo NE help you with?

Our results show that there is a latent desire and need to collaborate, where at present there

is voluntary activity on a purely ad-hoc basis. Our respondents are looking for dealflow and

new business, and a very keen to develop a more coherent, visible, and dynamic local jobs

market - from apprentices and loyal company workers, through to technical specialists and IT



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leaders of the future. They want help retaining graduates in the Region and creating

opportunities for continuous learning and real-life technical problem-solving skills.

Where are your Customers?

This graph shows the organisations in our sample look for more work on nationwide basis

than local -- and over a third of firms are international in outlook. This offers the possibility that

local businesses can mentor others to succeed more cost-effectively by exporting their

wares outside of the Region.

Customer Vertical sector



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This 'word cloud' is offered to give readers a sense of the broad scope of our capability in the

Region, and to also start looking for patterns where players can collaborate at the same time

when they are competing for business.

Top three customers

Clusters of customers

From this word cloud we can see the following patterns emerging:

Financial Services

Healthcare

Leisure

Central government, Local government,

Education

Construction

Retail and distribution

Hospitality

Automotive and industrial

FMCG

Qualitative insight

This sub-section is drawn from the same pool as other quotes spread around this document.

What can Dynamo help you with?

1. Promotion of benefits of independent testing

Promotion of social enterprises/social impact/social value

2. Collaboration, Training and retention of staff in the North East



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3. News story - Innovation - our startup team's experience was gained in local IT and

web companies.

Mentors - it would be good to network with people who are ahead of us in building a

tech business.

4. Lobby and represent the sector on relevant tech related issues - e.g. roll out andavailability of super fast broadband connectivity in our region

5. Collaboration-Research projects and funding applications i.e. TSB Horizon 20:20

Graduate employment

Student Projects

Student Placements

Graduate Retention

Access to technical expertise, research outputs, training, CPD and new technology

opportunities from the University

What else would you like to add?A. I am keen to play a role in supporting Dynamo and promoting the Tech Sector in

the North East. Particularly in terms of building grass roots skills in both primary and

secondary education and enabling students based in the North East to find jobs on

Graduation.

Similarly I recognize an opportunity to tap into some of the creativity, energy and

innovation the that NE can bring to bear by creating opportunities to help individuals

with an interest in technology build those skills through both learning and being a

practitioner.

B. Have to come and talk at any occasion on what we do in the University and with local

schools with regard to Computing and supporting the changes in the nationalcurriculum

C. The event would be a success if local end users recognise that buying locally is a

great thing to do. It creates jobs here and they get great service.

D. Always happy to be part of any mentoring, networking or regionally focused PR that

highlights and attracts upper quartile jobs and careers in our region

E. Happy to share the skills and experience I/we have gained:

Experience of mass market b-b product development

Customer service, satisfaction and retention



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Potential growth of the NE IT economy

When discussing education options do not just think of University graduates, at the Digital Skills

Academy we produce fantastic talent and a workforce pipeline for employers to inform, mould, and

develop to ensure they get the employees who meet their needs. They can cherry pick from our ready to

recruit students and inform the curriculum of the future to ensure the talent does not dry up.

Headlines:

1. The local IT jobs market doesnt work as well as it needs to - so lets fix it

2. There are hundreds of excellent jobs available - lets work together to match

candidates with life-changing opportunities and grow the pie

3. Employers will work with educators and invest in skills for the future

4. We need to engage schools and encourage diversity

5. Business dating can bring together prime contractors with valued suppliers

6. We estimate 1500 vacancies for good quality, high value jobs

Jobs are understandably a priority for the North East, both individually and at the macro scale

for planning purposes. Indeed, the a recent report from the North East Local Enteprise

Partnership (NE LEP) was entitled "More and better jobs".

Based on survey feedback and anecdotal evidence from our information gathering process,

we are both very positive about the numbers of vacancies, and mindful of the work we need

to do to make our local jobs market as sustainable as possible.

Sustainability

Keep us in the loop of what youre doing, what business needs, and understand our

connections to schools as we try and fix the computing talent pipeline

Dynamo is poised to take the lead in helping match recruiter demand with available

candidates. Employers are seeking a range of skills, and also employees at different stages

in their development and with a mix of personality types.

Employers tell us that they want to work with us to train our young people, and employ them

as apprentices, interns / placement students, and graduates. They actively want to maintain

their investment in our Region by working to grow our own stars of the future, thus widening

and deepening the pool of candidates. They are looking for committed corporate employees,

as well as subject-matter experts, and welcome new thinking and the changes that staff

circulation can bring.

I cant hire enough security and information management people

They already partner with local Universities, although they tell us that they want our

Universities collectively to make it easier for them to recruit graduates. Instead of having to

engage individually with each institution (and thus increase costs and effort involved), they



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are suggesting that Universities consider making the overall process easier by collaborating

with one another (or through Dynamo) for the greater good: that idea of growing the pie

again -- replacing a competitive dynamic which has been perceived.

Code Clubs and Girl Geeks

Starting early and encouraging diversity are going to be key to our efforts. Our research

suggests we must work much harder to engage with our local schools and identify

inspirational teachers to act as our catalysts with their peers. We are exploring Code Clubs

-- a nationwide network of volunteer-led after school coding clubs for children aged 9-11.

We must also recognise that women bring balance and a different mindset to what has been

a male-dominated industry. Again, we must work much harder to nurture and include women

as technologists, whilst acknowledging their massive contribution as project managers, new

business winners, customer relationship developers, and CIOs. We are already engaging

with Girl Geeks, a local organisation which seeks to connect more women with STEM

subjects through activities, programmes and events.

Direct, and Indirect

Come work for us -- and theres an escape hatch

At the same time, employers are looking outside the Region for skills. They realise in order to

attract the right candidates, the whole package needs to work: quality of life is acknowledged

as being high, schools are great -- but the risk of making a family move can be mitigated by

pointing to a liquid market for good alternative opportunities should the one under

consideration not meet expectations on either side.

Business dating

Were using the term business dating to describe a need that larger employers have when

bidding for public sector deals. The Cabinet Office has stated Our ambition is that at least

50% of spend on new government IT flows to SMEs directly and in the supply chain.

We need to connect these large systems integrators with local SME partners to help them

win contracts which they can lead from their North East presence, and from which SMEs

benefit indirectly.

Numbers of Vacancies

We have created an estimate of the potential jobs growth in the Region, based on targets

confided in us by local players, searches of online job boards, and discussions with local IT

recruiters.

1. Global systems integrator - 400

2. Global IT outsourcer and software developer - 100

3. Financial services software developer - 120

4. CIO-level IT consultancy - 50

5. Major Government department - 2006. International digital marketing group - 160



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7. SaaS project management tool provider - 30

8. Software provider for housing sector - 20

9. UK-wide systems integrator - 50

10. Financial services trading platform provider - 20

11. Local systems integrator / software developer - 20

12. Local systems integrator - 30

13. Digital communications agency - 30

This works out at 1230 vacancies were aware of, and were rounding this up to 1500 based

on awareness of an inward investment opportunity of 300 new jobs. That said, when recently

we suggested the figure of 2000 opportunities to a key player locally, he did not demur.



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Analysis

PR and brand recognition is important as we are new in the NE having recently

relocated our head office to Newcastle.

Headlines:

1. Enterprise IT is ready to take prominence as a source of excellent jobs and future

growth for North East England

2. Cooperation, collaboration, and co-opetition is needed between providers, local en

users, schools, recruiters, and the tertiary educators to set us up to thrive

3. Dynamo is industry-led, and welcomes involvement from senior decision-makers

4. We must use our new-found awareness to influence constructively for the good of

all

Industry-led

The IT economy in North England historically has been supported through public sector

initiatives, to create greater cohesion and effectiveness in winning and delivering profitable

business.

These activities has focused mainly on the digital sector, with positive results and excellent

success stories. We are proud of our digital industry, and indeed recent business-led

initiatives indicate emerging leadership and robust customer case studies and a growing

sales funnel.

Dynamo has come together because a growing number of enterprise IT players believe that

working collaboratively will help solve their pressing business challenges. Dynamo has been

funded from their own pockets (e.g. this research), and through our generous sponsors. We

believe this is a sustainable model which can power us to achieve our goals.

IT cluster-in-the-making

Our hypothesis that there is an IT economy of note in the Region has been borne out by

first-hand reports of the hundreds of jobs being provided through global IT and business

process outsourcing deals, paying very favourable salaries and taking advantage of thegraduate skills and quality of life benefits we enjoy in the Region.

These outsourcers are often located near their customers, for example in the fast-moving

consumer goods, chemicals, and the public sectors. Other businesses provide cost-effective

services to customers based in the City of London, or else operate beyond national

boundaries via the Internet.

Skills: fixing our education pipeline

At a recent Information Economy event in London, the Chairman of Thames Valley Berkshire

LEP (TVB LEP) ventured that their 'education pipeline' is broken. This was a surprise, giventhe IT-driven powerhouse that is the M4 corridor. However, this analysis appears to mirror



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much of what has been reported through our survey about our situation here in the North

East.

At the event, we were also fortunate to be addressed by Karen Price OBE, Chief Executive of

e-Skills UK, who introduced us to the Industrial Partnership for Information Economy -

whose website tell us that Employers have developed ambitious plans to drive faster

growth. Bob Paton knows well three of the key players at e-Skills UK, and Sunderland

Software City is already working on the 'Tech Skills Hub' component of this programme.

This is an exciting, if daunting, agenda to pursue. Arguably there needs to be a Dynamo

interest group dedicated to this Develop skills and education work stream, with an agreed

programme plan, budget, governance, deliverables, and goals.

This would probably also involve other activities such as engagement with local e ducators

and different parts of our ecosystem sponsoring ambassadors and role models into schools

through Code Clubs and addressing diversity issues via Girls Geeks - as set out above..

Steve Lamb of TVB LEP expressed willingness to collaborate with Dynamo on this agenda.

There is therefore the potential to coordinate directly, or else through our local LEPs, perhaps

even via The LEP Network.

Ideally, we will therefore use what material and connections we've got, and engage with

industry-wide initiatives so we can be smart with our energies / limited resources. We can

also explore other models of skill acquisition, such as bootcamp courses at Makers Academy

in London, and online courses via platforms such as Coursera, Udacity, Udemy, Skillshare,

or even something like Discoverables.

Working to fix our jobs pipeline

Biggers players report being constrained by the inefficiences of the local job market, and are

aware of their impact on even these existing dynamics by seeking to grow their workforce

rapidly. They are concerend about being perceived as overwhelming competitors and gain an

unwelcome reputation - perhps through factors beyond their control.

Dynamo can take the lead in initiatives to attract and retain good people, and provide a

mechanism through which careers fairs and wider job-canvasing initiatives can be run.

Growing the pie and the Boulder Hypothesis

Being industry-led means we can focus on enterprise IT whilst working closely with existing

digital entrepreneurs to grow our IT economy, and work closely with those who are vital parts

of the wider ecosystem / value chain.

In turn, we can also learn a great deal from our digital brethren: Brad Feld is an entrepreneur

and investor who has played a major part in the thriving startup scene in Boulder, Colorado.

He views this community as a network, rather than a hierarchy, and arguably Dynamo should

focus on creating and nurturing our network.

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.discoverabl.es%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGupHTo8QicVSdBdpYkKb2fqRM9fQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillshare.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGgseKQdrHG-AASUL5MyjS7eX2W-whttps://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.udemy.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNF7vkDavVXgWF8o3jZQlPtIkK08gwhttps://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.udacity.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFie85tTLegCdahZSNmLGsG9tWGbQhttps://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.coursera.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHFcjGbVY9IWJEE9VeqgnZnYuOkcwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.makersacademy.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHQhzOyJ4OMgx0PkNuOoJDSABDnEQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lepnetwork.org.uk%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEhruzRC1yMvjTUJKjD1mUg74MF_whttps://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/northeastenglandcodeclubhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.techskillspartnership.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHxnbDw6FPuAh4a-ZOzAvg9aaE7Jg


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Substituting IT for startup, we can adapt Brads four key ingredients to help give us a

balanced approach to our work:

Entrepreneurs as leaders

A long-term view

A philosophy of inclusiveness

Events that engage the entire entrepreneurial stack

More information about the Boulder Thesis is is set out in the Appendix.



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Conclusion / summary

Collaboration! We can specialise in some very complex back-end stuff, and do

databases and APIs in our sleep, and would love to get more involved in taking on

sections of much larger projects. It frustrates me when I talk to people who say, "we

couldn't find anyone local, so went to and they kind of

delivered something that kind of works

Headlines:

1. We are where we are, and we must take bold and timely action to lay our route to

future prosperity

2. Regional / national decision-making needs to take into account what has been

hidden in plain sight

3. Dynamo North East is proposed as an initiative with a skeleton staff to provide a

rallying point and mechanism for the latest demand we have found

Implications for regional IT cluster

Drawing on our research, we believe there is significant capability in the Region - based in

software development infrastructure provision and management digital and taking into

account customer vertical sectors we have identified.

Players in the Region of all types are keen to come together under a common banner and

independent brand which will serve the needs of providers, end users, and the Community at

large - providing a recognisable go to partner to help with inward investment, and answer

incoming enquiries.

Our survey responses indicate that there is a requirement for activities to support the growth

and cohesion of the IT economy in the Region, through networking, new business

development, and collaborative problem-solving

By working together and creating a united story, much value can (and will) be created to

attract the right calibre staff, develop them, and retain skilled graduates in a growing and

self-sustaining pool of talent in the Region

Providers to public sector customers recognise the need to engage with the local SME

ecosystem to procure niche skills on an affordable basis, and in turn SMEs need to

understand and value the opportunities presented by larger contracts providing guidance and

practical assistance to learn from any teething issues will help everyone.

By working together, Dynamo can engage with a single voice with local and National

politicians, administrators, and those responsible for allocating resources and connecting

inward investment to the most appropriate places.



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Impacts/actions/conclusions for Dynamo's service/model/response

An ideas platform.

The networking events work really well and spark several interesting topics of conversation. If there were

'panel' organisations / companies looking for support could be steered in some shape or form.

It's all very informal at the moment which is great but some infrastructure moving forward could aid

things further.

If the HMRC want to establish a 50-strong digital centre of excellence, and global systems

integrators are seeking 50 / 100 / 120 new heads in the next six months, Dynamo should be

there to make it happen.

Calculating Return on Investment on this should be reasonably straightforward - numbers of

new jobs created, percentage retained of first rate school and college leavers / Universitygraduates - not only first rate in terms of intellect, but a balanced workforce of committed

corporate employees, apprentices, rocket scientists, and our leaders of the future.

Dynamo should work with players in the North East (and knowledgeable parties outside of it)

to establish straightforward ways for the sector to collaborate to: attract and retain the right

people to work here to develop skilled and experienced staff and win new business through

local businesses working together.

What next?

Still not quite sure what this is achieving / aiming to achieve (sorry).

We believe the time is ripe for us to recognise what we have achieved in the North East IT

economy, to give credit to the hard work and inspiration which has got us here, and take this

credit as a starting point for future fast-forward phases of growth.

That said, our initial research has shown that we need to knuckle down to make this happen.

The following are our suggestions about how to crystallise and capitalise on what our IT

economy represents.

1. Annual Conferencea. Put on Dynamo 15 etc., based on successes and lessons learned from 2014.

2. Engagement

a. Ongoing public relations activity and public affairs engagement are needed to

generate sustainable momentum, so we can build a cluster backed by

credible success stories for all participants

b. This would also involve ongoing publicity work such as newsletters, monitoring

and interaction online, and so on.

3. Interest groups

a. We will encourage and support the creation and running of interest groups

focusing on topics such as skills, business development, cyber-security, bigdata / data science etc.



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4. Regular events - networking and topic focus

a. We will run monthly events for members networking, and also to focus on

particular topics highlighted by our Interest groups.

5. Careers Fair

a. Organise regular careers fairs with players right across the Regions IT

economy taking part. Although in competition, these organisations realise that

having committed themselves to delivery here, they need to work together to

create a deep and broad jobs pool so the cluster as a whole hits critical mass

and sustainable momentum. That way, everyone wins.

6. Business dating

a. We need to have a better way to identify local service providers. There is no

easy way that we know of at present to identify all of the NE companies that

provide mobile application development services for example.

b. Our plans include evolving our careers fairs to become a showcase of firms

so they might connect partners and win new business. We will also

investigate maintaining a register of local players - perhaps with

commendations so that we can give feedback on performance and

improvement opportunities.

7. London careers outreach

a. Once this integrated approach is presented to the outside world, high-calibre

job candidates can be attracted into the Region, who can see that moving their

families here can be sustained through follow-on opportunities for growth and

other options for similar roles

b. In order to get them here in the first place, Dynamo must engage directly with

candidates on behalf of employers, who are seeking to fill hundreds of

vacancies. Having a neutral banner means that North East employers can be

seen to be working for the community, and help achieve their business goals

at the same time.

8. Dinner / Awards

a. Recognising success is important, and having a canny time doing it is always

a winner. Celebrating our successes, and giving awards to our best and

brightest means they can use it to win new business, and give our future stars

something to aim for.

b. These are also important networking events and chances to have informal

conversation, and opportunities to include loved ones -- further helping

connect together friendships and sustainable businesses

c. We will also develop a Hall of Fame and take our lead from Baseball in

"Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations."

9. Show & tell

a. By pooling local expertise, insight, and knowledge, we can turn customer

headaches into case studies. We need to draw together by creating an

impartial space to create a pay it forward culture where all help others in the

agreed expectation that they will receive assistance when they need it.

b. Connections with local tech user groups can be deepened and expanded, and

corporate encouragement can be given to complement the work of SMEswhich are already involved.



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10. Research

a. Our stories need to be backed up with research, and it is research which

persuades others to view us favourably.

b. Research gives journalists and policy makers hooks on which to base their

articles and decisions - headlines shape the perceptions of busy people.

c. In 2014, we have started with a clean sheet - future research will build on initial

methodology and rigour, to broaden our coverage and expand the detail and

accuracy of our findings.

11. Advocacy / secretariat

a. Inward investment is crucial to our Region, as is exporting beyond our

borders. We will work with NewcastleGateshead Initiative, the LEPs and other

inward investment bodies to connect interested parties with the most

appropriate contacts.

b. Creating the glue holding this all together will be a Secretariat which will

administer the day-to-day running of Dynamo, and support the founders /

steering group, taking account of representations from across the Regions IT

economy.

12. Membership

a. Membership and sponsorship will provide a mechanism to get practical things

done, track progress, and report to key decision makers.

b. We will implement a cost-effective membership tracking system, which

interoperates with our communications tools, and also take further steps to

safeguard our members contact information and comply with the Data

Protection Act.

13. Measures of success

a. Continue growth of the Region as monitored in research

b. Fill all 2000 vacancies weve computed

c. Change perception of NE as backward to forward

d. Achieve National recognition

e. Develop our focus on enterprise IT

f. Sign up 50 paying members to join Dynamo in our first full year of operation,

and then double that within eighteen months

g. Establish and expand the Dynamo brand, value being delivered, and network

regionally, nationally, and internationally.

TimescalesWe encourage readers to read, mark, and absorb our findings -- and the Board of Dynamo to

work with its stakeholders to take decisive action and create Dynamo by late summer 2014.

Please refer to the document Dynamo North East - next steps, which is offered to stimulate

discussion about our proposed way forward.



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Appendix

Methodology

Our approach has been to conduct our own research, and set it in the context of publiclyavailable data.

Dynamo survey

An in-depth audit of the IT capability in North East England has not been conducted before.

Therefore, we have set out to gain an initial understanding of how things are here, with the

intention to learn from our experiences with this investigation, and review and update our

methodology in future years.

We used an online survey has sought to quantify the size of the

Regions IT economy, and to take its pulse through qualitative insight into the thinking of keyplayers. We have made strenuous efforts to reach IT players in the North East of England --

however we recognise that our responses are a sample of the whole picture.

At the time of writing, we have received 57 responses from a wide variety of service

providers, educators, and end users. The bulk of our respondents have been service

providers, primarily because they are easier to identify and contact. We have been fortunate

to make contact with many public sector IT users, as they are already organised into a trade

body, which is the local Chapter of the Society of Information Technology Management

(Socitm). We recognise that many other organisations have an IT capability, and we will seek

to gather data from them going forward.

Our hypothesis is that our research underestimates the true impact and value to the North

East for a number of reasons.

Firstly, because our survey is a sample (as already mentioned) and our respondents have

mainly been IT companies and public sector / university IT departments.

Secondly, because we believe there are many IT departments in non-tech organisations who

have not be counted -- recording these will be a key aim of future research.

Thirdly, full service delivery to customers requires a rounded capability of service desk, client

engagement, project managers, business analysts and consultants, mobile workforce

management, and so on. Quantifying this whole product will be another ongoing activity,

along with other ways to continually improve our methodology and accuracy of our results.

One financial services software provider employs 1400 people locally, only 450 are classed

at Tech headcount.

ONS dataset

As part of the 'Annual Return' which companies send to Companies House, they are asked to

classify themselves according to a Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code -- and are



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able to choose multiple options, according to their capabilities. Sole traders are not included

in this classification, which would exclude some otherwise valuable capabilities.

Based on our focus of IT and communications businesses, we have chosen the SIC codes

62 and 63:

1. 62 - Computer programming, consultancy and related activities

2. 63 - Data processing, hosting and related activities web portals

We are fortunate to have the appropriate access to the 2012 dataset, which tells us that there

are 13,400 heads for SIC codes 62 & 63 in the North East.

It is worthwhile setting this in the context of other major sources of private sector employment

here, such as automotive (#29 - 11,200), chemicals (#20 - 7,600), and pharmaceuticals (#21

- 3,300). Comparable professional services sectors include financial services (#64 & #65 -

18,200), legal and accounting activities (#69 - 16,000), and activities of head offices

management consultancy activities (#70 - 9,400).

As a whole, the North East has a total number of jobs of 1,021,823 in a population of

2,602,300 souls.

Social Study 2013 -- The Economic Impact of BT in the United Kingdom

In their report "Social Study 2013 -- The Economic Impact of BT in the United Kingdom", the

telephone company claims that they employ 1 in every 8 employees working in the IT and

Communications sectors (and that "BTs full employment impact is larger than the regions

civil engineering sector").

http://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/BTUKandWorldwide/BTRegions/England/Factsandfigures/S

ocialStudy.htm

Our working

If 1 in 8 of employees working in North East IT & C sectors works out at 4100 people, and if 1

in 8 = 12.5% then 4100 x 12.5 = 32,800 total employees in IT and Communications in NE

England.

North East Key Points

4,100 - BT employees live in the region (FTE)

4,060 - BT employees work in the region (FTE)

125 million - Total income of BT employees working in the region

88 million - Spend with suppliers based in the region

523 million -Total GVA impact (including indirect and induced effects)

Across the North East...

BT employs 1 in every 140 employees working in the private sector, and 1 in every 8

employees working in the IT and Communications sectors

1 in every 120 of GVA is generated directly by BT

BT supports 1 in every 80 employees working in the private sector and 1 in every

80 of GVA as a result of the firms full economic impact BTs full employment impact is larger than the regions civil engineering sector

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.btplc.com%2FThegroup%2FBTUKandWorldwide%2FBTRegions%2FEngland%2FFactsandfigures%2FSocialStudy.htm&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGw_nUtOv2j73CJWW-gcY8F8J6EGghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.btplc.com%2FThegroup%2FBTUKandWorldwide%2FBTRegions%2FEngland%2FFactsandfigures%2FSocialStudy.htm&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGw_nUtOv2j73CJWW-gcY8F8J6EGg


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Board Biographies

From http://www.dynamonortheast.co.uk/bios/

John Hunt

John is a native North Easterner who returned to Newcastle in 2011 to work in his familyssoftware business, Orchard Information Systems. Having started life working in consumer

goods in far flung places such as Nigeria, Malaysia and Indonesia John returned to the UK to

undertake an MBA at London Business School. A two year stint in the city working for

Goldman Sachs followed until the call of the North East became too strong. John is a director

at Orchard with a specific focus on Business Intelligence and Reporting, as well as exploring

international opportunities to expand Orchards geographic reach.

Charlie Hoult (Chair)

Charlie operates as an investor & entrepreneur in the IT industry. He built up his own

marketing agency, Loewy Group, which grew to 400 staff and 50m turnover. He exited in

2009 to take over his family property business in Newcastle.

He has a number of tech interests including Opencast Software

(www.opencastsoftware.com), Futureheads digital recruitment specialists

(www.wearefutureheads.co.uk), Tomorrow People (www.tomorrowpeopletoday.com) and

Hoults Yard (www.houltsyard.co.uk).

Stuart Lynn

Originally qualified as a Mechanical Engineer, Stuart moved into software engineering in 1988

and has held a number of positions across the public and private sectors. Since joining Sage,

one of the great success stories of the North East in 1998, he has held a variety of roles and

is currently the Chief Technology and Information Officer.

Stuart is a native of the North East and is proud about the success of the region. He would

like to see the North East recognised as a centre of excellence for Information technology,

and has a passion for education and skills development.

Anthony McMenzie

Recently taken up a new role with Mi-Case, a Tyneside based provider of case and asset

management software solutions across the globe. A 30 year career in technology has seen

Anthony in sales roles for the worlds largest mobile telecommunications business(Vodafone), largest insurance market (Lloyds) and largest independent integration business

(Dimension Data). Hes spent much of his working life away, including seven years in

Australia, before returning home to his native North East.

Mike OBrien

Currently MD of Opencast Software Limited, formerly Capgemini (VP Capital Markets) &

Strategic Systems Solutions (Chief Sales / Marketing Officer). As part of the Exec Board,

built SSS (specialist Capital Markets SI) from 10 to 800 staff with offices in UK, US, China,

Manila, Singapore

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dynamonortheast.co.uk%2Fbios%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEWRZBuviAoWol80YmLztUjSJTNAA


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Mike has a pretty credible client list including Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Citi, Credit Suisse,

Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Daiwa, RBS, HSBC, Barclays and Northern Rock.

Bob Paton (Vice Chair)

Bob Paton is Managing Director of the Accenture Delivery Centre in the North East, located at

the Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside.

Bob has worked for Accenture for twenty one years, during this time he has specialised in the

implementation of large scale IT systems, including managing delivery projects for both

Government and Private Sector clients. Previously he was Operational Director for all

Accenture Outsourcing Units within Europe and South Africa. He is responsible for the

Accenture apprenticeship programme and is a NAS Apprenticeship Ambassador for the

North East.

Prior to joining Accenture Bob spent 20 years as a Civil Servant, 13 of which were spent

working in IT, again mainly on major system implementation and delivery.

Paul Watson

Paul Watson is Professor of Computer Science, and Director of the Digital Institute at

Newcastle University. He graduated with a BSc in Computer Engineering from Manchester

University, followed by a PhD. In the 80s, as a Lecturer at Manchester University, he was a

designer of the Alvey Flagship and Esprit EDS systems. From 1990-5 he worked for ICL as a

system designer of the Goldrush MegaServer parallel database server, which was released

as a product in 1994.

In August 1995 he moved to Newcastle University, where he has been an investigator onresearch projects worth over 40M, almost all in close collaboration with industry. Professor

Watson is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the British Computer Society.

The Boulder Thesis

According to this blog post:

in his book, "Startup Communities," Feld outlines his "Boulder Thesis," a formula for

building what he calls a "sustainable, vibrant startup community anywhere in the

world." [...]

Feld cites four ingredients as essential to startup communities: Entrepreneurs as leaders - Feld divides a startup community into two

groups: Leaders (entrepreneurs) and feeders (everyone else). "The feeders

have very important roles," he says. "They become part of the fabric of the

startup community. But the feeders can't be leaders. The leaders have to be

entrepreneurs."

A long-term view- A successful startup community must be filled with

people who are making a long-term commitment of 20-plus years and are able

to weather the successes and failures of entrepreneurs in the community,

Feld says.

A philosophy of inclusiveness. It takes all kinds of people to make a startup

community. "If everybody contributes energy into the startup community," Feld

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FStartup-Communities-Building-Entrepreneurial-Ecosystem%2Fdp%2F1118441540&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEzwgeGstCWiDM3jvGfF6vt_Xpy0whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.siliconprairienews.com%2F2012%2F10%2Fbrad-feld-outlines-boulder-thesis-in-kauffman-sketchbook-video&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGmCXxjJ-LNhgcSN2g6Iw5Dw9HrIQ


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says, "it will get bigger and grow faster and be more successful and be more

fun."

Events that engage the entire entrepreneurial stack- Feld cites things

like TechStars and Startup Weekend, which he notes are more substantive

than awards dinners or cocktail parties, as vital to allowing the entire

community to help startups.

"It's just this sort of network chaos of entrepreneurs doing what entrepreneurs do,

which is create things," Feld says in closing. "That force of the entrepreneurs to build

something bigger than just themselves and their company is so incredibly powerful."
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fstartupweekend.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHp287kOYBXix0fvneERvQXFEWQeQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.techstars.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEuxr0F8MW_Pmr6f0X7JqgCTNNsaA

dynamo north east research project 2014 - policy findings and recommendations

Documents