The best bits of the Buckinghamshire Digital Summit

The event outshone its potential with the star power of the speakers offering a varied and fascinating insight into many aspects of digital technology.

The brand new University Campus Aylesbury Vale (UCAV) hosted the 2015 Buckinghamshire Digital Summit and delegates took away a lot of practical information and advice they can put into effect in their businesses. Throughout the day questions from the audience were thrown at the speakers, including questions on women in the technology sector, how to attract tech-skilled people back to the sector and the dependence on electricity. Jacqueline de Rojas highlighted some initiatives that are aimed at ‘re-skilling’ those returning to the technology sector.

There were certainly some eye-catching stands on show outside the main conference room, revealing the innovation coursing through Buckinghamshire’s digital businesses.  For a full list of exhibitors, read on.

We will share slides and video of the event in upcoming issues, in the meantime here are a few highlights from the Summit:

Jacqueline de Rojas, President, TechUK

Jacqueline began by declaring herself a “digital optimist” and spoke of the need to inspire the next generation of tech talent at an early age – “if we don’t get them young, we don’t get them later” - telling some great stories of young people she has met who have taken more than a few steps already along their tech business journeys.

Jacqueline also highlighted that with technology enabling flexible working more than ever before, employers should support staff to “work hard anywhere”, especially because “great ideas die in the boardroom and live in the coffee shop”.

Che Smith, Head of Advanced Technology & Business Innovation, Virgin Media Business

Che spoke of the ‘Innovation Paradox’, where products become smaller but actually do more, and encouraged employers to let customers drive their innovation.

Proving that every business can improve with the use of digital, Che introduced us to the concept of the ‘Internet of Dead things’ the story of a funeral company that had cut admin time by 50% through a smart use of digital technology.

Simon Hammond, Regional Sales Manager, 3D Systems Europe Ltd

3D Printing was the topic of Simon’s presentation, pointing out that with over 650 million products brought to market last year, there is a lot of scope for 3D printing, and inspired us with examples of products developed for healthcare, construction and film.

Simon highlighted one particular advantage of 3D printing over other forms of business, namely that it allows a business to fail early and fail often, saving potentially costly changes to a product further down the line.

Mark Dowd, Co-Founder & Director, Manage Disruption Ltd

Mark’s presentation was particularly insightful with regards to the disruptions businesses may face thanks to technology, but believes that micro and small firms are better placed than large firms to adapt to ‘digital disruption’ as they can be more agile in how they operate.

Philip Wood, Head of Security Studies, Bucks New University

Digital threats were the centrepiece of Philip’s speech, with an enlightening statement that “people inside organisations are more dangerous than those outside”, as well as business competitors trying to steal ideas and profits. A staggering 60% of errors that lead to security breaches are made by system managers, it was revealed.

Philip highlighted government schemes that help businesses to be as protected as much as possible from digital threats and mentioned the courses on offer at the UCAV Cyber Resilience Centre.

Nick McQuire, Vice President, CCS Insight

Nick pointed out that businesses are now having to work with and engage with customers across a number of different platforms, as technological trends in business mirror those in people’s personal lives.

The way that established companies have reacted to start-ups threatening their market share was spoken about, including banks that are now visiting customers in their homes.

With employees expecting technology to be as utilised at work as it is in their own daily lives, the danger is that businesses are slow to react to this demand, says Nick.

Alex Minchin, Managing Director, Zest Digital

The rise of mobile-first was the focus on Alex’s speech, particularly the need to have a website that is mobile-friendly. With mobile overtaking computers as the predominant platform for users, this makes clear sense.

Alex pointed out the need to adapt a website purely for mobile viewing, with things like larger call-to-action buttons and less content on screen given that people spend less time on a website when they view it on a mobile device.

Ruth Cooper, Social Media Manager, Abode2

Ruth gave the audience an insight into how to use digital technology to break into international markets by detailing the journey her own company had made from print to online in just a short time.

The benefits of digital to a business include being able to have new dimensions to your business offer, reduce costs and amend content easily.

Philip Boyle, Sales and Marketing, Deafax

Philip spoke about the use of technology to create a better experience for visitors to attractions. He pointed out that businesses will soon have to adapt to the needs of those with hearing difficulties.

Steve Gardam, Director, Roald Dahl Museum

Steve joined Philip for this slot and explained that if businesses use technology in the right way it will be beneficial to them.

Conor McKechnie, Head of Communications, GE Healthcare Life Sciences

Conor wrapped up the Digital Summit by imploring business owners to be where their customers are online, to listen and engage.

If businesses can learn to interrogate the data they collect on their customers, they will be able to make better business decisions, said Conor.

Exhibitors on the day included:

Thank you to our partners in this event, the Institute of Directors Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes, Evolution Live and the University Campus Aylesbury Vale.

Relive the day online

Relive the day with all of the photos taken during the course of the event >

Twitter was abuzz with activity during the event as delegates and speakers told the world how much they were enjoying the Digital Summit. Take a look at some of the best tweets here >

Presentations and video from the day will be available shortly so stay posted!

Digital focus on next week’s Mix96 radio show

Next week’s Buckinghamshire Business First radio show on Mix96 will be all about digital. Tune in on Monday from 7-8pm to catch it live, or download the podcast here if you can’t tune in at the time.

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