Advertising and marketing firms appear to be playing a huge role in helping the UK cement its global position as a hub for digital excellence.
A new report from Tech City, the government-backed group in charge of accelerating the UK’s tech economy, has revealed a table showing the proportions of companies that make Britain’s digital sector one of the strongest in the world.
‘Tech Nation’ shows that 11% of digital companies are centered around offerings in advertising and marketing – a proportion which is only bettered by the 22% in software development.
Digital by nature, e-commerce is another key contributor – accounting for 6% of all firms. Lead generation groups make up a further 6% of digital companies, with media and entertainment groups accounting for 11%.
Areas of growth
Tech City added that maintaining growth in “digital clusters” would be crucial to the sector’s next phase of development. According to those that claimed to be operating in an area with a high volume of tech groups, benefits including better access to social networks (77%), talent (54%) and property (40%).
As for where these clusters are likely to emerge, areas such as Bournemouth, Bristol, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove were found to be producing above-average levels of companies for the digital sector.
All have contributed to a grand total of 1.46 million people employed by the UK tech scene, with an estimated 45,000 jobs currently being advertised.
Employment in this area is forecasted to increase 5.4% by 2020 to remain above levels of regular job growth, with Bournemouth, Liverpool and London all expected to chip in with high levels of staffing.
Tech Nation also includes comments from prime minister David Cameron, who said the digital sector had become an “integral part” of the country and that government support would ensure it stayed growing for “years to come”.
You can find more tech-oriented findings from the infographic below.
