State of the Region: Technology as a driving force for the north’s economic success

The UK digital tech sector remains one of the UK’s economic success stories and both the North West and Yorkshire is playing a huge part.

The digital economy has been growing at twice the rate of the wider economy and is seen as the key to boosting the nation’s productivity.

Across the North West and Yorkshire, tech companies generated revenues of £4.5bn in 2017, more than double the figure in 2016. We are home to some of the biggest and most innovative players in the sector.

In our next State of the Region report we will examine where that growth is coming from, look at the future for tech in the North West/Yorkshire and talk to those at the leading edge of the digital revolution.

National brands and regional firms alike are investing in innovative approaches to attract the right talent and put the north on the map.

Ahead of next month’s State of the Region focus, we spoke with two firms in the North West who are blazing the trail.

Dominic McGregor, chief operations officer at Social Chain 

This Manchester based tech agency moved its headquarters from London and now employs more than 200 people across the globe.

Co-founder of TelCom Networks, Doug Ward 

Launched in 2014 and bootstrapped from the ground up, Telcom is an Internet Service Provider based in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.