Wake up Aberdeen!


So is Aberdeen missing out on the tech industry boom?

The tech industry in Scotland is reported to be worth £5 Billion! The bulk of this is scooped up by Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow... SkyScanner, FanDuel and FreeAgent plus more in Edinburgh, Thriving Games industry in Dundee, and a new Tech hub in Glasgow.

 

There is a real buzz right now around tech companies and startups.

 

Is Aberdeen being left behind and missing out? Aberdeen could do with a boost at this time. In 2016 Scotland employed 84,000 people in tech. And this year there is even more demand. Web and mobile developers are like hot cakes! ( Who me? )

 

What does Aberdeen need to do to get more of a share? It doesn't need any natural resources (sorry oil!) it doesn't need to be geographically located near anywhere. It doesn't need huge investment, It doesn't even need good weather and sun.

 

It needs clever people, space and ideas. We have the people, We have plenty of space (the shiny new Aberdeen International Business Park is two thirds empty) And ideas which are free.

 

So what is being done in Aberdeen to get more into this tech boom.

 

We have the Business Gateway and it's elevator program. A brilliant scheme. There is also talk of a Grey Matters program to get business folk together and identify and create new businesses. There are tech meet ups including the entrepreneurs club.

I met this week with the guys from CodeClan who were up north on a jolly to Aberdeen to see if there is a demand for people wanting to learn to code. They met with potential employee partners (who need coding graduates) and potential students (skilled people let down by oil looking to retrain).  Putting the two together makes so much sense.

 

I mentioned before CivTech north, something I'm eagerly awaiting to find out more about and what the 8 tech challenges will be from the public sector.

 

I mentioned in my blog last week I have started with Aberdeen City Council. And two weeks in and there is lots of talk of tech there. ACC seems very tech savvy. I've been in meetings and presentations where Artificial intelligence, internet of things, 3D printing and even robots have been discussed. (Count me in...)

ACC also rolled out last week its new (free) city wifi which covers union street and other parts of the city center. A real boost for tech buzz and I am happily uploading this free via the city center scheme as I type.

 

So it would be good to see a CodeClan office opening in Aberdeen city, and possibly a Code Base like Edinburgh. Code Base Edinburgh is an old council building filled with tech startups. Aberdeens Code Base needs to be in the center of the city rather than the outskirts. It will give the pubs, restaurants and shops an added boost of more people in the center, and as the startups flourish (SkyScanner like) additional premises in the city center can be occupied boosting business further.

I think Aberdeen needs more though. 

 

So come on Aberdeen let's bring some of the £5 billion to the north east and give Aberdeen an additional business beyond oil and tourism. I for one am trying to be part of it.

 

In other news Udny Solutions first website went live this week. Based on the business type it's bright, fun and colourful and Im quite chuffed with it as is my client. ---> www.udnystationplaygroup.co.uk

 

Another week and ACC's newest Web Developer is finishing his second week and is settling in well

Thanks for reading

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