For the majority of the industry’s lifespan, digital services have
thrived mostly in cities such as London and Bristol. The benefits of these
larger and more metropolitan parts of the country have drawn a wider range if
skilled workers to their numerous resources. As such, these areas have
proliferated into global scale technology sectors.
In more recent years, whilst many cities and greater metropolitan areas
are still experiencing sector growth, smaller areas and towns within the UK
have also experienced a boom in industry development. Many large tech firms and
digital service providers have headquartered themselves in these smaller
locations. This revitalisation has led to economic prosperity in these small
towns, many of which now offer products and services that rival the output of
more mainstream industry hotspots.
Through-out the history of the UK, economic and industry development has
been focused in London and the south-east of England. Many local authorities
have spurred action to increase spending through-out the rest of the UK, mainly
to other cities and metropolitan areas. Instead, this development has helped
draw business into smaller towns’ through-out the country, as well as encourage
people to start their own small businesses.
The term ‘digitize or die’ was coined by entrepreneurs in the USA, used
to encourage smaller towns to expedite their technology sectors and secure
economic security. It started with areas such as California, home to technology
powerhouses in Silicon Valley, encouraging their east-coast counterparts such
as New York, Boston, and Chicago to digitise their biggest services to keep up
with technology sector growth. New York is now home to over 1,000 significant
start-ups, as well as headquarters to various non-profits dedicated to digital
development, such as the Center for an Urban Future (CUF).
These organisations are now aiming to bring digital economic prosperity to
the smaller regions that surround America’s largest cities. Unlike the USA,
Britain’s digital prosperity spread naturally to the smaller towns and regions
outside the capital. Corporations are taking advantage of open development
space and skilled graduates living in areas away from major university
locations. Previous
research suggests that graduates with skills in digital
technology are leaving university cities, especially in the north, to work down
south or return home to smaller towns. This is where smaller areas are
flourishing in digital industries.
As an example; the small town of Basingstoke in Hampshire has grown into
a commercially viable site for industry development with thanks to an influx of
skilled workers and ideal location close to London. Although small in size, the
town has been in a state of rapid development as part of the ‘London
overspill’, a collection of towns which have benefited from the London’s ever
expanding technology industry.
The town now headquarters a number of significant technology companies,
including Motorola, GAME, Barracuda Networks, and sub-divisions of Sony Europe
and Ericsson. It has also become famous for a range of digital services, with terms
such as ‘telecommunications Basingstoke’ or ‘web design Basingstoke’ becoming synonymous
with small town businesses offering large-scale quality digital services.
Ongoing digital-industry development across the UK is predicted to
continuously add value to smaller towns and keep more rural communities from
struggling in the technology based economy. The onus is now placed upon
community leaders and local councillors to prevent the benefits of the digital
industry from staying solely in big cities. Encouraging collaboration between smaller
communities is seen as crucial to the ongoing success of the English town as an
ideal destination for industry development.
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