THAMES VALLEY TECH AWARDS
I’m interested in what has been said about working more closely with universities.”
ConnectTVT has a range of talent initiatives with one of them focusing on people who are looking to re-launch their careers. “They often want part-time work and we can struggle to find them employment, despite these types of candidates showing great loyalty to employers and being a viable solution to some of the skills gaps,” noted Clarke.
Growth challenges
MCS Rental Software is expanding into new geographies. “So the challenges for us are around culture in different countries,” said van de Knaap.
Product marketing is the current focus for ScopeMaster. “We’re lucky that English is the language of software. We’ve been asked to translate our software into Chinese, but we’d probably never see it again. You have to protect your IP,” said Hammond.
Limbick Labs is looking at pricing models. “We’ve seen a competitor use individualised pricing for over 125 countries. It takes time and effort, but we believe this type of structure will be worth it for us,” said Holland.
AI OK?
Machine learning, cognitive computing and AI dominate the technology landscape. The participants discussed where AI is taking them. Griffiths said: “Without machine learning you are pretty much dead in the water. We are working with experts at Royal Holloway and the University of Reading on AI. Tech is developing very quickly, so it’s essential to know how AI can support your business.”
Barnett observed: “The internet of things is part of what we do. With AI, our challenge is to keep technology focused on what we need so we maximise its business-value potential.”
Crawford said: “We are researching products focused on cloud-based solutions, big data and machine learning. Our clients have amassed enormous quantities of data that they aren’t yet getting value from. We are looking at ways to unlock that value in the data being collected.”
R&D tax credits
The Government offers entrepreneurial businesses a range of tax breaks, but are they being used?
Caroline Atkinson is a keen advocate of research and development tax credits. Griffiths said they had “been brilliant” for FISCAL, while Hayes was “staggered that some companies haven’t heard about them”.
Davies questioned why despite the UK tax system helping tech companies with
R&D credits, relatively few businesses have made the leap from being small to big tech players. “Entrepreneurs seem to build a company up in a five to 10-year timeframe, then move on.”
Griffiths said: “I think the Googles and Facebooks of this world usually receive venture capital funding early on without having to give up equity. That’s how unicorns (start-ups valued at more than $1 billion) grow.”
Hayes added: “In the US, there is a very different outlook on funding strategies. In the US, it is commonplace for start-ups to receive cheque sizes to cover a five year business plan, whereas, in the UK, it’s more likely to be two to three years. The US model allows management to focus on developing technology as opposed to being a perennial fundraiser and focusing on cashburn.”
Clusters and a louder voice
Is the Thames Valley behind in nurturing networks and business clusters for smaller entrepreneurial businesses?
Clarke said: “I’ve been involved with other UK clusters that included councils and are collectively stronger when going for larger amounts of government funding. In the Thames Valley I don’t think we have such strong business ecosystems. We are all doing our own thing and don’t have a ‘noise making’ machine. It means a lot of funding is going to the north and south west. Businesses in the Thames Valley need to pull together and address the challenges of attracting funding to the region.”
The observation was supported by Turner. “I’ve struggled to find business networks. When I worked in the East Midlands, access to funding and incubation/meeting spaces was easier to find. All the ingredients are here, but we are not putting them together,” she said.
“The Venturefest initiative which works to bring together investors and businesses works well,” said Staples. While Hayes noted: “Cities like Bristol and Oxford are fairly self contained and, as such, it is easy to identify what the tech USP of those cities is, but the Thames Valley is a harder area to define from a tech perspective due to the contrasting make-up of the region.”
Lee Atkinson said Barclays Eagle Lab has space available at Thames Valley Science Park that technology businesses can use for events, often without charge. “We continue to encourage as many local entrepreneurial businesses to visit the incubation and work space to find out more about what is available,” he commented.
Murray closed the Roundtable by saying The Business Magazine would investigate setting up a regular forum for technology companies to share ideas and information.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 Aleix Magias Homar
2018
Louize Clarke
Nigel Honnor
Toby Crawford
David Murray
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