Diverse Interactive
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Surrey Research Park has never been busier in terms of demand for innovation space
Grant Bourhill CEO, Surrey Research Park
Diverse Interactive
As noted earlier, although the global pandemic has impacted significantly on the local economy, many businesses have demonstrated exceptional resilience in extremely challenging conditions.
Diverse Interactive, a Guildford-based digital experience agency that offers a range of bespoke services to clients, including immersive content, virtual and augmented reality, learning, training and interactive experiential solutions, is a case in point.
As Jake Warren-Simpson, Chief Commercial Officer, explained, the business has successfully adapted its product offering and has projected growth over the next 12 months.
“If you imagine you are a manufacturer of a large medical device, normally you’d take that to events, large conferences or meetings,” he said.
“We have designed applications and technology where you can send someone an app and then through augmented reality, you as the potential customer can look at the product using your own phone in your own environment rather than me shipping the device to you. It’s saved money and travel time and also reduced the carbon footprint.”
As the plan for growth notes, the survival rates for businesses in the county are slightly higher than the national average, and some industries have bounced back quickly.
“One of the most remarkable facts is that as we start to open up, Surrey Research Park has never been busier in terms of demand for innovation space,” says Bourhill.“That says something about the resilience of the companies on the park.”
According to research undertaken by the University of Surrey, which provided a detailed economic baseline analysis for the council to inform its thinking, the county has around 600 active businesses per 10,000 population. This translates as being about 23% higher than the equivalent figure for South East England as a whole.
Surrey’s level of economic productivity is impressive. However, the county’s economy is not as balanced as the council would like. East Surrey, for example, is over-reliant on the financial and insurance service sectors, both hard hit by the pandemic.
The financial repercussions for some businesses, notably the aviation sector have been extremely significant and restructuring may be the only option to stimulate future growth. The retail, hospitality and cultural sectors have also seen a sizeable economic downturn.
With the pandemic accelerating a move towards online trading, the council is currently exploring the potential for a new e-commerce platform for local firms as well as access to resources that enable businesses to expand their multi- channel presence.
Surrey County Council’s Digital Strategy aims to develop and enhance a “county-wide digital infrastructure” for businesses and consumers and will help future-proof Surrey’s economy, enabling greater flexibility around where people work.
The council’s strategy identifies four key priorities to support Surrey’s growth both in the short term and in the next decade to 2030.
The first is to support the growth of Surrey’s innovation economy by expanding its excellence in leading-edge solutions.
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