A key figure in the UK鈥檚 tech scene has called on the government to put cloud technologies at the heart of its Industrial Strategy.
Matthew Evans, executive director of trade body techUK, says that a change of attitude and awareness towards digital, alongside a focus on skills, is key to driving the nation鈥檚 digital economy.
鈥淭here is a clear job for Government to do more,鈥� he told 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淔or instance, given the importance of cloud technologies to delivering on much of the Government鈥檚 agenda for the digital economy, including artificial intelligence and cyber security, techUK believes that cloud should be fully recognised within the Industrial Strategy.
鈥淚t should form a part of the consideration of all sector deals and grand challenges.鈥�
The UK faces a productivity challenge: when comparing GDP per hour worked it lags behind Germany, France, the United States and Italy.
鈥淥ur digital sector is already one of the jewels of the UK economy, growing faster and creating jobs at a faster rate than most other sectors. But it can also help address our productivity challenge and supercharge the wider economy,鈥� Evans continued.
鈥淵ou just have to look at the difference in the use of digital tools: fewer than 20 per cent of UK enterprises use software to share information across their organisations compared to 40 per cent in France and over 50 per cent in Germany.鈥�
He explained that increasing awareness of the power of digital requires action by both the digital sector and Government.
鈥淭he reasons for the lack of digital adoption throughout the society can be broadly attributed to attitude and awareness, costs and skills challenges,鈥� Evans said.
鈥淲e 鈥� UK Plc 鈥� must address all three if we are to close the productivity gap, which is essential if we are to increase wage growth.
鈥淲e in the tech sector cannot be complacent that companies will adopt our tools in one area just because their counterparts in another have done so. We must be better at understanding the cultures, practices and organisational set-ups in different markets.鈥�
Evans said government also needs to review whether the current tax relief system meets the needs of the modern, digitally enabled, economy as software products such as CRM systems have moved away from one-off purchases to a subscription model featuring continuous upgrades.
He added: 鈥淭he skills challenge cannot be underestimated; the UK will need an additional 1.2 million new technical and digitally skilled people by 2022.
鈥淚f government and industry are to meet this challenge then we need to ensure that the apprenticeship levy is fit for purpose, that computing needs to be placed on the same level as Maths and English at A-Level and that we all come together to develop a plan for future skills and lifelong learning.鈥�