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'Country's 25-Year-Old
Digital Custodian's expertise will be needed significantly more next
quarter of century'
By Bill Magee
[ScotlandIS "Technology Writer of the Year" 2009]
An accolade fittingly marking the 25th anniversary of ScotlandIS is
evident from a cross-sectoral snap survey. The country's digital
custodian is singled out as in pivotal position to further develop the
knowledge economy and all this means in terms of being seen as an
internationally successful place in which to work and live, develop
critical skills and do business.
ScotlandIS was established fulfilling a pressing need following the
DotCom boom-and-bust when rapid stock market growth during the heady
Nineties was followed by a devastating global crash. During the ensuing
quarter of a century the body has developed a quite unique skillset to
serve-and-service a growing technologies membership and clusters
ecosystem.
Today, over 1000 member-companies, of which 85 per cent are small to
medium-size enterprises, contribute around £4.7 billion in gross value
added (GVA) to the economy and employ an estimated 60,000 people.
Highly impressive but as the survey stresses: there’s no time to rest on
laurels. Its expertise is in growing demand to help the membership and
wider community to better commercially negotiate what’s become a
thoroughly unpredictable and often unsafe tech marketplace.
It's a stance consistent with a warning by Scottish Business Minister
Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, that Scotland stands at an "inflection
point" and needs to ensure it doesn't fall behind by missing out on
enormous opportunities being offered up.
Those surveyed repeatedly emphasised how such is the relentless and
fast-paced high-tech global online/mobile arena, it regularly leaves
business and commerce and the wider society bewildered.
Digital Health Warning
ScotlandIS is called upon to lead developments to match such
technological acceleration in the global marketplace by responding "far
greater and faster", in terms of achieving a lasting more prosperous and
internationally-recognised key location.
Especially when it comes to commerce and industry along with an
attractive place for careers and investments. Another priority is
safeguarding organisations from being overwhelmed by Big Tech global
moves, led by generative artificial intelligent.
GenAI, unfortunately, might be brand new but already it has become
inextricably linked with ever-growing threats from a highly toxic
online/mobile environment.
Ex-FBI Senior Supervisory Agent Edward Gibson was headhunted by
Microsoft as its UK Chief Cybersecurity Adviser. He is now back in
Washington DC, from where he told me the era of clickbait,
disinformation and deepfakes is worsening.
No stranger to Scottish conference delegates, his warning is backed up
by a Signicat report fraud attempts from the latter alone increased by
2137 per cent over the last three years.
All underlined by a constant barrage of economic espionage, complex
money laundering, cyber fraud schemes, intellectual property theft and,
lately, sophisticated crypto-currency scams.
Analysts: We're all subject to an ongoing "AI whirlwind"
The tech landscape may have dramatically altered in recent years but the
root of the problem remains the same: "Cyber defences? I could give the
same presentation today that I gave twenty years ago. It's all about
people."
The five largest Big Tech, US-based Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple,
Meta and Microsoft, already together worth trillions of digital dollars,
are looking to at least double revenues through GenAI.
However, added to early usage carrying with it a profound lack of trust
and commercial confidence is a resistance by the same tech titans,
leading to endless regulatory and monopolistic tussles. Gartner
describes the situation as an "AI whirlwind."
Big Tech appears more than commercially willing to continue driving a
free-for-all and wide-open so-called online/mobile "meta playground" to
keep the profits rolling in. It remains to be seen how they react to the
UK Online Safety Act equipping regulator Ofcom with wide-ranging new
powers.
ScotlandIS "pivotal"
One original ScotlandIS Board Member, Scott McGlinchey says “As the
industries trade body they have great input..aiding industry networking,
national and local policy formation and knowledge sharing and learning."
Holder of C-suite roles including Chief Executive at Exception
technology, digital, cloud and AI transformation specialists, he adds
Scotland needs to increase its technological prowess: "To develop far
greater and faster than at present our knowledge economy."
Further "joined up" collaboration and measured outcomes with other
parties, including economic development agencies and Scots and UK
governments, are essential: "ScotlandIS is pivotal in this change" but
cannot do it alone, he stresses.
Developing Talent is Vital
Julie Moulsdale, Co-founder/Managing Director of Perceptive
Communicators, instrumental along with Cisco in ensuring the 2014
Glasgow Commonwealth Games was an unqualified success, identifies the
skills gap as of "critical focus" requiring special attention.
For her ScotlandIS is quite unique as a "unified voice" to continue
championing policies promoting sustainable growth, ethical innovation
and cybersecurity resilience.
Urgent development of vital STEM skills are needed
Here science, technology, engineering and mathematics-based skills are
singled out, carrying with them a worry reports EngineeringUK 90 per
cent of teachers surveyed say they face barriers to STEM outreach with
"funding and time" identified as key blockers.
A highly-skilled workforce is essential to ensure businesses remain
competitive in such an evolving landscape.
Also strengthening Scotland's global tech presence, fostering
international partnerships and supporting trade opportunities to expand
market reach..."with ScotlandIS instrumental in ensuring our digital
economy thrives for decades to come."
H.E. Viljar Lubi, Republic of Estonia Ambassador to the UK Embassy, who
told me during a visit to Scotland the country possesses a few "critical
elements" led by talent, infrastructure and finance. "I would say,
learning from the Estonian experience that supporting talent is the most
important."
Entrepreneurial people always find a way to meet and he is always keen
to bring Estonian tech companies to key partner Scotland, not solely
London. "Mostly B2B the domestic market size should not be considered as
a constraint. Scotland already has so many successes.
"It is also important that those founders help the others as they
already do...this has been one of the key elements of our ecosystem."
Estonia is ranked first in the EU for digital public services and is
e-government global leader with 89 per cent total internet-connected
citizens.
Former Institute of Directors Executive Director David Watt says of
ScotlandIS: "It is needed even more as the pace of technology quickens
and needs to further increase and develop its international links."
Watt, who has served on a wide range of government advisory boards and
task forces concludes this is especially the case: "When it comes to
supporting and strengthening the country's tech base along with
educating, informing and connecting the businesses of today and
tomorrow." |
