Entrepreneurs are being invited to complete a survey by Government-backed organisation Innovate UK, which is seeking views on innovation.
Innovate UK says it will use the results to strengthen the ways in which it supports innovative companies and, as a company whose digital technologies help many clients find new ways of working, we think it’s well worth offering your views.
Among the questions that Innovate UK is seeking to answer are:
how much effort are you investing in evolving or developing new products, services and processes, as well as in new areas?
how much you expect to grow in the next two years and what the challenges stopping you from doing so?
what are your plans for international activities?
They are seeking views from businesses of any size and age and the survey is open until 23 April 2017 at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/how-does-your-organisation-approach-research-and-innovation innovate uk
A new survey has shown that manufacturing is playing a key role in the UK’s economic revival.
Although overall private sector growth slowed slightly in the three months to March, according to the CBI’s latest Growth Indicator, manufacturing output expanded strongly.
Overall, firms expect growth to pick up over the next quarter, with the survey balance the strongest since September 2015.
We see that confidence reflected among the companies that we help. We believe that digital technology is playing its part to support this continuing growth and our clients are benefitting from the use of IT to develop new projects and improve the efficiency of existing ones.
Bowe Digital offers a range of IT solutions that can help businesses take advantage.
Call us on 0191 214 1750 or email info@bowe.co.uk to find out how.
Bowe Digital – we make I.T. happen
The latest Office for National Statistics labour market figures, for March, showed employment continuing to rise.
Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “The UK’s jobs market is going from strength to strength, with the number of people in work continuing to rise and unemployment also falling.”
The Chamber does warn that the future looks uncertain with concerns over Brexit but for the moment, things look good.
We are certainly seeing that confidence reflected in the companies to whom we talk on a daily basis.
We believe that digital technology is playing its part to support this continuing growth and our clients are benefitting from the innovative use of IT to develop new projects and improve the efficiency of existing ones.
Bowe Digital offers a range of IT solutions that can help businesses take advantage.
Call us on 0191 214 1750 or email info@bowe.co.uk to find out how.
Bowe Digital – we make I.T. happen
The latest national CBI Industrial Trends Survey shows expectations for growth standing at a two-decade high
The survey of 423 firms found that export order books were the highest since December 2013, driven by a broad-based strengthening of which half was accounted for by the pharmaceutical and mechanical engineering sectors. Total order books remained firm in March, after strengthening to a two-year high in February.
Output growth rose at its quickest pace since July 2014 in the three months to March, with manufacturers anticipating that it will accelerate further over the near-term. Meanwhile, firms’ expectations for selling price inflation remain elevated for the quarter ahead.
Anna Leach, CBI Head of Economic Intelligence, said: “Innovation continues to be a fundamental driver of UK competitiveness and productivity gains and will influence the success of UK companies over the longer term.”
We could not agree more. We believe that innovative digital technology is playing its part to support this continuing growth, and Bowe Digital offers a range of IT solutions that can help businesses take advantage.
Call us on 0191 214 1750 or email info@bowe.co.uk to find out how.
Bowe Digital – we make I.T. happen
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley has launched the Government’s Digital Strategy, which includes a focus on skills and infrastructure to support the digital economy. Responding to the document, Gordon Millward, Regional Chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “As the Government takes forward its digital plan, it should now focus on the small business community, who will be key to driving digital transformation and productivity.The ‘digital gap’ for small businesses hinders productivity and growth. For the UK to be the best place in the world to do business, we need fit for purpose digital infrastructure and help for small businesses to develop their businesses online.
“The commitment within the Digital Strategy to boost digital skills and confidence to go online is vital, with two in five small businesses believing digital skills are crucial to their future growth. Tackling the skills gap across all of those in the workforce needs to begin early, and we welcome the pledge to teach new skills such as coding, to more young people.”
We agree that more needs to be done to engage the small business community in the digital revolution.
We believe that digital technology is playing its part to support this continuing growth, and Bowe Digital offers a range of IT solutions that can help businesses take advantage.
Call us on 0191 214 1750 or email info@bowe.co.uk to find out how.
Bowe Digital – we make I.T. happen
The Government has published a digital strategy aimed at making Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business, part of ministers’ ambitions to ensure everyone has the skills they need to flourish in a digitally-driven economy.
The plan has been welcomed by Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, who said: “UK companies are at the forefront of the digital revolution. The pledges announced by the Government underline businesses’ commitment to build the skills we need for a modern economy, as well as tackle barriers to technology adoption. To uphold our position as a world-leading digital economy businesses and the Government need to work together.”
We agree. We believe that digital technology is playing its part to support this continuing growth, and Bowe Digital offers a range of IT solutions that can help businesses take advantage.
Call us on 0191 214 1750 or email info@bowe.co.uk to find out how.
Bowe Digital – we make I.T. happen
UK exporters continue to defy gloomy predictions following the Brexit vote. Indeed, commenting on the UK trade statistics for December 2016, just released by the Office for National Statistics, Mike Spicer, Director of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The narrowing in the UK’s trade deficit in the final months of last year is a welcome improvement from the weaker performance in the previous quarter, and reflects a growing number of goods being exported to non-EU countries. As Brexit dominates the headlines, the results are an important reminder that UK companies take advantage of trading opportunities in every part of the world. We believe that digital technology is playing its part to support this continuing growth, and Bowe Digital offers a range of IT solutions that can help manufacturing companies to take advantage.
Call us on 0191 214 1750 or email info@bowe.co.uk to find out how.
Bowe Digital – we make I.T. happen
Demand for UK-manufactured goods strengthened in the three months to February, with order books improving, according to the CBI’s latest Industrial Trends Survey.
The survey of 471 firms found that total orders reached a two-year high, with the strengthening in demand led by the mechanical engineering and metal products sectors. Export orders remained stable and above the long-run average.
27% of businesses reported total orders to be above normal and 19% said orders were below normal, giving a balance of +8%, the highest since February 2015 (+10%)
19% of businesses reported export orders to be above normal and 29% below, resulting in a balance of -10%
35% of businesses reported a rise in output volumes, and 20% a fall, giving a rounded balance of +16%
Output growth is expected to grow faster over the next three months, with 43% of companies expecting a rise and 10% expecting a fall, leaving a balance of +33%, the highest since September 2013 (+33%)
We like to think that we are playing our part. Bowe Digital offers a range of IT solutions that can help manufacturing companies streamline their operations to run smartly, efficiently, and grow.
· Call us on 0191 214 1750 or email info@bowe.co.uk to find out how.
· Bowe Digital – we make I.T. happen
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says that UK small business confidence in the last quarter bounced back to the level reported before the EU referendum campaign began.
According to the FSB’s Small Business Index, confidence has now moved into positive territory, which means that more small businesses feel confident than those that feel the opposite. The confidence measure now stands at +8.5, up from -2.9 in the previous quarter, almost the same level as it stood at the start of 2016.
Mike Cherry, National Chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The current economic outlook seems brighter, and UK small businesses are ambitious and want to make the most of it.”
We believe that digital technology is playing its part to support this growing confidence by helping to make companies more competitive. Bowe Digital offers a range of IT solutions that can help businesses take advantage.
Call us on 0191 214 1750 or email info@bowe.co.uk to find out how.
Bowe Digital – we make I.T. happen
Author – Be Everywhere
UK manufacturers are more optimistic about their business situation and exporting prospects, while also reporting strong growth in domestic orders, according to the latest quarterly CBI Industrial Trends Survey.
The survey of 461 manufacturers revealed that domestic orders rose at the fastest pace since July 2014 in the three months to January, while export orders continued to grow but below expectations.
The CBI says that growth is expected to continue strongly over the next three months while production is also expected to advance briskly; expectations for output growth are also the highest since July 2014.
We believe that digital technology is playing its part to support this growth by helping to make companies more competitive. Bowe Digital offers a range of IT solutions that can help manufacturing companies to take advantage.
Call us on 0191 214 1750 or email info@bowe.co.uk to find out how.
Bowe Digital – we make I.T. happen