Scotland at risk of falling behind in technology race’

LEADING SCOTTISH business figures have warned that the Scottish government must plan for the future or risk falling behind in the global technology race.
Citing global competition and worrying evidence that the country is slipping behind its international competitors, seven industry leaders joined in calling upon the government to invest in creating a national digital infrastructure. Speaking at the Sunday Herald's Digital Future debate in Glasgow last week week, the key players outlined an urgent requirement to prioritise future planning and appoint technology tsars to spearhead the process.
Raymond O'Hare, regional director of Microsoft Scotland, said: "Scotland is in danger of having no digital future, because it has no digital leadership. There are amazing new technologies just around the corner, and what worries me is that if we had them today most of us could not use them, because we do not have a technology infrastructure capable of doing the job. "Technology should be viewed in Scotland as the fifth infrastructure - right up there with road, rail, sea and airlines - as I believe that any money invested in IT would realise a far greater return. We need to think carefully about this, and consider whether the country needs a joined-up digital strategy and the appointment of a national chief information officer."
O'Hare, ScotlandIS chief executive Polly Purvis, BT Scotland's Brendan Dick, economist Neil MacCallum, Graham Technology's Steven Thurlow, Cisco chief Gordon Thomson and digital media mogul Steve Leach were unanimous in identifying the country's lack of long-term planning as a critical strategic flaw.
"We have many small companies already producing technology products in use around the world. We are good and we are world-class, but we need to build on that. I believe we need a game plan, a national framework that we can all get behind and ensure Scotland's digital future," said Purvis.
While pointing out that broadband is available to 99% of the Scottish population, BT Scotland director Brendan Dick said that 40% of the country's businesses were still not using IT, and called upon the minister for enterprise, energy and tourism, Jim Mather, to help drive a national campaign to extend the benefits of technology into every aspect of life.
"We're fundamentally missing a trick," Dick said. "There is an opportunity for the new administration to tackle the issue of digital inclusion so that we create a population that can exploit what we have. We are a small country, so we have to get together around the table, create awareness, and market and drive demand for using ICT information and communications technology in a way that has been lacking for years in this country," he said.
Cisco chief Thomson added: "Lots of businesses still don't have the skills to utilise technology and maximise their efficiency, and we have to help them get better at it. Research and development investment in Scotland is only half the UK average, and that strikes me as a level of complacency we cannot afford."
While Neil MacCallum identified digital media as "the new electricity of our age" and stressed the need for technology to be prioritised within the national economic strategy, Steven Thurlow and Bigmouthmedia CEO Steve Leach called upon Scotland to start by looking at the positives.
"Scotland has some major advantages. We have a great standard of living, relatively low costs and three of the world's top universities in the central belt producing some excellent IT people, but we're particularly bad at marketing ourselves as a nation.
"We need to address that urgently, and I'd support the creation of a national marketing post to lead the effort," said Leach.
Jim Mather welcomed the business leaders' call for action. Unable to attend the debate due to a diary conflict, he has requested a video of the event and has promised to give a comprehensive response to the issues raised in the Sunday Herald next week.
Source: sundayherald.com