Giving innovation wings

From Concorde to cloud computing, the UK produces great innovations, but how robust is today’s technology sector?

By Stephen Pritchard, 22 Jul 2009 at 15:40

Another Government-backed initiative, the iawards came in for criticism this week for being backed by Siemens and Microsoft - neither of which are headquartered in the UK - and for championing music streaming service Spotify as an example for entrepreneurs to emulate. Spotify has its operational base in the UK, but its R&D is in Sweden and it is legally, a Luxembourg company.

This, some innovators suggest, reflects a somewhat ambivalent attitude to innovation, and to technology, in the upper tiers of government and industry.

The Government wants to help, technology innovators suggest - but they are not really sure how. Zubed for example says that Government departments are among its best and most innovative customers. “But we don’t have a clear picture, from Government, of what the focus of the technology world should be,” claimed Maynard. "Do they want us to be leading in Web 3.0 or in geospatial technology… what is UK plc’s core competence? We have a very open market approach to innovation.”

Others, however, would argue that that is the UK’s greatest strength. In the end, it was not technology that grounded Concorde, that symbol of innovation from the 1960s. It was the business model that could no longer fly.

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