A NEW report has thrown a spotlight on Berkshire’s digital tech sector, with Wokingham’s contribution particularly praised.
The borough, which has been included with Reading, Theale, Bracknell and Henley in the survey, is identified as one of 30 key digital tech clusters in the UK, turnover of £13.6 billion in 2017 and more 58,000 digital tech jobs.
Newbury was ranked second in terms of the productivity of local tech ecosystems (£304k), closely followed by Slough and Heathrow in fourth (£240k) and the Reading area at seventh (£234k).
The figures are in the 2018 Tech Nation report, published on Thursday, May 17. It includes in-depth data visualisations for exploring the digital tech sector in all parts of the UK, as well as recommendations for tech businesses, policymakers and corporates for further accelerating the growth of UK tech.
The report states: “Reading’s proximity to London and Heathrow airport has long attracted major multinationals, including Microsoft and Oracle.
“However, its start-up community is now growing too, and tapping into the established expertise and resources available in the city.”
Caroline Perkins, Thames Valley Berkshire LEP’s Economic Research Analyst said: “This year’s Tech Nation report is first-class. It provides a detailed assessment of Berkshire digital tech ecosystem, highlighting its many strengths.
“We welcome the adoption of an open data reporting approach and intend to use the granular data provided to strengthen our local evidence base.”
