Jersey’s digital tech ecosystem
Driving economic growth and transformation
Forewords
Tony Moretta, CEO, Digital Jersey
Digital technology is no longer a nice-to-have, something the boffins down the corridor deal with, and a concept for business leaders to think about next week or next year. Digital technology is now a fundamental part of almost every business in Jersey, from the smallest start-up to the largest corporation.
That we’ve gone from an emerging industry to what powers all sectors of our economy in the past five years is a testament to the innovators and pioneers, as well as those who’ve recognised the game-changing power of technology and worked to grow and adapt their own knowledge and skills.
As the Chief Executive of Digital Jersey, I am personally proud of the work done by my team, and all who work with us, to develop such a thriving environment for growth and creative thinking.
It was my belief that we’d reached a critical juncture in our development that led to this Tech Nation report. It gives us an ‘outside in’ view of what we’re doing well, where current and future opportunities lie, and what the unmet needs are to ensure the good work goes on.
As an industry we punch above our weight. That in turn helps our island do likewise.
Digital Jersey has grown through membership of the Hub, the creation of our IoT lab DJX, the Sandbox Jersey testbed proposition which is garnering international attention, and our Digital Jersey Academy to ensure the workforce of today and tomorrow is equipped with the skills employers need.
This report offers a deep and meaningful insight into where we are today. I hope it will also create a springboard to success tomorrow and beyond.
Dr. George Windsor, Head of Insights, Tech Nation
Tech Nation exists to empower ambitious tech entrepreneurs to grow faster through knowledge and connections; to build a UK economy fit for the next generation.
We are pleased to have collaborated with our colleagues at Digital Jersey on this report, and hope that the research we have conducted will support the continued growth of this thriving ecosystem.
Tech Nation helps startups compete globally to bring jobs, skills and higher productivity to the UK and build an economy that’s fit for the future. We do this through a range of activities.
But we start with a clear understanding of the state of play – from this point, we can identify where our strengths lie, and where opportunities can be capitalised on.
This is precisely what we have done with Digital Jersey, and we look forward over coming weeks to being part of the conversation that leads to the prioritisation of technology in Jersey’s economic, and societal future.
Introduction
Jersey is home to dynamic networks of tech entrepreneurs, forming a rich community that supports learning, collaboration and growth. In order to understand how the continued growth of the digital tech sector in Jersey can be better promoted, we have delved into the multitude of factors that indicate and contribute to firm performance.
This report gets to grips with these factors, exploring themes such as talent, informal collaboration and infrastructure, to paint a picture of the landscape. The report also makes recommendations on how the quality of information on the digital tech sector can be improved and how mechanisms for the promotion of growth can be put in place to secure a bright future of tech in Jersey.
Over the last year, the performance of Jersey’s digital tech ecosystem has gone from strength to strength, confirming its place in the rich business landscape of the island. Jersey’s great strength in digital tech and innovation has been built from a base of strong professional services. The application of new technologies to these fields has demanded creative thinking and entrepreneurship, and is demonstrated by the breadth of tech activity right across the island.
In Jersey’s evolution to a tech-enabled ecosystem, the island will need to leverage the powerful networks being forged by the next generation of entrepreneurs. To this end, the report addresses the role of these networks, and makes recommendations for their growth and development.
As this report shows, the digital tech sector makes an essential contribution to Jersey’s economy. Every entrepreneur, innovator and employer in the tech sector can help make Jersey’s the best place to start and grow a digital business.
Digital tech business landscape in Jersey
For the last 50 years, the business landscape in Jersey has concentrated on Financial and Legal services firms. In fact, it is estimated that Jersey provides 1.5 percent of the funding of the whole UK banking sector. Jersey’s financial centre is a custodian of £1.3 trillion of wealth, of which £150 billion resides in banks. Jersey’s banks attract over £80 billion of funding from markets outside the sterling zone. This bedrock of business activity has provided ripe ground for the development of a thriving digital tech ecosystem. Some argue that although Jersey lacks scale, it benefits from a plethora of digital tech institutions that are locally owned and founded to serve the domestic market, in particular telecoms and Government institutions. Thus, economic activity – and value – is effectively contained on the island, with international connections leveraged, without talent being leaked.
However, this is not to suggest that the digital tech sector does not deliver significant value to the Jersey economy in its own right. Historically, the sector has been an important, and growing component of Jersey’s domestic and international offering. For instance, total turnover of the telecoms industry to Jersey was equivalent to 2.4% of GDP in 2015.
Adoption of digital services is also high in Jersey, suggesting that the island is ready for the consumption and development of new applications, and technology adoption amongst the business population to enhance existing services.
In assessing the state of the landscape it is important to understand the communities that are driving the ecosystem forward. As such, we conducted a survey of Jersey’s digital tech stakeholders to understand the key aspects of the system, and the levers that could be pulled to facilitate further growth. As seen in Figure 1, the majority of respondents were founders and CEOs at 52%, followed by people who work in a tech business (28%), service providers (9%) and people who work in a support organisation (6%). 85% of respondents had their organisations headquarters based in Jersey, followed by international at 8%, UK at 4% and other Channel Islands at 4%.
Figure 1 Role of respondents to Tech Nation and Digital Jersey ecosystem survey