How Nottingham Tech Firms are Driving Innovation in the UK

The UK tech industry retained the number 1 spot in Europe in 2022, with a market value of $1 trillion.

Nottingham is home to some of the most valuable UK tech firms, including Experian and Capital One. Innovation drives success in the tech sector, and businesses in Nottingham are at the cutting edge of digital transformation and technological advancements.

With a rich ecosystem of start-ups, established tech giants, and pioneering academic research from institutions like the University of Nottingham, this city continues to be a beacon for technological innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

Businesses across the UK benefit from the groundbreaking technologies and digital solutions originating from Nottingham. These tech firms are reshaping industries and paving the way for the future of digital transformation.

From cyber security to artificial intelligence, data analytics to fintech, Nottingham-based businesses are pushing boundaries, helping the UK lead the way in the global tech market. This article delves into the exciting ways that Nottingham tech firms are driving technological advancement across the UK.

D2N2

D2N2 is the Local Enterprise Partnership (private sector-led partnerships between businesses, local authorities and other parties) for Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. The LEP covers an area of 2 million people and has an economic output of over £41 billion.

D2N2 is home to significant private sector potential in big companies like Rolls Royce. It has the third-largest life sciences cluster in the UK, and its digital tech cluster in Nottingham’s ‘Creative Quarter’ grew by 36% between 2012-2018.

D2N2 drives innovation by enabling greater investment in research and development, strengthening digital skills and improving access to finance for businesses. It has commissioned, led or directly delivered numerous projects in the region.

For instance, D2N2 contributed £12 million through the Get Building Fund to SmartParc, a high-tech food manufacturing and distribution campus. The site will be home to the first low-carbon food manufacturing community, with a shared distribution hub and services.

The project’s completion date is in 2024 and aims to use technology to help secure the food supply and ensure the continued security of the food industry.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy is one of the world’s most popular web hosting and website builders. Aimed at small businesses and entrepreneurs, GoDaddy has over 20 million customers who have registered 84 million domain names. While the business’s headquarters is located in Arizona, its flagship international office is located in Beeston, near Nottingham.

One of GoDaddy’s main innovations is its ease of use. While not as comprehensive as alternative website builders like WordPress, GoDaddy’s templates make it easy for those without much coding expertise to build professional sites quickly.

It regularly launches new products to help businesses attract more customers and build better websites. At the end of May 2023, GoDaddy announced 3 new products that use generative AI, which will help customers write online store product descriptions, customer service messages and Instagram and Facebook ads.

These are 3 crucial elements when building a successful website. However, they are both time-consuming to create and often difficult to get right. GoDaddy helps by using the power of AI to near-instantly create custom content based on a business’s products. Business leaders can invest their saved time into other areas of their operations.

GoDaddy now also offers bundled Pay Links with domain names. Those with a GoDaddy domain can use their own branded pay link to send to customers – even if the business doesn’t have a website.

GoDaddy’s solution makes it easier for businesses to accept credit and debit card payments. For instance, a personal trainer that doesn’t have a website can send their link to clients, where they can complete the payment via a secure checkout page.

Midlands Mindforge Limited

Midlands Mindforge was co-founded by 8 universities in the Midlands, including the University of Nottingham. It’s a capital investment company aimed at transforming cutting-edge technology into successful businesses.

Midlands Mindforge initially hopes to raise around £250 million from corporate partners, institutions and qualified individuals. The additional capital and business skills Midlands Mindforge provides will lay the groundwork for emerging companies to develop, in areas like AI, health tech and computational science.

The company promises to expand Nottingham’s already robust tech sector and ensure that promising startups get the support they need to succeed.

Driving Research and Innovation

The Univerisity of Nottingham ran this project from 2020 until 2022. While it is no longer available, it’s still an excellent example of fostering innovation in Nottingham.

The project provided free support to SMEs through collaborative research and development, such as product, process and service development. The University also offered one-to-one consultancy, giving businesses access to extensive expertise.

Scintam Engineering benefitted from the project in 2021 when the University supported the company in developing its new hand tool. Scintam provided 3D files and technical drawings of the tools, and the University machined the prototype components.