{"id":16495,"date":"2016-07-21T14:16:30","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T13:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=16495"},"modified":"2019-01-17T09:46:44","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T09:46:44","slug":"impact-brexit-digital-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/impact-brexit-digital-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Impact of Brexit on Digital Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Impact of Brexit on Digital Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Digital Leaders who gathered at Durham County\u2019s cricket ground on a sunny July Thursday reflected on the turbulence stemming from the recent Brexit vote, the possible outcomes \u2013 both positive and negative \u2013 and the ways in which the North East region and businesses can turn the current situation to their advantage.<\/p>\n

In the run up to the referendum, businesses surveyed by the North East of England Chamber of Commerce favoured Remain by a ratio of 2:1. The public result was a huge surprise to the regional business community, resulting in an unprecedented level of widespread uncertainty. However, attendees clearly stated that this situation must improve, and quickly.\u00a0 As one member said, \u2018we now have a government and may shortly have an opposition, too\u2019 \u2013 a reflection of the muted tone of the debate on the back of unprecedented political upheavals and changes at a senior level.<\/p>\n

The Digital Landscape<\/strong><\/p>\n

We were reminded that unlike manufacturing, software is a \u2018weightless\u2019 commodity: there are no tariffs on emails. However, through Brexit, trade is likely to be affected by regulatory changes, including: the protection of Intellectual Property currently covered by EU registered patents; the ongoing changes to EU privacy laws with the Privacy Shield and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR); the privacy elements of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which may feature in a bilateral agreement; and the progress of the UK\u2019s own Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB) through Parliament. In spite of these regulations however, it was recognised that pure digital businesses can operate from anywhere. If the EU is seen as a more certain jurisdiction, and one with access to 600m, not 60m, people subject to the same regulations, then telecommuting from the EU may become the norm. There are reports of digital businesses already preparing to relocate. While it would be wonderful to ignore national boundaries in the cloud and operate smoothly across jurisdictions, this is unlikely to happen and is not going to help other sectors, e.g. recruitment where cross-border appointments are paperwork-heavy.<\/p>\n

In terms of digital innovation, there are continued opportunities to use digital technologies in traditional sectors such as manufacturing. For example, it was agreed that the current uncertain climate may be enough of a threat to make businesses react and improve their digital infrastructure. To deliver these improvements, though, there has to be a focus on skills development and training within our borders, from primary school upwards. The Digital Leaders wishlist for government included:<\/p>\n