Case Study

Client

Opportunity North East (ONE) partnered with Scottish Enterprise to commission this project. ONE is the private sector driver diversifying north-east Scotland’s economy. Developing and delivering projects to accelerate entrepreneurial growth, innovation and increase productivity.

 

They work with regional and national partners and co-invest and co-fund to maximise opportunities in growth sectors.

Summary

Business Challenge

ONE Digital Tech aims to foster a prosperous digital economy in the north-east of Scotland. Their objective is to nurture the growth of 10 to 20 technology companies to each achieve a turnover of £20 million or more. Key to this goal is gaining valuable insights and a comprehensive understanding of the companies operating in the sector.

To accomplish this they needed to understand the technology clusters in the region and the companies operating in them. The clusters identified are:

• AgriTech
• EnergyTech
• FinTech
• CleanTech
• HealthCareTech
• ClimateTech
• Sustainability
• Cyber Security
• Other

The report considers various attributes of the businesses, i.e. size, age, scalability, innovation potential, whether they are product or service led, along with financial aspects.

The Solution

The primary aim of the study was to determine and categorise technology companies operating in the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire council areas. The crucial step in categorising these companies was the identification of the clusters mentioned above. The Company Connecting database served as the primary source of the information. It contains detailed curated information on digital technology companies in Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of England. The Company Connecting data was augmented by further data from ONE.  Among other attributes this data encompasses sectors, skills, and focus areas. A methodology was devised to assign each company to one or more cluster classification(s).

The research identified active Technology companies in the region, based on SIC codes. Each company underwent a thorough review, and the existing taxonomy classifications were verified and adjusted as needed. Additional classifications were introduced to account for scalability and innovation.

Data exploration and analysis was undertaken in R Studio.  Processing routines were developed to assign companies to industry verticals, or clusters and to generate the statistics which form the basis of the report.  Cross checks are made to differentiate between popular marketing terms and capabilities, including published technology skills.  The resultant dataset was made available to the client for their own future internal requirements.  To aid this, a power BI dashboard was developed which allows them to query and drill down into the clusters and companies on an ad-hoc basis.

The report was written and provided key insights, based on the data uncovered by this analysis.

Findings

The report and the underlying dataset, analysis and tools produced for this project has been well-received by Opportunity North-East, Scottish Enterprise and their wider partner organisations with whom it has been shared.

It is being used to set a baseline from which their efforts may be measured over the coming years.  Indeed, a subsequent project phase has already begun which has this material and insight as input.

Analysis Logic and Company Connecting were delighted to undertake this interesting and insightful project.  As believers in the ability of ‘tech’ to transform outcomes, when undertaken with care, we are heartened that it will be used in programmes to strengthen the digital economy of north-east Scotland.