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No Deal Brexit: crisis point for the Digital Industry

With the UK Government and the EU currently preparing for a No Deal Brexit, the likelihood of this crisis for the Digital Industry has increased significantly.  

Large enterprises have demonstrated their contingency plans by announcing preparations for moving bases or certain operations into the EU and securing supply chains. With less than six months to prepare for a No Deal Brexit, the pressure is growing on the Digital sector to develop their plans to protect their businesses. 

DigitalEurope, who represents the digital technology industry in Europe, published a report* on the priorities for the Digital sector in the event of a cliff-edge scenario. This insightful report tackled 8 key areas of concern for both product and service based businesses in the Digital sector: 

  1. Non-tariff barriers resulting in increased costs and delays 

  1. Dual-use export authorisation (EUGEA) rights ending, restricting exports 

  1. Regulatory divergence creating market access barriers 

  1. Data flows between UK & EU prevented without a formal trade agreement 

  1. Access to talent limited, restricting movement of professionals into UK businesses 

  1. Public procurements access disrupted 

  1. Intellectual Property Rights dependent on reciprocity and alignment 

  1. Collaboration in EU research and innovation funded programmes terminated for the UK. 

The challenge for the UK Digital Industry, which is worth £184bn to the UK economy, is to address each of these issues as part of a structured approach to preparing for the crisis scenario that is a No Deal Brexit. Not to do so could be commercial suicide. 

UK based initiative has been launched to help digital/ technology businesses prepare for Brexit. In the absence of a coherent Government support infrastructure for SMEs, an international agency has stepped in to address these issues. Manchester Digital member, Shaping Business has worked with EU Government funded programmes and with European businesses to help them prepare for Brexit. This knowledge and experience is now being made available to digital/ technology businesses in the UK to ensure they are as well prepared as their counterparts in Europe.

“Digital businesses can no longer adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach to Brexit, as the time to act is now,” said Ray Clarke, Managing Director of Shaping Business, the driving force behind this initiative. “This a thriving sector, but the reality is that a No Deal Brexit could be very damaging to the industry, as a result, it is incumbent on us all to step up and start planning for that possibility to give our businesses the best chance of emerging unscathed,” he added.

The aim of the programme is to ensure that digital/ technology businesses are provided with the tools to enable them to identify, assess and mitigate the risks that Brexit poses to their business. Participants in the Brexit Contingency Planning programme will gain a clearer understanding of the risks and an action plan to prepare their business for Brexit.   
 
Business leaders of digital/ technology businesses interested in the programme can find out more at https://shapingbusiness.com/planning-for-brexit-business-workshop/ 

 

The Digital Tech Sector Priorities and Gap Analysis in a EU-UK cliff-edge scenario  

 

 

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