Impact of UK general elections on IT industry

Will universal high speed internet, cracking down on cybercrime and boosting the digital economy be enough to offset a post Brexit UK IT industry?

The general elections in the United Kingdom present a befuddling view for the IT industry as it goes forward. Like many other industries, hardware and software companies were expected to flounder post-Brexit, but contrary to opinion they have outperformed beyond people’s wildest expectations. It remains to be seen whether matters will change once Brexit negotiations move into full swing and matters pertaining to taxation, immigration etc. clear up, but for now the IT industry looks to be sitting pretty. The two major parties in the general elections, the conservatives and labour, are both obviously trying targeting IT as a major driver to the British economy and both have devoted quite some time on their plans on transforming Britain into a global IT hub. How will rapidly growing segments such as the UK telecom cloud market respond?

First things first. While labour and conservatives may differ vastly on policy proposals about energy, housing, transportation etc. this general election cycle, the differences in how to deal with a burgeoning IT are decidedly small. Both, for example are making the right noises on prevalence of high speed internet throughout the country. Both have so far set up to embrace the digital economy, facilitating B2B and B2C via the internet and streamlining processes through the internet of things (IOT). Both have expressed a desire to regulate certain unsavoury parts of the internet and ensure that issues such as cybercrime, online abuse etc. are dealt with effectively.

What do we know about these commonalities? Keeping aside the Brexit hypothesis, we know as per TechSci report titled “Global Telecom Cloud Market, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2012 – 2022” that the UK market for telecom cloud in various sectors is set to grow at a robust double digit CAGR. Of course, as previously said, the consequences of Brexit haven’t been factored in given that we still aren’t quite sure of what the consequences will entail. The report, however, goes on to state that perhaps the largest end user of telecom cloud market is the BFSI sector, where prospects of Brexit are undeniably gloomy given that human capital vis a vis BFSI in Britain has already started shifting to other countries within Schengen.

“Global Telecom Cloud Market, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2012 – 2022” also goes on to state some major drivers in the telecom market, such as the BYOD (bring your own device) trend. where employees are allowed, and encouraged to use their personal devices such as smartphones, tablets, etc. to their workplace. Again, this put the claims of both parties in sharp relief given their promises for universal high-speed internet made in the general election campaign. For the BYOD trend to promulgate, it will be a necessity to be able to work anyplace-anytime, something the IT industry is also cognizant with. Similarly, policy framework for rules governing the hitherto unregulated IoT market will also be a welcome change to many service providers and consumers. Moreover, internet regulation, if done the right way will tackle growing need for data security and privacy. While one may argue about the finer points, there is general agreement that both major parties have identified some genuine problems with policy and regulations governing IT industry in the general election manifestos.

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