“The last few months have brought with them a tornado of change and speculation, yet, in truth, the impact on industry in general and UK tech in particular is very hard to judge in the short term. The most obvious immediate change has been the devaluing of the pound (vs the Dollar and Euro). It is this sudden and measurable change that is making working with a British tech company more attractive, giving foreign companies access to world leading tech services at a reduced cost.
The recent Apple EU ruling has added yet another ‘shock twist’ to the never-ending European tale. Should the appeal be unsuccessful, the blow that could make Ireland less attractive as a destination for foreign direct investment, possibly puts the UK is in a good position to become the country of choice for a huge number of tech businesses such as; Amazon, Facebook, Yahoo and Google, all of whom are currently based in Ireland. The unique tax setup and access to an English speaking European market that the UK can offer these overseas businesses in the future, could also open many doors for our own UK tech businesses; financially, technically and, perhaps most importantly, from an employment perspective.
So looking at the bigger picture, and the all-important brass tax, will Brexit have a positive or negative impact on the UK tech business? As a tech business owner, I am optimistic that if we are clever, we can engineer the UK into a unique position of strength, attracting business from near and far and making us the ‘go-to’ country for tech. Since the Brexit vote, we have had one of our biggest months to date for new business and I genuinely believe that if we play our cards right, take chances, but work hard at them, in the shadows of the EU the future is looking extremely bright.”