CHARLIE Hoult, the chair of Dynamo North East, which has a core mission to grow the North East tech economy, says the future has never been brighter for the sector.

“It’s so encouraging to see global players such as Version 1, Arctic Wolf, Monstarlabs and Thoughtworks arriving in town, and it’s not just by chance," he said.

The inward investment teams at organisations such as Invest Newcastle are working 24/7 to bring in national and international companies. They’re being attracted by an ever-deepening pool of talent supported by our universities and colleges; brilliant connectivity and a joined-up approach by networks like Dynamo who promote and shout ever louder on behalf of the sector,.” he added.

Speaking after the latest Dynamo board meeting, several members talked about growth in their own respective organisations.

Read more: Tech sector's big names are choosing to invest in North East

Thoughtworks, a leading global tech consultancy, opened a Newcastle office in December last year with a team of five, which has already increased to ten.

“We’re ramping up quickly - we hope to have a further significant increase in people in our Newcastle office by the end of this year,” said Matt Simons, Thoughtworks’ Newcastle Market Director.

He added: “Our recruitment will be particularly strong in areas such as data and AI. Our Newcastle operation is focused on serving the UK public sector, partnering across policy, operations and technology to put people at the heart of modern digital public services and delivering some of the most critical work in the sphere of technology as it relates to the national agenda.”

James Hall, Executive Director of Monstarlabs UK, who also opened a Newcastle office late last year, said: “Our ambition is to recruit up to 100 new people in Newcastle over the next three years. In 2022, we will use Newcastle as a base for new business in the region and beyond as well as supporting our other European offices for bid and delivery work.”

Monstarlabs is a global digital consultancy and James heads up the Newcastle office and the Growth team in the UK.

Dawn Dunn, Senior Investment Manager at NGI, added: “The region can celebrate not only the arrival of these fabulous digital and technology companies, but also some spectacular growth of those already based here.”

Hoults Yard based Opencast is currently preparing new offices for an influx of new staff.

The independent tech consultancy recently announced a key partnership with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to accelerate its digital transformation over the next two years.

While Opencast is preparing for a new move, managed service and internet service provider Aspire moved into its new landmark HQ on Gateshead Quays late last year.

The company has announced plans for 2022 which include creating more than 150 new jobs.

Paul Swaddle, Head of Technical Solutions at NBS, a Newcastle-based tech platform now with a global reach added: “The recent acquisition of NBS by Sweden-based Byggfakta Group demonstrates a growing international awareness that North-East England is a hub for innovative companies worthy of significant investment.

“It’s a beautiful place to live and work. The North-East is packed with dynamic creativity and idea generation, but also a foundation of enthusiastic, friendly people and fun, social communities.”

 

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