Why we're backing the South Coast Tech Awards (and why you should too)

Carswell Gould’s Managing Director Gareth Miller on why the South Coast Tech Awards are good for business in the region

When Carswell Gould was asked to support The Business Magazine’s inaugural South Coast Tech Awards, we jumped at the opportunity to be involved.

For more than 25 years, shining a light on our home of the South Coast and all that it has to offer has been an important part of our business strategy. The innovation economy is a key area of focus for the agency and that more often than not means technology.

This focus has led to us working with a large number of high tech, high growth clients and being a founding partner of Venturefest South, an initiative that had its most successful event ever this year and is proving there is a real head of steam building around the tech community in the region.

The South Coast Tech Awards provide another fantastic opportunity to showcase our region’s strengths. In particular, its varied pool of innovators who are leading the way in technology and having an impact not just across the South Coast, but across the UK and beyond.

There are a large number of reasons as to why the South Coast Tech Awards is an important initiative to support, but here are my top five:

1) Reputation
Southampton was recently named one of the top five fastest-growing tech clusters within Europe, and one of the top three places to live and work in the UK. The South Coast Tech Awards help to solidify the city’s reputation as a thriving hub for innovation and, subsequently, attract young innovators and entrepreneurs to the region.

2) Education
The South Coast Tech Awards present a catapult for STEM education opportunities for budding innovators in the region, which arise from the promotion of technology and careers within the technology sector. STEM is crucial in today’s economy, and so a region with greater expertise in STEM will inevitably be more prosperous than those without.

3) Morale
For businesses and individuals, simply entering the South Coast Tech Awards is a fantastic way for businesses to recognise, appreciate and potentially reward their employees. This can increase morale and, in turn, boost profits and productivity.

4) Quality validation
You provide an excellent service. Your technology is state of the art. We know that and you know that but how does the public know that? There are few things that validate your businesses more than an award from your industry peers that celebrates your success.

5) Opportunity
In today’s world of social media, where nearly everyone in the country can be contacted in just a couple of clicks, it is easy to forget the importance of networking. Networking isn’t just adding someone on LinkedIn, it is selling yourself and your company to the world - and is crucial to any career. The South Coast Tech Awards present a fantastic opportunity for fledgeling and established innovators alike to grow and establish their networks, also allowing them to become more efficient and move technological progress forward beyond what they could previously achieve.

Visit www.southcoasttechawards.co.uk to find out more about the South Coast Tech Awards and how you can enter, attend or sponsor the event.