The cloud infrastructure provides the ideal environment for aspiring entrepreneurs to experiment and innovate
The Department for Education plans to introduce an array of computer and technical skills into the National Curriculum in 2014 for children as young as five years old. The BBC is also planning an initiative that is set to bring coding into Britain's schools, a move dubbed by BBC director of future media, Ralph Rivera, as a vital step to "transform the nation's ability and attitude towards coding".
Becoming a nation of coders is a good place to start, but coding ability on its own does not accomplish the desired outcomes of more jobs and fostering new successful businesses from within Britain. Rather than becoming a nation of coders, what we need to become is a nation of successful innovative businesses and that requires more than just the ability to write code. The US is still the home of the biggest technology companies because it values the ability to not only create solutions but build businesses out of them.
As it happens, we're a proud nation of explorers, innovators and entrepreneurs, from the mighty Victorians who defined global industry through to Ellen MacArthur, Jonathan Ive and Charles Dyson, with a history of innovation that should serve us well. We live in an age of incredible revolutionary technical development that has changed the way businesses operate forever.
Along with the internet and the continued trend of technological innovation to drive down cost while increasing functionality, the growth of cloud computing has created the IT infrastructure and inspiration to launch thousands of successful businesses in recent years.
Traditionally, companies and organisations in need of computing power have relied on large server rooms, located in specific isolated geographies (often on their premises), all requiring upfront investment. Those same companies are now turning to cloud-based IT infrastructures that can be deployed cheaply in a matter of minutes and they only spend what they need. The impact of this dramatic shift in IT architecture is expected to boost the EU economy alone by some €250bn in GDP by 2020 and contribute to the creation of nearly 3.8m jobs. The internet gave us low cost access to a global market, and the advent of cloud computing has just leveled the playing field for anyone with a great idea.
The cloud has connected users in disparate locations and demolished many of the barriers that traditionally hampered innovation, notably cost and commitment of physical space, IT hardware and maintenance cost and time to implement. Aided by the expansion of cloud services, open source and collaborative platforms have made working together and building from a common platform easier than ever.
These same platforms give educators and students a virtual playground to experiment, make mistakes and learn how to be successful on their own terms, without having to make significant upfront investment in physical hardware. Teachers, students and staff are free to create secure, on-demand virtual environments for collaboration and innovation, similar to what many students will encounter in their first jobs after graduation – or before, as the founders of companies such as Facebook and Snapchat did.
But to foster an enduring legacy of innovation, the new curriculum must teach students the coding skills whilst instilling them with confidence to "start something"; and show them how with sweat – and often tears – but not necessarily a lot of money, they could be the next Facebook.
Today, the cloud infrastructure that is essential for developers and coders to build on is widely available in the UK and Europe, and in some cases has moved to the next stage of development, with the upgrade from internet-only access to enterprise class network connectivity. This creates a resilient fully dispersed networked cloud, giving quick, easy, low cost access to customers and markets across Europe.
Take the UK DNA of entrepreneurial innovation and add in an educational syllabus focused on providing the right IT skills, plus a rise in home grown UK and European cloud computing providers, and you get a potent mix; ideas, skills and access to low cost, reliable IT infrastructure that's fast to provision and connected to the world's markets.
With the right investment, belief and support it could be just the recipe for success the government is hoping for.
Matthew Finnie is the chief technology officer at Interoute
*Get more articles like this sent direct to your inbox by **signing up for free membership** to the **Guardian Media Network** – this content is brought to you by **Guardian Professional**.*
Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.
The Department for Education plans to introduce an array of computer and technical skills into the National Curriculum in 2014 for children as young as five years old. The BBC is also planning an initiative that is set to bring coding into Britain's schools, a move dubbed by BBC director of future media, Ralph Rivera, as a vital step to "transform the nation's ability and attitude towards coding".
Becoming a nation of coders is a good place to start, but coding ability on its own does not accomplish the desired outcomes of more jobs and fostering new successful businesses from within Britain. Rather than becoming a nation of coders, what we need to become is a nation of successful innovative businesses and that requires more than just the ability to write code. The US is still the home of the biggest technology companies because it values the ability to not only create solutions but build businesses out of them.
As it happens, we're a proud nation of explorers, innovators and entrepreneurs, from the mighty Victorians who defined global industry through to Ellen MacArthur, Jonathan Ive and Charles Dyson, with a history of innovation that should serve us well. We live in an age of incredible revolutionary technical development that has changed the way businesses operate forever.
Along with the internet and the continued trend of technological innovation to drive down cost while increasing functionality, the growth of cloud computing has created the IT infrastructure and inspiration to launch thousands of successful businesses in recent years.
Traditionally, companies and organisations in need of computing power have relied on large server rooms, located in specific isolated geographies (often on their premises), all requiring upfront investment. Those same companies are now turning to cloud-based IT infrastructures that can be deployed cheaply in a matter of minutes and they only spend what they need. The impact of this dramatic shift in IT architecture is expected to boost the EU economy alone by some €250bn in GDP by 2020 and contribute to the creation of nearly 3.8m jobs. The internet gave us low cost access to a global market, and the advent of cloud computing has just leveled the playing field for anyone with a great idea.
The cloud has connected users in disparate locations and demolished many of the barriers that traditionally hampered innovation, notably cost and commitment of physical space, IT hardware and maintenance cost and time to implement. Aided by the expansion of cloud services, open source and collaborative platforms have made working together and building from a common platform easier than ever.
These same platforms give educators and students a virtual playground to experiment, make mistakes and learn how to be successful on their own terms, without having to make significant upfront investment in physical hardware. Teachers, students and staff are free to create secure, on-demand virtual environments for collaboration and innovation, similar to what many students will encounter in their first jobs after graduation – or before, as the founders of companies such as Facebook and Snapchat did.
But to foster an enduring legacy of innovation, the new curriculum must teach students the coding skills whilst instilling them with confidence to "start something"; and show them how with sweat – and often tears – but not necessarily a lot of money, they could be the next Facebook.
Today, the cloud infrastructure that is essential for developers and coders to build on is widely available in the UK and Europe, and in some cases has moved to the next stage of development, with the upgrade from internet-only access to enterprise class network connectivity. This creates a resilient fully dispersed networked cloud, giving quick, easy, low cost access to customers and markets across Europe.
Take the UK DNA of entrepreneurial innovation and add in an educational syllabus focused on providing the right IT skills, plus a rise in home grown UK and European cloud computing providers, and you get a potent mix; ideas, skills and access to low cost, reliable IT infrastructure that's fast to provision and connected to the world's markets.
With the right investment, belief and support it could be just the recipe for success the government is hoping for.
Matthew Finnie is the chief technology officer at Interoute
*Get more articles like this sent direct to your inbox by **signing up for free membership** to the **Guardian Media Network** – this content is brought to you by **Guardian Professional**.*
Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.