Events

International Cyber Expo announces esteemed Advisory Council members

Nineteen Group, organisers of International Cyber Expo, are thrilled to announce the members of this year’s event Advisory Council. Chaired by former CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Professor Ciaran Martin, CB, the Advisory Council combines 30 of cyber security’s most well-respected industry figures from government, private and academic sectors. The council is united by their shared passion and commitment to combating the issues of tomorrow's interconnected world. They will also shape the event’s agenda, drawing on their expertise and insights from within the field of cyber security. Taking place on the 27th - 28th September 2022 at Olympia London, the expo endeavours to be an event for the community, by the community. Every effort has been made to form a diverse and esteemed panel of experts from all disciplines to provide an array of perspectives, from insurance, legal and vocational considerations to law enforcement and academia. Moreover, the council has been intentionally created with an even split of gender representatives, while Nicola Whiting MBE has been engaged to offer a voice to the neurodiverse community. Members of International Cyber Expo’s Advisory Council 2022 are as follows: ● Alison Wakefield, Professor of Criminology and Security Studies, University of West London ● Alonso Jose da Silva II, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence, KPMG UK ● Berta Pappenheim, Managing Director, CyberFish ● Chris Greany, Director of Security, Pay.UK ● Chris White, Head of Cyber and Innovation, The South East Cyber Resilience Centre (SECRC) ● Professor Ciaran Martin CB, Oxford University and Former Chief Executive Officer, National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) ● David Mudd, Global Head for Digital Trust Assurance, BSI Group ● Dr. David Scholefield, Chief Information Security Officer, Flexys Solutions ● Don Randall, Senior Advisor, Don Randall Associates ● Dr. Emma Philpott MBE, CEO, IASME ● Flavia Kenyon, Barrister, The 36 Group ● Gareth Wharton, Cyber CEO, Hiscox ● Graham Ingram, CISO, University of Oxford ● Jessica Figueras, Vice Chair, UK Cyber Security Council ● John Davies, Co-founder and Chair of Cyber Wales, Board Director and Skills Growth Lead for UKC3, and CEO at Pervade Software ● Lisa Forte, Partner, Red Goat Consulting ● Professor Lisa Short, Director and Co-founder, P&L Digital Edge Limited ● Lisa Ventura, Founder, Cyber Security Unity ● Mahbubul Islam, CISO, HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) ● Matt Horne, Deputy Director, Investigations, National Crime Agency ● Matthew Evans, Director, Markets, TechUK ● Michelle Ohren, Head of Cyber and Innovation, The West Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre (WMCRC) ● Nicola Whiting MBE, Chief Strategy Officer, Titania Group ● Paul Chichester, Director of Operations, National Cyber Security Centre ● Professor Richard Benham, Global Expert in Data Management, Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ● Simon Newman, Head of Cyber and Business Services, Police Digital Security Centre, Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PDSC/PCPI) ● Tracy Buckingham, Deputy Director Security and Cyber Security Exports, Department for International Trade ● Vicki Gavin, Head of Information Security and Compliance, and Former Chair, Kaplan International and The Women’s Security Society ● Professor Vladlena Benson, Professor of Cybersecurity Management, Director of Cyber Security Innovation Centre, Aston University ● Zak Doffman, CEO, Digital Barriers “The current threat landscape means it is more important than ever for the cyber security community to come together and support each other. Continued collaboration across all sectors, whether public or private, and our peers will help us overcome the issues we face as we become more dependent on technology,” comments Ciaran Martin CB, Professor at Oxford University and Chair of International Cyber Expo’s Advisory Council. “I’m honoured to be the Chair of the Cyber Advisory Council and look forward to supporting, adding value, and sharing knowledge to help shape the future of this essential cyber event.” “International Cyber Expo’s mission is to create an inclusive event that brings together the cyber security community to learn and explore the issues, challenges and topics that are specifically relevant to them. We strive to make sure our agenda is compiled from listening to that community and that is why we have a high-level team of advisors from various backgrounds and disciplines in the field,” says Bob Rose, Advisory Council Lead and Government Liaison for International Cyber Expo. “We’re thrilled to have these remarkable individuals on board and look forward to producing a quality show for visitors and exhibitors alike.” Register for FREE tickets here.

Raising awareness of cyber security

The UK Cyber Security Council, International Cyber Expo and ITN Business will be co-creators of a unique news-style programme produced to raise awareness and understanding of cyber security. The information age has brought enormous economic and social progress to many parts of the world and has proved to be a powerful tool for connectivity, freedom and innovation. The rise in ever more sophisticated internet-based technologies will further accelerate the way organisations and communities communicate and share information.  The increased reliance on connected, online systems has made businesses more vulnerable to cyber attacks, while encouraging more cyber crime. Companies need to be more strategic, diligent and vigilant when it comes to maintaining best security practices. Ensuring the safety and security of cyberspace is vital for a rapidly expanding digital economy. Anchored by ITN Business presenter Sharon Thomas, 'Securing Our Future’ will raise awareness of cyber threats faced by individuals and organisations in the UK and the ongoing response and solutions to these threats. The programme will highlight the work being done by the UK Cyber Security Council in supporting the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy, to make the UK the safest place to live and work online, and its aims to leverage all available expertise, relevant standards and guidance to deliver practical advice to the profession. The programme will also look at the latest cyber security technology and the career opportunities that are available in the sector, including the numerous pathways to a career in cyber via certification and educational courses. Featuring expert interviews, news items and reporter-led sponsored editorial profiles from leading organisations filmed on location, the programme will launch at International Cyber Expo, 27 and 28 September 2022 at Olympia London, and will be supported by an extensive marketing campaign. Simon Hepburn, CEO, UK Cyber Security Council says: “Cyber security is a fast-evolving discipline and one that is of genuine national importance. At the UK Cyber Security Council, we’re working strategically with the government to help it achieve its ambition to make the UK the safest place to work and live online. “One of the ways we’re doing this is through introducing chartered standards for the industry, which we’re currently in the process of piloting. However, we also need to reach into diverse communities right across the UK to help educate them about the importance of cyber security. And we need to work with these communities and stakeholders across business and academia to create clear and engaging careers paths into the industry. “As we seek to achieve those aims, it’s great to have partnered with ITN to create a programme that can help raise awareness of the importance of cyber security with people across the UK.” Professor Ciaran Martin CB, Advisory Council Chair, International Cyber Expo comments: “This is a really important and welcome initiative. It brings together two things. First, the International Cyber Expo creates a space where specific, positive action in pursuit of better cyber security can be developed. Second, the partnership with ITN business is critical for promoting awareness of those solutions. I am delighted we have the prestige of ITN Business and the quality of Sharon Thomas’s broadcasting to help us.” Nina Harrison-Bell, Head of ITN Productions Industry News concludes: “We are very much looking forward to working with UKCSC to produce a programme that will create a broader public understanding of the variety of online and cyberspace threats faced in the UK daily. We hope the programme provides a platform to share knowledge and learnings with the cyber security community and shines a light on the great work being done to keep the UK safe.”

Fire safety amongst topics at Siemens Transform event

Siemens is presenting a two day conference and exhibition entitled ‘Transform 2022’ which will see the largest cross-section of the company’s UK and Ireland customers gather to address some of the most challenging issues currently facing businesses. Staged at the Manchester Central Convention Complex from 12-13 July, the focus will be on how Siemens and its customers can tackle the different pressures that are being brought to bear on business, with discussions, ideas and technologies that can help to provide the transformation required to shape a sustainable future. Amongst the topics under discussion will be fire safety and the role it can play in that process. ‘Digital Fire Safety: The tools you need to transform your fire protection’ will be the focus for a presentation on 12 July led by Rob Yates, Head of Fire Products, Siemens UK and Ireland. Rob says “We, like our customers, are very aware of the economic, environmental and societal pressures and the accelerated rate at which businesses are having to adjust to such challenges. This event will provide an important collaborative forum to address them. Digitalisation is one of the key drivers in ensuring a business is future-ready and fire safety is no exception. We’ll be looking at the significant benefits that cloud-enabled devices can bring to a fire safety system in terms of the availability of data and how it can be used to track compliance, enhance system records and ensure more efficient maintenance.” To register for the event click here.

There’s a lot going on in Ireland…at DataCentres Ireland you’ll meet all those involved!

DataCentres Ireland, 16-17 November, Dublin – brings together over 1600 industry professionals Why Ireland? Ireland is one of the world’s major data centre markets, with 70 operational data centres (circa 900MW) and a further eight (circa 255MW) under construction*. There is €1.33 billion projected construction spend in 2021 and construction investment in data centre facilities is forecast to grow to €1.5 billion for 2022 and 2023*. *source “Half yearly report (May 2021)” produced by BitPower Energy Solutions, Host in Ireland and Cornwall Insight Meet your market DataCentres Ireland is the country’s largest and most complete event addressing the needs of all those involved in the Irish Data Centre market. Featuring over 60 speakers and panellists, the multi-streamed conference will again host a strategy stream as well as one addressing operational issues, to ensure relevance to ALL involved in the data centre sector, as well as other missional critical environments. This year’s speaker line-up includes: Rabih Bashroush, Global Head, IT Infrastructure Advisory, Uptime InstituteJon Summers, Research Leader, RiSePaul Carson, Managing Director, Strategic Power Projects IrelandColm Shorten, Senior Director - Data Centres, JLLAdelle DeSouza, Founder, HireHigherMark Acton, Independent ConsultantDerek Webster, Independent FDI ConsultantEd Ansett, Chairman, I₃ Solutions GroupEmma Fryer, Partner, ERM (Environmental Resource Management)John Laban, Open Compute ProjectClare Dillon, Founder, Open Network IrelandDave McAuley, Founder & CEO, BitpowerJohn Curley, General Manager, Clarke EnergyMichael McCarthy, Director, Cloud Infrastructure IrelandSiobhán McHugh, CEO, DRAI (Demand Response Association of Ireland)Paddy Finn, CEO & CTO, ViotasSimon McCormick, CTO, Echelon DataCentresThomas Gorman, Director of Operations, Digital Realty Funded through the exhibition, ALL aspects of DataCentres Ireland are FREE to attend! To find out more and register for the event visit www.datacentres-ireland.com or contact the DataCentres team on +44 (0) 1892 779992 / email datacentres@stepex.com.

Schneider Electric wins in two categories at the DCS Awards 2022

Schneider Electric has won in two categories at the DCS Awards 2022. For the second consecutive year, Schneider Electric secured the DCS Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability and Efficiency’, which recognises its leadership for the creation of the industry’s first comprehensive, novel framework for environmentally sustainable data centres. During the event, Schneider Electric was also awarded ‘Data Centre Power Innovation of the Year’ for its Galaxy VL 3-phase UPS. The UPS offers energy efficiency, resilience, and sustainability, delivering up to 99% efficiency in its ECOnversion mode, without sacrificing load protection. The UPS also includes a pioneering ‘Live Swap’ safety feature, which delivers a touch-safe design throughout the process of adding or replacing power modules while the UPS is online and fully operational. “With growing global concerns surrounding climate change, coupled with the fallout of the international energy crisis, there has never been a more important time for our industry to prioritise sustainable action over words,” says Marc Garner, Vice President, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric UK and Ireland. “As decarbonisation becomes embedded into every facet of the data centre sector, our mission is to be our customer’s partner for sustainability and efficiency, and help the industry accelerate its ambitions to reach net zero. I am extremely proud to accept these awards on behalf of Schneider Electric, which are testament to our ethos for sustainable innovation.” Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability and Efficiency award The last two years have seen unprecedented demand for data centre capacity, propelled by the digital transformation efforts of the COVID-19 pandemic, increased connectivity requirements, and the growth of data centres globally. Analysts predict that data centres represent 1-2% of global electricity consumption and emit the same level of carbon as the airline sector. Given this impact, sustainability has become an ever more prevalent topic and remains a key factor in customer decision-making. At the DCS Awards 2022, Schneider Electric was awarded ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability and Efficiency’ for creation of the industry’s first comprehensive novel framework for environmentally sustainable data centres. Available free to data centre stakeholders globally, the first-of-its-kind framework allows for the detailed tracking and reporting of standardised, measurable sustainability metrics. The framework directly helps owners and operators to address the key challenge of measuring sustainability and proposes five key metrics of environmental impact to measure and benchmark their progress against. They include Energy, GHG emissions, Water, Waste, Land and biodiversity, and provides 23 key metrics for standardised reporting. Further, it identifies the 17 most relevant sustainability frameworks to guide operators in both setting measurable targets and reporting against them.  Created by a team of environmental, social and governance (ESG) experts, sustainability consultants, scientists and solution architects, it helps operators at the Beginning, Advanced or Leading stages of their sustainability journey to reduce their environmental impact. Data Centre Power Innovation of the Year award Schneider Electric was also awarded ‘Data Centre Power Innovation of the Year’ for its Galaxy VL 3-phase UPS, which offers energy efficiency, resilience, and sustainability. The UPS delivers up to 99% efficiency in its ECOnversion mode for a full return on investment via energy savings within two years. Galaxy VL is one of Schneider Electric’s Green Premium products, offering sustainable performance by design. It includes transparent environmental information and makes minimal use of hazardous substances in compliance with regulations such as RoHS and REACH. Like all Schneider Electric Green Premium products, Galaxy VL includes full environmental disclosures, Product Environmental Profiles and Circularity Profiles, providing guidance on responsible end-of-life treatment and other recommendations to promote a circular economy. Further, Galaxy VL offers ultra-reliable, secure power protection in a highly efficient and compact unit which, with a footprint of 0.8m2, occupies half the industry average space for an equivalent rated UPS. Its compact design offers space savings of up to 70% and delivers a lower total cost of ownership compared to traditional VRLA batteries.

Award win for project underpinning vaccine, cell and gene therapy manufacturing capability

Keysource, in association with CENTIEL, have been named as winners of the Edge Project of the Year at the DCS Awards 2022. The award winners were announced at a gala dinner held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London St Pauls on 26 May 2022. The teams’ work has been recognised following the completion of an installation of a truly modular, scalable, and highly efficient UPS and electrical infrastructure solution to help underpin growth in a UK Government effort to develop world-class innovative vaccine research and manufacturing capability. Scientists and researchers based in the centre will accelerate the time taken for new treatments to be delivered to patients by developing cutting-edge therapies to treat life-changing diseases. The edge data centre that supports the essential laboratory work, is responsible for ensuring that samples and vaccines remain in optimal condition. The installation is now the first medical facility in the UK to take advantage of Li-ion batteries in combination with CENTEIL’s fourth generation three phase, true modular UPS, CumulusPowerTM which offers industry leading 99.9999999% (nine, nines) availability translating to just milliseconds of downtime per year. Louis McGarry, Sales and Marketing Director, CENTIEL UK explains: “The facility runs off different energy sources from the grid to sustainable power. This means the UPS is called on more often to provide a clean, continuous source of power to support the laboratory environment and ensure optimal conditions. Li-ion batteries offered the perfect solution as they are highly capable of cycling many times over, unlike traditional VRLA batteries, where cycling shortens their design life significantly. Richard Clifford, Head of Solutions at Keysource comments: “At Keysource, we deliver the finest and most efficient facilities, utilising the latest in critical power and cooling technologies. Our solutions support the latest generation of high-performance, high-density computing and have been internationally recognised as examples of best practice. We are proud to support clients that lead the development of new, innovative technologies to bolster the UK’s medical research capability. This project is a perfect example of why investing in critical infrastructure, and its protection is essential to ensure these vital services continue to operate, now and in the future.”

Cyber Tech Symposium 2022 to discuss the cyber skills gap

The University of Gloucestershire’s C11 Cyber Tech Symposium 2022 will enable employers to engage with leading cyber strategists and the next generation of cyber professionals, helping to address the cyber skills gap and growing cyber threat. Industry professionals and academics will provide visitors to the Symposium, which will be held at the University’s C11 Cyber Security and Digital Innovation Centre, with access to key insights and expertise about the protection of our critical national infrastructure from cyber attacks, as well as what needs to be done to bring more people from all backgrounds into this dynamic and growing industry. Keynote speakers will include leading specialists from the National Cyber Security Centre, IBM’s Executive Security Advisor Dr Saritha Arunkumar, and the Director of the Institute of Coding at Bath University, Professor Rachid Hourizi, along with experts from the NHS and Raytheon UK. The Symposium will also provide employers with an opportunity to find out about investing in their own talent pipeline, whether that is through the array of cyber educational offerings from the University, with its apprenticeship opportunities, student work placement programmes, internships, and undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, or from a variety of other regional providers. The C11 Cyber Tech Symposium 2022 will be held at the C11 Cyber and Digital Innovation Centre at Berkeley Green on 7 July between 8.30am and 4.30pm. Registration is free, but places are limited and must be booked in advance. Professor Kamal Bechkoum, Head of the School of Computing and Engineering at the University says: “As the cyber skills gap persists and cyber threats continue to grow in an ever more threatening world, we know that part of the solution lies within our ability to create talent and solutions through collaboration. “Our C11 Cyber Tech Symposium 2022 will bring together key government officials, leading business people and top academics to think, talk, inspire and create solutions along with fresh talent from our student community. “For anyone interested in tackling the cyber skills gap and growing cyber threat, the Symposium will offer a secure and friendly environment to be part of such an important conversation.”

Time to register for the smart home trade show, EI Live! 2022

Don’t miss your chance to enhance your presence in the smart home market with a visit to the UK’s only national trade focused smart home event. Registration is open now – visit the site, get the date in your diary and start benefiting from the fastest growing sector in new builds and renovation. Taking place at the Farnborough International Exhibition Centre, EI Live! 2022 runs from 14-15 September and offers lucrative opportunities for quality electrical contractors working in the domestic and commercial sectors. EI Live! delivers the opportunity to access this expanding market so that electrical contractors can increase their portfolios and offer customers everything from multi-room music systems and other entertainment experiences, networking products, smart metering and automated control of lighting, HVAC and security. Many of the distributors and manufacturers that operate in this area are looking to expand their customer base, and experienced electrical contractors already have many of the skills and the customer base needed to be successful. Distributors and manufactures offer full and often free training to get companies started or expand your offering if you already operate in this area. The only UK smart home show EI Live! is the UK’s only smart building trade show, offering a vital opportunity to meet with suppliers and find out more about the market. With stands showcasing hundreds of brands and thousands of products, services and innovations, electrical contractors can be sure there is something that will suit their customers and offer a chance to either enter for the first time or increase their footprint in one of the most dynamic markets in UK infrastructure. As well as the main show floor, El Live! will provide a comprehensive series of training seminars in the Learning Zone and other less business orientated experiences, such as the show’s Formula One racing challenge. There are also many launches and special offers that can only been seen at this event. These range from automation products controlling lighting and other building utilities, easy to fit entertainment experiences, networking products and full building automation platforms. Technological advances mean many of these products are easy and straight-forward to fit and deliver serious margin to those companies that get involved. Many electrical contractors have already made the transition to include smart products and show organisers explains that exhibitors are on the look-out for new accounts in particular from the electrical contracting sector. Entry to the show is completely free and access is easy via the venue’s large car park, which is also free for the whole day. In order to take full advantage of this two-day event, visitors have access to dozens of reasonably priced hotels near the site. To register for free and get all the information needed to make a trip to EI Live! visit the show’s dedicated website or call the show team on +44 (0)1634 673163.

Tier III ready data centre solutions shortlisted for four major awards

A range of innovative Tier III Ready data centre design solutions have been shortlisted for four major awards. The team at Cannon Technologies working in conjunction with several OEM manufacturers, including CENTIEL UK, have developed a set of pre-certified solutions ranging from 100kW to 500kW which have now been nominated for the Electrical Review and Data Centre Review Excellence Awards, in the Power Product of the Year, and Data Centre Design and Build Product of the Year categories. In addition, the solutions have also been shortlisted for the Data Centre Solutions (DCS) Awards 2022 for Data Centre Industry Contribution of the Year and Data Centre Power Innovation of the Year. Electrical Review and Data Centre Review Excellence Awards 2021 recognise excellence in innovation and collaboration and outstanding products and projects that embrace the latest in electrical engineering, display forward-thinking design and implementation, and champion the highest environmental, safety and energy efficiency standards. The DCS Awards recognise projects, products, services or corporate or individual excellence in the data centre industry. Cannon Technologies has developed a repeatable modular data centre product design composed of an initial 64.46m2 build supporting 16 IT racks with a capacity of up to 6kW per rack. IT Load cooled using energy efficient direct expansion (DX) chillers and with-in-row (WIRC) air handling units. The 100-kW Granular Modular Data Centre supports an IT load of 93.25 kilowatts (kw) for a data centre design that could fulfil the requirements needed to meet the Tier III standard. Tier III is described as concurrently maintainable and ensures that any component can be taken out of service without affecting production. Cannon Technologies’ Tier III ready design includes Centiel’s true modular UPS CumulusPowerTM and is supported by Centiel’s technical support. Centiel’s Distributed Active Redundant technology is said to offer the highest levels of resilience, is flexible, robust and it has been tried and tested in many scenarios.   Mark Awdas, Engineering Director, Cannon Technologies confirms. “These designs will accelerate data centre clients’ own Tier III certification, reduce the cost, and fast-track their time to market. It’s incredibly exciting to have been nominated for these awards as Tier III ready status provides data centre clients with fact-based evidence that their final build will more easily obtain a Tier Certification by utilising the Cannon MDC range of products.” Louis McGarry, Sales and Marketing Director, CENTIEL UK confirms: “It has taken a significant amount of work and around 12 months in total to complete and gain approval for the 100kW – 250kW from the Uptime Institute, and a further 12 months to secure the 500kW and 1MW designs. The process was intense and involved a joined-up approach with Cannon Technologies and the Uptime Institute to ensure all the rules were adhered to and a consensus of understanding was reached. We are now proud that our collaboration and combined efforts have been recognised in this way.” The UPS is only one element of the whole approved set of Tier III data centre solutions which have been developed. Cannon Technologies has also collaborated with other partners to provide a complete solution that includes generators, switch gear, cooling, and cabling so the entire design can be offered as an approved product. The final Electrical Review and Data Centre Review Excellence Award winners will be announced at an event held at Christ Church, located near Spitalfields Market, London at an event on Thursday, 19th May 2022. The results of the DCS Awards will be announced at a gala dinner at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London St Pauls on 26 May 2022.

Andy Burnham in at start and finish of Manchester Tech Week

Andy Burnham, Mayor, Greater Manchester Combined Authority has been confirmed to speak at both Digital Transformation EXPO (DTX) and Connected North 2022,  two out of the three major anchor shows making up the inaugural Manchester Tech Week from 25th-29th April. Andy will be centre stage on day one at Connected North, Manchester Central with Tracy Brabin, Metro Mayor, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for a keynote mayoral panel to discuss levelling up, the digital economy, and addressing the digital divide. Andy believes connectivity is a basic human right and is a passionate advocate for Greater Manchester supporting the region’s progress in the start-up space, tackling digital exclusion and using tech to improve public services. He will then give a closing keynote at Digital Transformation EXPO (DTX) show at the end of the week focusing on what’s next on Greater Manchester’s journey as a leading hub for innovation, technology and collaboration. Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham says: “In Greater Manchester we have the fastest growing digital economy in Europe which contributes over £5BN a year to our region. We are also making strides to becoming recognised as a world leading digital city-region and are taking our position as an internationally recognised centre of digital innovation, research and practice. “I’m looking forward to speaking at Digital Transformation EXPO (DTX) Manchester. DTX Manchester showcases the latest technologies and insights from world leading experts and we are proud to host it in Manchester.” Andy will follow a series of compelling afternoon sessions on day two at DTX starting with TechUK and Manchester Metropolitan University sharing a new approach to closing the digital skills gap and addressing the talent tech shortage. Infinity Works and AstraZeneca will be looking at how to build soft skills for hard times and drive change as inclusive leaders. Graham Donoghue, CEO of Sykes Cottages, will be discussing what it takes to be a great leader in tech and level up yourself, your company and your community. James McGough, MD of Imago Techmedia, the organisers behind Manchester Tech Week, comments Andy Burnham’s support was invaluable. “Real progress in digital transformation - whatever that looks like for local authorities, companies or individuals -  is driven by those who use their voice to stimulate debate and change. Andy is that person, an influential advocate for the city, the North as a whole, and a supporter of tech communities who have vital role to play in all our futures.” Dominic Beresford-Webb from Connected North agreed, emphasising the significance of city leaders heading up the digital debate says: “Andy’s passion for digital equality and his participation in the launch of Connected North highlights the importance for the North of the UK to have its own digital economy forum to address crucial regional issues on Levelling Up, inward investment, and tackling the digital divide.” Manchester Tech Week 2022 is the North’s biggest ever digital transformation event which will also feature the launch of Unified Communications EXPO (UCX). Aimed at ‘powering the northern tech revolution’ it will help IT leaders tackle major tech challenges with a focus on network and infrastructure, cloud, cyber, unified communications, data and AI, digital culture, skills and hybrid working. For more information on Manchester Tech Week 2022 and register to attend for free, click here.