By Akshay Thakur, Cisco UKI

The National Virtual Incubator (NVI) is one of the four pillars of Cisco’s British Innovation Gateway (BIG) programme. As you may have noticed, the hard work on BIG has begun and our three key partnerships are already producing results. These programmes are a continuation of our London 2012 Olympics legacy.

The NVI aims to create a community and a platform for collaboration between clusters of innovation throughout the UK. Such clusters of innovation are in various stages of their lifecycle and most are renown as a centre of excellence of a given sector, industry, or vertical.

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Tags: British Innovation Gateway, digital business ecosystem, National Virtual Incubator, start ups, UK

I recall that it was a typical cold and dreary winter day in London — it was probably raining — when I decided that I was ready for a change of scene. The year was 1978, and the local British media was lamenting the apparent “brain drain” phenomenon that was then sweeping the nation.

Yes, I had decided to leave and go live in America, but I’ve always looked back with fondness at the place that I called home. Granted, I had become one of those British expat engineers that discovered there were alternative places to thrive — where my ideas and ongoing research could be fully explored.

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Tags: digital business ecosystem, East London Tech City, education, talent development, UK

How do you go about building the foundation for an emerging new digital business district in an established urban area, and thereby create an influx of over 100 growing technology or creative media companies? That’s a question that I pondered as I visited the Greenwich Digital Peninsula in London, earlier this year.

You may recall that I’ve previously described the significance of Digital Business Ecosystems; how they have proven to be instrumental in enabling tech business clusters to reach their full potential. But perhaps you’re wondering, in practice, what does that process really entail?

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Tags: digital business ecosystem, Greenwich, National Virtual Incubator, TelePresence

Most informed people tend to agree, broadband services can be applied as an enabler of socioeconomic advancement. However, while high-speed internet access is an important ingredient for gaining entry into the global networked economy, its application is most effective when used as part of a concerted effort to empower the members of a local community.

Howard’s recent story about the role of broadband in rural development attracted some interesting commentary — both on the blog post and within the LinkedIn groups where I shared a summary. Most of the comments were about infrastructure investment, but some of the other insights reminded me of the observations that I made during my recent trip to London, England.

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Tags: broadband, digital business ecosystem, East London Tech City, economic development