AWS partners are helping level up the UK, AWS UK boss claims
Darren Hardman talks CRN through new report claiming that economic benefit cloud brings to the UK outweighs the contribution of the Premier League
AWS consulting and development partners are helping to level up the UK, AWS' UK boss said as the cloud giant launched a report claiming its UK economic impact exceeds that of the Premier League.
Talking CRN through the report - which AWS is keen to position as more than just a PR exercise - AWS' UK&I VP Darren Hardman (pictured) showered regional AWS partners including Inawisdom, Steamhaus, Mobilise Cloud and See.Sense with praise.
Carried out by consultancy Public First, the report "conservatively estimates" that AWS generates £8.7bn in economic value for businesses across the UK - equivalent to 0.4 per cent of GDP.
That number was based on asking 2,001 business decision makers to estimate their growth, total spending on cloud computing, the amount they had saved using cloud compared with in-house IT, and the additional revenue they earned using cloud - among other things.
The report also claimed that cloud computing is levelling the playing field among businesses regardless of their size and geographic positioning.
A parallel survey of 100 APN partners found that they on average grew revenue by between 21 and 50 per cent in the last three years.
"We've seen really accelerated growth from our partners supporting our customers on their journey to AWS cloud," Hardman said.
"And that's aligned to this notion that [cloud] is an enabler for growth across the UK, not just centred in London."
Hardman namechecked Swansea-based Amazon Connect specialist Mobilise Cloud, which has worked with the DVLA, as well as Manchester-based devops consultancy Steamhaus, whose customers include the BBC, among AWS' most successful regional partners.
East Anglia-based AI specialist Inawisdom, as well as Belfast See.Sense, which uses the AWS cloud to create cycling technology products, were highlighted by the AWS executive as two further AWS partners spreading cloudy cheer outside of London.
'Bigger than the Premier League'
The report highlighted how 39 of the 50 fastest-growing UK tech companies are using the AWS cloud. Of the 17 UK unicorns, 16 are AWS customers.
The £8.7bn headline figure would mean that cloud has a larger economic benefit to the UK than either the Premier League or the music industry, AWS claimed.
Amazon has come in for renewed scrutiny over how much tax it pays in the UK, but when asked how he would respond to critics of the $1trn company, Hardman again highlighted the economic benefits that AWS claims to generate for the UK, particularly for smaller firms.
"One thing this report demonstrates is the significant impact on economic growth that leveraging the AWS cloud can deliver," he said.
"The cloud is a democratisation of technology. Just imagine if you are a small business. You need security, compute, and access to AI and machine learning. There was a time when only the biggest organisations had the investment capacity and capital outlay to achieve those things. With the cloud - whether you're the smallest start up or SMB looking to disrupt and grow, the AWS cloud is helping customers do that."