Our Partners
Adit North East
“We spend millions every year on IT and communications. It is clear that if we can manage our role as purchaser better we can both improve value for money and have a significant impact on the availability of broadband.”
Tony Blair, former Prime Minister.
Directly resulting from the Gershon review in 2003, Adit was set up by the DTI to help address the spiralling costs of ICT and broadband infrastructure within the public sector, increase competition in the ICT and Telecoms market and also extend the availability of broadband services, whilst demonstrating efficiency and best value.
The Adit team, based in the North East of England, has unrivalled expertise in ICT and procurement within both the public and private sector, and the benefits to the public sector of using this service are almost unquantifiable – though undoubtedly the key benefit to their existing customers is that of speed – a procurement exercise can be concluded within weeks, not months, as they do not need to procure services through the lengthy OJEU process - regardless of value. With their own framework of 17 leading telecoms and ICT suppliers, each of them with the capacity to partner with associates, every aspect of ICT and telecommunications requirements can be purchased through Adit.
Success to date can be measured in that over £20million of public sector savings have already been achieved, though with a total spend running into billions, there is clearly still much more that can be done.
In addition to their procurement services, Adit is also able to provide ICT consultancy, IT infrastructure analytical geographical mapping and also data storage and disaster recovery facilities – of particular interest in view of the events affecting ICT resilience within recent months.
Now in their second year of operation they have a growing reputation for providing exemplary procurement services, which not only save the public sector millions of pounds, they also assist those organisations in achieving their efficiency targets and measures.
Codeworks
Established in January 2004, Codeworks is a catalyst for change, innovation and growth in the North East economy.
Its objective is to create jobs and wealth for the North East of England by fostering the growth of the region’s digital industries and, over the next decade, building global leadership in specific areas of digital media and technology.
Codeworks activity includes: Codeworks Connect and Game Horizon.
CODEWORKS Connect
CODEWORKS Connect is the trade association for the North East's digital industries.
Connect member companies operate across the digital media and technology sector. Areas of expertise from Connect companies include website development, software development, games, animation and educational technology.
If businesses are looking for a digital media and technology supplier in the region, they can take advantage of Connect's Solution Finder, which can help find the ideal digital supplier to deliver your needs. The Solution Finder can help:
- Decide on what is needed
- Develop a specification and a budget
- Source a supplier who can deliver the solution
CODEWORKS GameHorizon
CODEWORKS GameHorizon is a collaborative network for the North East's video games industry.
The North East is one of the UK's major centres of games development, and home to some of Europe's most innovative companies. GameHorizon exists to help raise the competitiveness and value of these companies further still.
Put simply, GameHorizon is about the business of games.
Through collaborative projects, strategic development and targeted promotion, GameHorizon gives added drive to the rise of the North East's games companies.
GameHorizon works in three main ways:
- Collaboration – GameHorizon develops close working relationships between its members, with other regional organisations, and with key international games networks.
- Promotion – GameHorizon actively promotes the North East's games industry through marketing and PR work. It has also helped raise the profile of individual members in this way – creating new business opportunities for them.
- Development – GameHorizon aids and encourages the continued development of the North East's games companies. It does so through in-depth focus groups, workshops and a number of other means.
The international games market is set to be worth a staggering $28bn by 2007. With GameHorizon's support, North East companies are on course to establish themselves as a major force on the world stage.
DigitalCity
DigitalCity is an economic regeneration project core funded by the One NorthEast and managed by the DigitalCity Office at the University of Teesside. The objective of the project is to create a self-sustaining, vibrant, successful and beneficial supercluster in the Tees Valley based on digital media and digital technologies.
The vision is that by 2010 this cluster will form a key part of the overall regeneration of Tees Valley. It will have a world reputation, and a brand that is a byword for innovation, daring and excellence - an instant door opener from London to LA, Jakarta to Japan.
Why 'supercluster'? Because many cluster projects focus solely on commercial activity - but for a cluster to genuinely work - indeed for any city to work - it must contain a complete range of activities that includes business, commerce, culture, entertainment, education, community, infrastructure and finance.
To fulfil this DigitalCity has seven core initiatives [three capital build projects]. The Framework Plan maps out the process by which they can be realised - a process which takes each initiative through a number of stages including development, feasibility study, business plan, funding, stakeholder buy in and third party involvement. The emphasis will always be on sound business cases, appropriate scale, minimised risk and maximum benefits to the Tees Valley.
DigitalCity Initiatives
DigitalCity is an ambitious initiative shaping the economic future of the Tees Valley in North East England. Digital Innovation is led by the University of Teesside. DigitalCity Business is led by Middlesbrough Council. All of the Initiatives are an important part of the total vision.
It is founded on the vision of a new digital technologies ‘signature industry' for the Tees Valley that can stand alongside the traditional powerhouses of steel and chemicals in creating new prosperity and confidence in the region: supporting and developing businesses, creating jobs, and growing skills and know-how.
DigitalCity Initiatives...creating jobs, businesses and wealth
Education
- digital discovery and learning
- high level skills training
- credited courses
Fellowships
- developing talented people
- nurturing business ideas
- world-class content
Conferences & Festivals
- celebration of talent
- attracting world-class talent
Business
- start-up and acceleration
- cluster development e.g. First Wednesday
- business attraction and inward investment
Institute of Digital Innovation – IDI
- research, development & commercialisation
- specialist development facilities
- business accommodation
- fellowships, post graduates & post docs
- digitalcity office & hotdesks
BOHO Creative Quarter
- business development - located between IDI and MoDM
- regeneration of Victorian buildings
- new place to do business
Museum of Digital Media - MoDM
- a place for everyone
- celebrating animation, games and interactives
The North East Regional Portal (n-e-life)
The North East Regional Portal (TNERP) is a specialist ICT provider and provides a range of free and low-cost services that are designed to increase a company's visibility to current and prospective new customers, and to help use e-services and the internet to best advantage for businesses.
Key services include:
Online promotion and PR
The portal, which represents North East England online, through n-e-life.com, is a not-for-profit business fully owned by ONE NorthEast. It is an excellent promotional platform and enjoys over 80,000 visits a month. Stats show a loyal readership in the North East, and an ever-increasing audience from the rest of the UK, Europe and beyond, and Google News regularly links to articles.
Free directory entry
All organisations in the region can have a free entry in our online business directory.
This is a free three-page presence which gives businesses, organisations and community groups the chance to be represented online. It is a fully searchable directory and currently over 67,000 businesses are represented this way.
E-commerce - online trading incubator
The Portal can provide retailers with their own sales website on its online Shopping Mall.
Customers get a website created with full e-commerce facilities. This means trading online can begin without any upfront investment or risk. Credit card facilities and payments are also handled.
Support in generating new business leads via the n-e-opportunities online tender monitoring service. It sends daily tailored business leads directly to a subscriber’s inbox. This service has helped hundreds of businesses win regional, national and European business worth £1,000s.
They also offer a range of training and workshops
Prince2 - widely recognised as the method for managing the development and implementation of any project, irrelevant of size.
Procurement - one-day intensive courses covering the whole process of tendering and selling to the public sector.
Successful bid writing - workshops on how to write bids for public sector work.
Web marketing - covers search engine optimisation, linking strategies, and producing web optimised content.
Portal solutions
TNERP offers off-the-shelf portal solutions using the n-e-life.com model. This framework is flexible and is a customisable and scalable platform for deploying specific needs and objectives.
Content management services
Consultancy based support and advice on content management issues including, planning, researching, copywriting and publishing.
E-marketing
The TNERP team have extensive experience in successfully integrating online activities to a marketing campaign.
This includes web and digital marketing advice and support, including search engine optimisation, linking strategies, meta tags and content, plus using communication tools such as online surveys, email broadcasts, newsletters, and e-brochures.
The portal also publishes two online newsletters, which are read by nearly 20,000 subscribers. This pro-active e-marketing method allows businesses to reach a select and responsive audience and they can also use the templates as a white label service.
Advice and support
TNERP enjoys a substantial proven track record as a dedicated, skilled and experienced project management team, and provides unbiased advice.
It provides troubleshooting, health checks, diagnostics, consultancy support, seminars, workshops and training for all matters concerning broadband and eBusiness.
