Bright prospects for technology leaders

In a tough sector, some dazzling Scottish success stories deserve high praise

THERE has been a marked increase in health and optimism in the technology and telecommunications sector in Scotland in the past couple of years. The sector remains challenging, with rapid change, increased international competition and continued consolidation but Scottish companies have been successfully making the transition to the higher-quality jobs and services that stand us in better stead for the future.

In telecoms, the inevitable rise of voice-over-internet-protocol technology will increase the pressures on revenues for the traditional players. There is more consolidation under way in this marketplace, so it is encouraging to see Thus retaining its independence and increasing its revenues, through its shrewd positioning as an integrated services provider for some very big-name commercial customers. The company is a real Scottish success story and rarely receives the plaudits it deserves.

Another strong performer in this arena is Interactive Telecom Solutions (at No.96), and we should expect to see it rather higher in the chart next year. The Scottish electronics sector has recovered from a period of turbulence, with employment stabilising at about 70,000, including many new high-quality design jobs.

Although ownership remains predominantly foreign, there is an improving performance from the Scottish-owned base.

Wolfson Microelectronics moves up 30 places in this year’s chart to No.113, and will surely rise again in the coming 12 months. In a slightly different pocket of the sector, Linn Products continues to demonstrate that there is still a place for Scottish technology design and manufacturing of the highest quality.

The IT sector has also returned to health in Scotland, with employment levels increasing over the past year or two. Scottish-owned business remain relatively small on the whole, but companies such as Axios Systems and Graham Technology are making real inroads to international markets, and we should expect to see them featuring in future issues of the Scotsman 250.

We have a burgeoning biotech sector, where Scotland is definitely punching above its weight in global terms. Allied to the healthcare research and medical devices arenas, this sector accounts for more than 50,000 jobs in Scotland.

Companies such as Axis-Shield (No.130) continue to impress, and there are several contenders for rapid growth over the next few years. Deloitte Fast 50 winner ProStrakan, sitting on a cash pile of £50 million after its recent IPO, is on an exciting journey, and will certainly register in the Scotsman 250 next year.

In summary, it’s a pretty encouraging picture. Scottish-owned jobs in the sector have a very high value for the economy here and deserve all the praise and backing they can get.

Sustaining growth
MUCH has been written recently about the challenging times faced by many technology companies in terms of generating revenues and trying to find funding to finance growth. However, read between the lines and you'll see some outstanding Scottish tech firms achieving not just spectacular growth rates, but sustained growth throughout these challenging times. The recent Deloitte Fast 50 awards showed an average 390 per cent turnover increase by the top 50 firms over the past five years. And with companies like TotalPDA picking up the Rising Star Award at this year's event and MTEM winning Technology Start-Up of the Year, the future's brighter than many may think.