Centre for Digital Business
What is the CDB?
The Centre for Digital Business is a sector-independent 'centre of excellence' that aims to provide businesses with the strategies, techniques and tools to leverage the benefits of the digital economy and avoid the pitfalls.
The Centre is a private sector initiative conceived by a few digitally-aware businesspeople who recognised that many businesses, particularly in more 'traditional' sectors, were not using digital technologies effectively in areas such as marketing and business process management. In a world where digital technologies are often central to competitiveness, the founders wanted to establish an organisation to address this deficit.
What are its Objectives?
The Centre's success rests upon its ability to help its client companies to be more successful through the intelligent use of digital skills and technologies. This is achieved primarily through extremely high-quality and knowledgeable training, supplemented by inhouse consultancy, research activity and digital auditing services.
For some companies, typically those with scale or already operating in areas such as ecommerce, access to really effective digital training and consultancy has meant going to course or conferences in London or the US. The resources available at the CDB make much of this long-distance travel unnecessary.
Other companies have either taken a DIY approach, or relied on 'local' trainers and agencies that often lack senior management experience and current digital consulting knowledge. The CDB overcomes these issues by bringing together a unique combination of up-to-the-minute digital knowledge, non-tech backgrounds and senior management experience.
The CDB's single-minded objective is to make businesses better by maximising the opportunities presented by digital developments.
Why Locate it at the North East BIC?
There's a very straightforward answer to this. The North East BIC is easy to access from anywhere in the North; the facilities for training and research are excellent; and the North East Business & Innovation Centre (it's full name) focuses on growth and innovation across all sectors, much the same as the Centre for Digital Business.
In fact, we've deliberately not entered 'clusters' like Digital City in Middlesbrough because these very successful ventures are sector-specific in nature and operating in advanced technology areas. Their role is quite different to the CDBs and we view them as complementary partners in their supply of specialist skills to our clients - and our supply of digital expertise, especially in marketing and business process, that lies outside their specialisms.
