With a proud history in shipbuilding and coal mining behind it, Sunderland is now looking forwards, towards a digital tech future.
The city’s software scene has its roots in the creation of Domain Names in 1996, which has since led to the creation of many successful businesses in the area including Communicator Corp, SaleCycle, WorkCast and Footy.com.
Much of the area’s growth over the past five years, however, stems from the establishment of Sunderland Software City in 2009. Meanwhile, the Digital Catapult Centre North East & Tees Valley has gained a reputation for the appliance of data-driven technologies.
As a lead node of the Cisco National Virtual Incubator network, Sunderland Software City is building on its reputation for technical problem-solving. It has a renewed focus on bringing commercial opportunities from international enterprise organisations to the SME marketplace.
Sunderland Software Centre continues to build its reputation as a venue for major events, hosting the launch of Edtech North, the Tech Talent careers event and the Duke of York’s Pitch@Palace initiative.
Sunderland College launched a suite of technical apprenticeships while The University of Sunderland’s Higher and Degree Apprenticeships and Enterprise Place are encouraging entrepreneurship.
The International Advanced Manufacturing Park will provide a world-class environment for high tech industries and advanced manufacturing businesses. Digital Catapult NETV will drive initiatives that support manufacturing companies to explore and implement new technologies, establishing IAMP as an international hub of digitally-enabled manufacturing.
tombola is a family-owned company based in Sunderland which operates the biggest online bingo websites in the UK, Spain and Italy. Our approach is different to our competitors’ as just about every aspect of tombola is managed in-house. We have created all of our own games and take pride in innovation, and the strength of the development and design teams.
Affordable property, a hardworking local workforce and the steady supply of graduate talent from the region’s five universities provide us with the resources and skills to grow the business continually.
SaleCycle works with companies to make their entire customer journey better. We monitor every single touchpoint online to help inspire, shape and support conversions. From the moment someone lands on their website for the first time, through to follow-up purchases, we create dynamic customer journeys.
This region has a very strong talent pool that the company has tapped into in order to grow rapidly in recent years. From this Sunderland base, SaleCycle has been able to build a great client list and expand across the globe, with offices now in Washington DC, Paris and Singapore.