Unlocking the Future Through the Industrial Strategy: A Policy Blueprint for the UK's Digital Transformation

In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, the UK stands at a critical juncture. The Industrial Strategy presents an opportunity to weave digital technologies as the golden thread through the UK’s economic plan. Moulding an economy that is fit for the modern world—with digital connectivity and skills as the cornerstone of economic growth—can spearhead efforts to secure the nation’s competitive edge in the industries of the future.

With strategic direction and support from government, coupled with investment and innovation from the private sector, the Industrial Strategy can deliver the growth and productivity required to improve economic opportunity and well-being across the country.

Areas such as AI, quantum computing, future telecoms, and semiconductors are paramount as growth engines. As such, the Industrial Strategy must put forward an ambitious plan around cybersecurity and digital resilience to future-proof growth. The impact of ‘downtime’, where businesses suffer from a failure of IT systems, costs Global 2000 companies a staggering $400bn a year—around 9% of profits. Now more than ever, resilience equals competitiveness.

We also need to treat AI not just as a tool but also as a transformative force. The Industrial Strategy will set out a vision for the next decade—a period that will see an enormous shift in how businesses leverage technology and how we live our everyday lives. Cisco’s 2024 AI Readiness Index reveals a growing urgency among businesses to deploy AI, yet only 10% of UK organisations are ready to embrace it. We know AI will be featured in the Industrial Strategy, but the key will be sharpening UK competitiveness by creating a pro-innovation environment that will help industry adapt.

This economic strategy must outline a clear roadmap to strengthen the underlying factors that will enable businesses to succeed. Robust network infrastructure and digital connectivity are essential building blocks for the modern economy. To drive growth, it will be important to solidify commitments to universal 5G coverage, leverage Wi-Fi 7 and 6G, accelerate advancements in broadband connectivity, and allocate enough unlicensed spectrum for wireless technologies.

The government is also well aware of the skills challenge. Fifty-two percent of the workforce lacks the essential digital skills for the workplace. The Industrial Strategy can dovetail with the mission of Skills England to equip businesses with the right talent. That means access to highly skilled engineers in AI and cybersecurity as well as a much broader level of competency in basic digital skills to accelerate organisations’ productivity and resilience.

Spurring innovation is another clear priority. The UK must not take for granted its stellar set of universities. Empowering them to work with industry on R&D projects can be a catalyst for competitiveness with economic clusters developed and opportunities for commercialisation captured.

The government’s voice internationally should also closely align with the strategic direction of the domestic economy. In an increasingly protectionist world, finding ways to promote free trade and regulatory cooperation will be challenging but vital to support growth at home.

The skills agenda is a foundational route to inclusive growth. Cisco’s commitment to digital skills training through our global IT skills-to-jobs program known as Networking Academy—training nearly 100,000 UK citizens annually and prioritising diversity and inclusion—demonstrates that the UK is not starting from scratch. Skills England can play a pivotal role in bringing industry and the education sector together to bridge the digital skills gap. This will pave the way for equality of opportunity—helping people across the country pursue a career in the priority industries that the Industrial Strategy will seek to support. The way in which workplace skills will transform through AI and other technologies means this agenda will need to evolve with a close partnership between government, industry, and education.

To enable businesses across the country in all sectors to embrace innovation, mechanisms are needed to provide practical advice and incentives for digital adoption. Building on initiatives such as Made Smarter and considering how Local Growth Plans can help their respective business communities capitalise on the benefits of technology will be important

The UK’s path to becoming a global leader in digital and technological innovation is clear—pinpointing where to build a competitive advantage in industries of the future and the route to get there. Fostering innovation, skills, digital infrastructure, and international cooperation are key elements for policymakers to secure a prosperous future.

The Industrial Strategy will fire the starting pistol but won’t succeed unless government prioritises a partnership with business. Cisco stands ready to support this vision, ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of digital transformation.

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