You would have to work hard to ignore Brexit in the media. The most recent updates are everywhere projecting daily doom and gloom for the British public to enjoy. Are businesses prepared for Brexit in March 2019? More pressingly, can we prepare for Brexit?
The tech industry in the UK has issued a warming to ministers that a transition away from EU data protection standards following Brexit will damage the UK’s status as a technology hub. Amid the growing misunderstanding amongst Brexiteers that diverging from the tough EU data protection laws will give Britain a competitive advantage compared to other EU states in this fast growing sector.
UK government is under increasing pressure to confirm whether BREXIT data flow between the UK and EU will be allowed to remain uninterrupted post-Brexit. Lack of even initial negotiations on data, now the lifeblood of the digital economy representing hundreds of billions of pounds of annual trade, raising concerns that the UK focus on tech in its post-Brexit plans, may run into problems if it can’t retain access to or process EU data.
The predicted immediate economic slump has not materialised but there are growing signs that the uncertainty around BREXIT is having a detrimental effect on UK business. BREXIT was identified as the third most pressing issue after GDPR and cyber-security for respondents to the survey conducted by Serviceteam IT.
Technology companies are behind 24% of UK exports and 3 million jobs. However, the UK’s high-tech industry is likely to suffer as a result of the vote to leave the EU. This is expected to occur as a result of the significant network effects that impact this sector of the economy.
“Anything to do with Brexit is uncertain [and] makes life more complicated”, Ben Griffiths, Head of Systems, Analysys Mason. In the face of this uncertainty and complexity it is imperative that firms don’t just remain passive regarding the changes happening around them. Read some of the key things businesses can be doing to prepare for the challenges Brexit brings with it.
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