How Microsoft partners can drive the UK economy to rebound

A great report has just been released that suggests Microsoft Partners could contribute a staggering £9 billion growth to the UK economy this year as the country emerges from the latest Covid-19 lockdown.

For anyone working with Microsoft partners, it is clear that this past 12 months of turmoil has seen technology firms thrive where others may have struggled, as the benefits of digital and the cloud have come to the fore.

In the first lockdown, the drive to enable staff to work remotely was paramount with a scramble for hardware and better broadband. The focus shifted to improving collaboration through services like Microsoft Teams, tightening data security and the ability to co-operate away from the office with shared documents and infrastructure.

New digital landscape

The focus has moved again now onto how businesses can operate in this new digital landscape and Microsoft Partners are providing strategy and support in this rapidly evolving business environment.

The research – entitled “Creating a blueprint for UK competitiveness” – from Dr Chris Brauer at Goldsmiths, University of London, in partnership with Microsoft, found that UK companies could provide an extra £48 billion to the economy if they made simple changes to how bosses work with staff and use technology.

A staggering 14% of that total – £6.74 billion – could be driven by Microsoft’s 30,000-strong Partner Network. By deploying their skills in cutting-edge tech such as cloud computing, data analytics and remote working solutions with customers, that could rise by an additional £2.4 billion.

The research identifies the key pillars for business growth going forward are technology, talent, future readiness and the ecosystem.

Microsoft’s partners are well set up with 58% of those surveyed expecting to increase revenue this year, compared to 46% of those UK companies who last year reported a fall in turnover of at least 5%.

Business improvement

The full report is worth a read: it focuses on how the digital world and “real” world have come together so rapidly through the pandemic and demonstrates how business improvement can bring a better workplace and fairer, inclusive society.

The need to embrace technology has never been clearer and it’s great to work with Microsoft partners as they lead the drive towards a brighter future.

As someone who worked for Microsoft for many years, it is no surprise to see that their partners are in such a strong place to help the UK economy to bounce back.

And it is a privilege to help Microsoft partners grow, so we have launched the Boost your Business programme in the UK, providing cost-effective and proven marketing support. For more information, click here.

And our unique Online Presence Assessment is available free to Microsoft Partners, bringing deep insight into how your website and social media assets are examined and benchmarked against 100s of similar companies. Click here to register for the report.