Not out of recession yet, says IT veteran

Dec 17 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

GARY Boon is a veteran IT developer who built the software behind the internationally-used chip and pin system and now is part of a trio that heads up new digital agency Shout, which is based in Newcastle and has just launched its first iPhone application.

He said: “We are not out of recession yet. The FTSE is going in the right direction but businesses are still struggling.

“I don’t think we’ll have an overnight change in fortunes for digital companies, certainly not in the North East, although we might do nationally where bigger contracts might become available down south.

“In the North East people are going to have to look at how they can help clients deliver on new platforms. That’s one of the reasons why we have looked at delivering on the mobile space where customers can get real value.

“I think it will be an interesting year. The North East as a digital sector is one that’s trying to grow.

“The Government has stated that it wants the region to be one of the centres of digital excellence. There’s a lot of European funding coming into the North East from 2010.

“My only question is I hope the funding is used to deliver quality and not just quantity.”