New BusinessCloud editor Chris Maguire sets out his vision for the redesigned magazine, which will be released in early June.
When it comes to technology I’m definitely more technophobe than geek.
I recognise the importance of tech without necessarily understanding everything that sits behind it. What I do know is that technology is omnipresent. We wear it, we drive it, we read it, we watch it, we learn through it and, most importantly, we entrust our lives to it.
As a 40-something I’m part of the generation that was taught Latin at school when I should have been taught coding. Not only do I not remember a single word of Latin but there’s never been a time in my life that I’ve needed to use it.
As a kid, I used to watch the BBC programme Tomorrow’s World and would sit there open-mouthed at the new developments planned in science and technology. More’s the pity that the series stopped in 2003.
The world has changed and technology has been the catalyst for that change. You don’t have to work for a technology company to work in tech today. Any business that wants to grow and scale has to have tech at its core.
And that, in essence, is the reason behind BusinessCloud. Our tagline – ‘faster growth through tech’ – does what it says on the tin.
If you want to know about algorithms, JavaScript and HTML in ‘geek speak’ then BusinessCloud is not for you. There are other magazines and websites that do that far better than we can.
However, if you want to know how technology can improve your bottom line and improve your life in a language that you understand, then BusinessCloud is a must-read.
Our magazine, events and website share the goals of demystifying tech and making it fun.
When we planned our first issue of the new-look BusinessCloud we aimed for a 56-page publication, but were inundated with so many great stories that we kept making it bigger. This issue has a pagination of 80. Wow!
Our cover story is the Tech Rich List 100. The research has been compiled by Philip Beresford, who also produces the annual Sunday Times Rich List. It’s interesting to note that the top 100 names have a combined fortune of £19.655bn but there’s still no British equivalent of Amazon, Facebook or Microsoft – and that’s the challenge.
Perhaps the next Mark Zuckerberg will come from the young tech tycoons who we’ve highlighted. Jordan Daykin, Arran Rice, Henry Patterson, Joshua Browder and Nathaniel Duckworth may not be household names yet, but watch this space.
Similarly we’ve highlighted ten tech start-ups we think are ones to watch. Firms like Wriggle, Wakelet, Formisimo and Vibe Tickets are disrupting the market through technology.
I’m delighted that we’ve managed to secure so many big-name columnists. ‘Gadget’ Gavin Wheeldon – read his first column on the iPad Pro here – ‘Tech Doctor’ Lawrence Jones, Richard Law and teenage tech entrepreneur Arran Rice would grace any publication, but they’ve chosen us.
But the magazine, and its digital equivalent, is only one part of BusinessCloud. We also have this revamped website, on which we will publish our magazine content daily while also bringing you the latest news and views from the tech sector.
Look out for all the planned videos and podcasts, while you can also find information here about our busy calendar of upcoming events.
We’ve held a number of roundtables already, but the one on the Internet of Things literally blew my mind about the implications of IoT on business.
BusinessCloud is a national publication and we’ll be taking our message to a city near you, starting with Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.