When people hear the word “tech,” they often assume it’s only relevant to businesses with Silicon Valley ambitions. But Glasgow is showing the world that technology - and the ecosystem that supports it - is far more inclusive and collaborative than that.

This year, Glasgow Tech Week is expanding its focus with the launch of Fusion Fest, a one-day celebration of tech, digital creativity, and innovation. Previously known as Glasgow Tech Fest, the event has evolved to recognise the value of the exciting and visionary businesses shaping the future of the city’s economy. It also acknowledges that most startups now include an element of technology, no matter what sector they operate in.

Traditional sectors - whether construction, manufacturing, retail, or hospitality - have much to gain from engaging with Glasgow’s tech community. The city is home to an extraordinary infrastructure for entrepreneurial and innovation-driven growth, and businesses don’t need to be software specialists to benefit from the excellent support available.

Take the Venture Studio, for example, established by Glasgow City Innovation District to develop new ideas, products and business models for high growth companies in the city’s tech, digital, engineering and creative ecosystem.

Acting as a hub, the Venture Studio brings together academic research, business talent, and scalable ideas, to deliver targeted advice and support through its four key pillars of challenge; make; innovate; and impact. At Johnston Carmichael, we’re proud to support the impact pillar, providing a variety of businesses with the support they need to grow, ranging from meetings with our experts to reviewing and advising on their business plans.

Other similar projects include Infinity G, offered by the University of Glasgow, to help founders, academics, students and alumni advance their plans for commercialisation. Hosted within the city’s Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC), Europe’s largest technology hub, each participating venture team will benefit from a substantial grant to invest in product, demo, brand, and digital assets that will position the team for market and investment success.

Glasgow’s focus on spinouts and startups is no accident. According to the Spotlight on Spinouts report, published in March of this year, spinouts are attracting strong investment, securing £2.60b in equity investment, even as wider investment in high-growth companies declined by 19%. 

But traditional businesses can also be part of the success story. They can - and should - collaborate with these spinouts and university teams to accelerate their own innovation, improve services, or reach new markets. Formerly a city of heavy industry, Glasgow is now a global leader in world-class advanced manufacturing, employing 55,000 people across the region and generating a GVA of more than £3.8bn. It’s a lesson from which others can learn.

Glasgow’s innovation ecosystem is not an exclusive club. It’s a collaborative network designed to uplift businesses of all sizes and sectors. For companies that have been trading for decades, this is a golden opportunity to future-proof operations and learn from the agility, mindset, and tools that power Glasgow’s tech success stories.

Tech is not just a sector; it is an enabler and is intrinsic to the acceleration of tomorrow’s economic success. In Glasgow, it’s also a community. The door is open, and Glasgow Tech Week is the perfect time for businesses to walk through it.