The Digital Forge

Connecting founders, investors & industry across the North.
Ideas. Investment. Growth.

🔥 The future is forged here.

[The Digital Forge @SheffieldForge]

🚀 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT: Dr Rachel Smith

From ITM Power to the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub, Rachel has serious experience turning deep-tech innovation into businesses of scale.

🎟️ Join us, 10 Sept: https://t.co/yrdw6hg0lI

#ReindustrialisingTheNorth @RAEngNews

[The Digital Forge @SheffieldForge]

🎙️ What happens when AI doesn’t know the answer?

Sometimes, it confidently makes one up.

Dr Carolina Scarton explains AI hallucinations and why they matter.

🎧 Full episode: https://t.co/WvpOU5NpxD

#GenerativeAI @carolscarton @davidrichards

[The Digital Forge @SheffieldForge]

🏭 Reindustrialising the North returns.

Founders. Investors. Engineers. Researchers. Industry leaders.

One goal: build more globally significant businesses that start, scale and stay in the North.

📍 Sheffield | 10 Sept
🎟️ https://t.co/tqE4EaB8YG

#ReindustrialisingTheNorth

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

https://t.co/2ydlPpBJ5b

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

https://t.co/X1v14L2yN9

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

In my column in this week’s @yorkshirepost, I argue that AGI is coming. Not the “AI” we talk about today, which is really machine learning, but something far more consequential.

Artificial General Intelligence means systems that can generalise, reason across domains and be trusted with real responsibility. The upside is enormous. Faster scientific discovery. Breakthroughs in medicine and energy. Productivity gains that could reshape regions like ours.

But power cuts both ways.

Alongside the opportunity sits real risk. Not science fiction, but the danger of systems that are powerful, autonomous and misaligned with human values. We have been here before. Social media was waved through with “don’t worry, we’ve got this”. Regulation came late. Society paid the price.

This week’s column explains why AGI offers extraordinary promise, but also why we are not ready for it yet.

#ai #AGI

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 @bruce_katz, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. He has advised US Presidents @BillClinton and @BarackObama , guided UK prime ministers including @GordonBrown and @David_Cameron, and helped cities across the world rebuild their economies with purpose.

To have someone of his calibre speak directly about 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 is a moment in itself.

And what he said should concentrate minds across this region.

“𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘥.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.”

Bruce believes South Yorkshire has the assets, the talent and the industrial pedigree to become one of the most important centres of advanced industry in the UK and Europe. He talks openly about the opportunity in defence, clean energy, biomanufacturing and deep tech. He believes our manufacturing heritage is not a burden but an advantage, and that the world is finally shifting back toward the kind of excellence this region was built on.

In this episode of The Digital Forge, we discuss

• the reindustrialisation of the United States

• the new global industrial map taking shape

• why capital flows to places that know who they are

• the @SouthYorksMCA Growth Plan and what it must deliver

• how regions rise when leadership, confidence and purpose align

This is one of the most significant conversations I have had on the podcast.

If you care about the future of South Yorkshire, I encourage you to listen.

🎧 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐳 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞

➡️ YouTube: https://t.co/Ab1Gc7bNxa

➡️ Apple: https://t.co/ubclLT2Ylh

➡️ Spotify: https://t.co/18pHFw0TVT

➡️ Amazon: https://t.co/X9OEEU77qs

#TheDigitalForge #SouthYorkshire #Reindustrialisation #Leadership #Manufacturing #Investment #BruceKatz #Cities #Sheffield #UKIndustry #Clinton #Obama

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

My column in this week's @yorkshirepost argues something the City was reminded of last week:

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲.

When @SouthYorksMCA Mayor @olivercoppard opened the @LSEGplc alongside The Digital Forge CIC and @YorkshireAI, founders from Exciting Instruments, OLO Robotics, FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics and DigitalCNC stood on the balcony where Britain’s biggest companies begin.

For those few minutes, the distance between Sheffield and the Square Mile disappeared.

Not symbolically. Practically.

This week’s column explores why visibility changes everything, how seeing the inside of the capital markets removes the psychological barrier that stops too many British founders from thinking big.

I expand the story in this week’s Sunday Signal, along with two more pieces:

• Why Britain must reconnect ambition to its public markets

• What McKinsey’s State of AI 2025 tells us about the next decade of intelligent work

If you want to read the full edition before the LinkedIn version goes live on Sunday, you can get it now on @substack:

👉 Read The Sunday Signal first on Substack: https://t.co/cugNb3KPRO

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸.
𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁.

#SouthYorkshire #LondonStockExchange #DigitalForge #YorkshireAI #UKTech #Innovation #AIM #AQUIS #LSE #CapitalMarkets #PublicMarkets #Founders #Entrepreneurship #AdvancedManufacturing #DeepTech #AI #AIFuture #AITransformation #Leadership #EconomicGrowth #Reindustrialisation #TechEcosystem #UKBusiness #Startups

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘄. 𝗜𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱.

In November 1983, six men in balaclavas walked into a 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸 ’𝘀-𝗠𝗮𝘁 warehouse and walked out with three tonnes of gold. Led by 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻 and 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗠𝗰𝗔𝘃𝗼𝘆, tipped off by the inside man 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸, they thought they were taking cash. They found bars. What followed rewired British crime.

In Part Two of The Digital Forge Podcast, I sit down with Ashley Carson, Assay Master of the Sheffield Assay Office, to tell the part of the story most people missed. The bullion was melted, cut with copper and coins, disguised as scrap, then pushed through legitimate channels. Vans left before dawn. Paperwork was spotless. And yes, 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 “𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿” 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗿 himself came to Sheffield with shipments for testing and hallmarking.

Ashley was there. He remembers the white Transit at the gate before opening. He remembers bars so badly melted that coins were still visible, and how the team re-melted them to get a clean assay. He remembers the rumours, the surveillance, the moment Sheffield’s name surfaced in court, and the quiet question that lingers to this day: how close did the city come to legitimising the biggest bullion heist in British history?

This is a story about greed and audacity. It is also a story about trust, process and the thin line between legitimacy and crime. Sheffield, the city of steel, found its mark on the Brink’s-Mat saga.

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗧𝘄𝗼. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀.

🎧 The Digital Forge CIC 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 2: 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲: 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸’𝘀-𝗠𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱

➡️ 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲: https://t.co/Go11nmt4SR

➡️ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲: https://t.co/DrFcZQKMed

➡️ 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆: https://t.co/9PUo5zb8Ut

➡️ 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻: https://t.co/FmeoagTQae

#TheDigitalForge #Sheffield #BrinksMat #TrueCrime #Manufacturing #Hallmarking #Leadership #BritishIndustry

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

Front page news: South Yorkshire is open for business and taking its deep tech revolution to the heart of the City.

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

Today and tomorrow, @SheffieldForge and @YorkshireAI, in partnership with @SouthYorksMCA and Oberon Investments, are taking some of South Yorkshire’s most brilliant hard tech and deep tech companies to the heart of London’s financial community.

Tomorrow morning, we will open the London Stock Exchange, led by @OliverCoppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, to send a clear signal that the North is not just ready for investment, it is leading the next industrial era.

This trade mission is about connecting our region’s world-class innovators with the capital markets, investors, and partners that can help them scale globally. It’s about closing the valuation gap between the North and the City, and showing that British reindustrialisation starts here.

We’re proud to be showcasing:
- @EI_science – next-generation molecular measurement for life sciences
- Sitehop – quantum-resilient hardware encryption securing critical networks
- Bow – universal robotics software uniting automation and intelligence
- @FourJawMA – smart manufacturing analytics for modern factories
- DigitalCNC – AI-driven precision machining for advanced manufacturing

South Yorkshire was once the Silicon Valley of the Industrial Revolution, producing most of Britain’s steel and exporting innovation around the world. That same ingenuity now powers our future, built on AI, robotics, and industrial intelligence.

This week, we’re showing London that 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.

#SouthYorkshire #TheDigitalForge #YorkshireAILabs #Innovation #Investment #HardTech #DeepTech #AdvancedManufacturing #AI #Reindustrialisation #LSE #OberonInvestments #SYMCA

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗰.

This week’s Sunday Signal is about speaking without the mask. The science of spontaneous speaking. How the brain quiets the inner critic and lets truth through. Why the greatest line in modern oratory was improvised. How a ten-second boast destroyed a business.

Sheffield Wednesday’s administration is a reminder, not the headline. It shows what happens when leaders lose the room and start managing optics rather than reality. The lesson is bigger than football. It is about trust, honesty and the courage to say what is true when the pressure rises.

For a decade, Chansiri treated the club like a private toy. He sold Hillsborough to a company he controlled and booked the profit in the wrong year. That brought the 2020 sanction that became a six-point deduction. He asked fans for £2m to cover HMRC and wages in 2023. He then missed wages again this year, was charged by the @EFL, and the league barred the club from paying transfer fees until 2027. Prices rose while standards fell. Yesterday, he finally handed the keys to the administrators.

From a story at Cutlers’ Hall in Sheffield to Martin Luther King to Gerald Ratner, the thread is the same. Authentic leadership wins. Scripted leadership dies on contact with the crowd.

Read it early before the public release on Sunday: https://t.co/BFiAdIq2f2

#Leadership #Communication #SWFC #Sheffield @swfc

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

When I took my first job in London in the early 1990s, a senior executive tossed me a 50p coin and said:
“Go on Richards, buy yourself a house in the North.”

He was joking. But the divide wasn’t.

Thirty years later, it still isn’t.

Britain’s North–South gap never closed.
Power and capital stayed in the South.
Talent followed.

This week’s Sunday Signal looks at why the divide endures, what can fix it, and how the same pattern now shapes work itself — from pension funds that invest abroad to AI replacing the first rung of the career ladder.

Read it here on @substack 👉

https://t.co/4tDK3EECKF

#SundaySignal
#UKEconomy
#SocialMobility
#RegionalGrowth
#ArtificialIntelligence
#LevellingUp
#EconomicPolicy
#FutureOfWork
#AIandSociety
#Innovation

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

There Is No AI Bubble

The pundits are wrong. Again.

They said Amazon was just a bookseller. They said the internet died with the dotcom crash. They now say AI is a bubble.

Bubbles are the smoke. The fire is real. AI is the steam engine of our age. To call it a fad is to miss the Industrial Revolution as it happens.

I break it down in today’s Yorkshire Post and will go deeper in The Sunday Signal.

👉 https://t.co/qIP0r2lrvT

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

💥 In the 80s & 90s, the City was on fire — even football clubs like Newcastle United #NUFC were floating on the stock exchange.

Adam Pollock was there. Hear his story on the brand-new The Digital Forge Podcast, launching Tuesday.

🎙️ Produced with @JamesMarriott & Sound Media.

Listen & subscribe:
🔗 Apple: https://t.co/CzqiwS4si8
🔗 Spotify: https://t.co/TBDa7mIK7t
🔗 Amazon: https://t.co/Jq1omvGU6K
🔗 YouTube:
https://t.co/Go11nmtCIp

🎥 Clip 👇

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

🚨 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄

Tomorrow’s issue is titled 𝗞.𝗜.𝗧.𝗧. 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗱 𝗪𝗶-𝗙𝗶.

From the talking car of Knight Rider to Apple Watches and self-driving cars, science fiction has an uncanny way of becoming reality. But while the future arrives quickly in some places, it still crawls in others. 𝗢𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻.

This week’s newsletter explores:
- 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆
- 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗚𝗣𝗦 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲
- 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻’𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱

📖 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄’𝘀 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁:

https://t.co/IafHEAluKj

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

A £20 gadget nearly brought down planes at Newark Airport.

One truck driver with a cheap GPS jammer showed how fragile our digital bloodstream really is. Since then Russia has turned GPS disruption into a weapon, blinding flights and spoofing aircraft across Europe.

We cannot build defence, trade or safety on signals that can be jammed or faked. The future is quantum clocks - portable, precise, unjammable. If we cannot trust the sky, we must trust the atom.

I dig into this in today’s Yorkshire Post and in my weekly newsletter. Read more here: https://t.co/qIP0r2kTGl

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

Being in Westminster today for the final meeting of the Social Mobility Commision Economic Growth & Investment Group was a real privilege.

This work matters to me because it’s about breaking down barriers so that where you come from doesn’t limit where you can go. Our upcoming report will set out how we can boost growth and innovation in areas that too often get left behind.

I’m grateful to have worked alongside brilliant colleagues from across Parliament and beyond on this agenda and I’m excited to see the difference this can make.

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

34 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼, 𝗧𝗶𝗺 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀-𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱'𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲. 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗞𝗼𝗱𝗮𝗸 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀.

They're rejecting cloud computing. Just like:
- Blockbuster rejected Netflix
- Nokia dismissed smartphones
- Western Union called the telephone "impractical"

The CIA trusts cloud. COVID vaccines depended on it. Yet UK manufacturers claim their basement servers are more secure than systems handling trillions daily?

History's verdict is brutal: resist innovation, become a footnote.

This week's Sunday Signal examines why industries fail to see the obvious, and what British manufacturing must learn before it's too late.

The pattern never changes. Only the casualties do.

https://t.co/U1xkEbYzgo

[David Richards MBE @davidrichards]

34 years ago, Tim Berners-Lee solved a simple problem and shared the solution freely. That decision created the modern internet.

Today, British manufacturing faces a similar inflection point with cloud computing. The difference between leading and following often comes down to recognising quiet revolutions when they arrive.

Tomorrow's Sunday Signal explores what separates innovation leaders from historical footnotes.

Read it here:
https://t.co/U1xkEbYzgo