Edinburgh takes top spot as fastest growing tech hub

● Last 20 years has seen the evolution of a ‘sophisticated technology ecosystem’

Edinburgh has been named the UK’S fastest-growing tech hub thanks to a surge in the number of data scientists working in the city.

The capital was singled out in the latest report by Stack Overflow, the global developer community, which noted that Edinburgh’s developer population grew 8 per cent in the second half of 2017.

That brought the total developer population to nearly 20,000, or seven developers per 100 people in the labour force, according to the study.

However, data scientists were the biggest success story this year, with their numbers jumping 19 per cent, in a sign that institutions such as The Data Lab are succeeding in their push to drive more participation in the burgeoning data science sector.

The latest research comes aftertechcityuk’s2017report found that Edinburgh was the second strongest technology hub in the UK – securing more investment than any other tech cluster outside London.

Stack Overflow said that London remained home to the UK’S biggest developer population, with more than 300,000 people specialising in that area.

Birmingham and Manchester have the UK’S highest developer populations outside London, at 40,300 and 39,000 respectively.

Glasgow trails behind with about 16,500 developers, or six developers per 100 people in the labour force.

Sean Bave, general manager and vice president, talent, at Stack Overflow, said: “Technology moves quickly – even just a couple of months can make a difference to the languages and methodologies developers are interested in and it can sometimes be difficult for employers to keep up with the trends.

“What’s fascinating about this data is the pace at which different technologies rise and fall. It’s more important than ever for employers to keep their ears to the ground and look at data like this to make sure they’re using the right technologies and attracting the right talent as we move into 2018.”

Polly Purvis, chief executive of Scotlandis, the digital trade association, said: “It’s brilliant to see this report – Edinburgh has such a lot to offer.

“As the tech industry body, we have long championed the need to grow Scotland’s talent pool and it is wonderful to see hard evidence of positive change.

“Of course, for Edinburgh to be the UK’S fastest-growing tech hub is not just down to one factor but to lots and lots of elements that, when they come together, make a big change.

“The last 20 years has seen the evolution of a highly sophisticated digital technology ecosystem drawing strength from academia, investors and industry, from start-ups to major companies operating at a world-class level.”

Founded in 2008, Stack Overflow partners with employers to help them understand, reach, and attract the world’s developers.