The Council has selected a consortium led by Barclays Eagle Labs to operate the new Manchester Digital Innovation and Security Hub (DISH).
DISH will be a place for collaboration between Manchester's business and entrepreneurial community, leading academics, public sector organisations and the voluntary sector to identify digital security threats and innovative responses to them. The hub will offer co-working space as well as access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, allowing business residents to rapidly develop and test their products and services.
The 11,000 sq ft cybersecurity hub is a key element of the ambition to make Greater Manchester a top five European digital city region. It will help put the city in the international forefront of the response to digital threats and support its economic recovery by helping create the next generation of innovators.
To be located in Heron House in the heart of Manchester, in the same building as GCHQ and its National Cyber Security Centre, DISH will be able to draw on world-class expertise, as well the knowledge and support of the consortium partners Barclays Eagle Labs, Plexal, Lancaster University and the University of Manchester.
Additionally, through its accelerator hub, start-ups and growing businesses can be nurtured through bespoke programmes and mentorship, and new commercial products and services to enhance digital security for organisations, businesses and individuals can be created.
The new hub will be a focal point for growing Manchester's thriving digital security eco-system, and help enhance its global profile while further developing and diversifying its talent pool. Manchester was named in the 2020 Tech Nation report as the fastest-growing major tech cluster in Europe with a strong platform for further growth. The digital, creative and technology sector here currently consists of around 10,000 businesses employing 86,000 people and contributing around £5 billion a year to the city's economy.
Joanne Roney OBE, chief executive of Manchester City Council, said: “The past 12 months have provided a compelling illustration both of the increasingly complex threats to cybersecurity as more and more use is made of technology and the importance of investing in innovation.
“There is a real opportunity now for Manchester to become a centre of excellence in developing new products to help safeguard both the public sector and businesses of all sizes. This will help drive economic growth and job creation in this fast-growing area which is emerging as one of Manchester’s distinctive strengths. The fact that we are emerging from the economic shock of a pandemic makes the Digital Innovation Security Hub all the more important.”
Jon Hope, Director of Barclays Eagle Labs, said: “Through this partnership, we have a great opportunity to accelerate the growth of Manchester’s digital security ecosystem, at a time when the industry is becoming ever more vital.
“We’ll bring the full benefits and the cybersecurity expertise we have in our UK wide Eagle Labs network, along with the world-leading knowledge and expertise of our partners Plexal, Lancaster University and the University of Manchester to make Greater Manchester a magnet for regional growth and DISH an epicentre of digital security innovation”
The Manchester Digital Innovation Security Hub is supported by Greater Manchester Combined Authority through the Local Growth Fund. The Hub will be up and running later this year.