Oxfordshire has a strong digital cluster, home to cutting edge software development linked to financial trading and security software notably cyber security. Oxfordshire has particular strengths in big data processing for the life science and space communities, and there are strong clusters of consumer electronics businesses and major technology providers.

Research into new advances/new technologies is a key strength of the University of Oxford. Significant projects are underway within the The Oxford Internet Institute which was founded in 2001 as an academic centre for the study of the societal implications of the Internet. Based in the Oxford Internet Institute, the Oxford Digital Economy Collaboration Group (ODEC) which was established in August 2013 is carrying out collaborative work with a focus on: the Internet of Things (IoT); trust, privacy, cybersecurity, and personal data; data-driven economics and business models; and societal aspects of the digital economy.

Oxfordshire-based companies in this sector include Oxford Instruments, founded by Sir Martin Wood in 1959 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford, who provide high technology tools and systems for research and industry.   RM Education, founded in 1973, is a global supplier of ICT for education. Nominet manage the .uk website domain names, and Amadeus Software provides SAS Business Intelligence solutions.  The business and science parks around Oxfordshire also house a number of subsidiaries of major international IT companies including IBM Telelogic, and Sharp Laboratories of Europe.

Big data

Big data expertise in Oxfordshire includes modelling and simulation, software development, web and mobile technologies, data management and storage, visualisation, and data analysis.  Large amounts of CERN and space data is downloaded and managed at Harwell Oxford through the best-in-class JANET network, which collaborators can access.

Major growth is forecasted in Earth Observation (EO) as climate-change monitoring and mitigation programmes see widespread expansion and support. EO data and Space telecommunications will also become a vital part of world-wide security infrastructures. The Satellite Applications Catapult at Harwell offers a unique Earth Observation (EO) facility – CEMS. This is a purpose-built facility offering space-based climate change and EO data and services. CEMS has been designed to give users access to extensive data holdings and a range of applications, tools and services that help them analyse this data more effectively. To facilitate this, CEMS provides users with a fully automated cloud computing environment allowing easy access to CEMS data and various associated services. To demonstrate the range and types of data that is available through CEMS, example datasets can currently be accessed from external sources such as: the NERC Earth Observation Data Centre (NEODC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) On-line Archive.

Specifically in the life sciences sector, the Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery incorporates two related research institutes at the heart of University of Oxford’s major biomedical Old Road campus - the Target Discovery Institute (TDI) and the Big Data Institute (BDI). The BDI will build on the high throughput biology activities in the TDI by creating an institute directed at obtaining and characterising large datasets to improve understanding of human disease.

Cyber Security

Cyber security is an increasingly important requirement for global business and modern society. There is an urgent need for creative thought leading to the next generation of cyber security capability and Oxfordshire is at the forefront of this debate. Oxford is home to the Cyber Security Centre at the University of Oxford. It is an “Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research” a status bestowed by Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ). It has been established to bring together experts from a number of disciplines in Oxford and the wider world to address the cyber security challenges of the 21st century. It also provides top quality graduates in the field of cyber security.

The Global Cyber Security Capacity Programme is hosted at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford and the aim is to understand how to deliver effective cyber security both within the UK and internationally.

Cobalt Light Systems Ltd, based at Milton Park, utilised the Central Laser Facility (CLF) based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to develop equipment for the non-invasive analysis of materials. A laser spectroscopy technique was developed and patented in the CLF and the Liquid Explosive Detection Systems (LEDS) are being supplied to all five airport terminals at Heathrow, and to three others across the UK.

Key companies in Oxfordshire include Sophos who focus on delivering the best IT security and data protection for businesses. They produced their first encryption and antivirus products back in the 1980s. Today their products protect over 100,000 businesses and 100 million users, in more than 150 countries. Their global headquarters is in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Kaspersky Lab is an international group that operates in more than 100 countries worldwide. Their UK offices are found in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. CQR is a provider of independent information security services.

Networks

The Oxford Technology Media & Finance Network builds connections between entrepreneurial managers. Their network objectives include: stimulating a debate and business thinking on key topics and markets; helping members build a local network for support, personal development and mentoring on an individual basis; and, help local start-ups and businesses find the people, connections and resources they need to flourish.

The Oxford Digital Economy Collaboration (ODEC) group aims to support the Connected Digital Economy Catapult (CDEC) through linking the catapult’s initiatives with research and expertise at Oxford and other universities across the UK and to help build collaborations with businesses in the digital, Internet, and, creative industries.

VOX ('Voices from Oxford') is a wide-ranging series of webcasts that brings Oxford University faculty, students, and alumni to people around the world. It enhances world-wide access to the University of Oxford.

Digital Oxford connects digital design and technology in Oxfordshire, and Connected Oxford is a group for enterprising people in Oxford. Oxford Start-ups focuses on software start-ups. There are also various meetup.com groups that focus on User Experience, Internet, Python, and Data Science (big data).

Nationally Significant Centres of Excellence

• Oxford Brookes University, Department of Computing and Electronics
• University of Oxford, Department of Physics, Electronics group specialise in custom design, manufacture and commissioning of electronics systems from prototype to small production series. The group contributed to two of the major experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, for example.
• University of Oxford, Isis Innovation, Software Incubator
• The University of Oxford’s e-Research Centre leads digital research and drives innovation in technology. It connects disciplines, applications and computation to accelerate research and collaboration within the University, nationally and internationally. The Centre provides a world-leading environment that enables collaborative research, interfacing innovative technologies across academic and commercial partnerships
• University of Oxford, Oxford Martin School, Institute for the Future of Computing.
• University of Oxford Department of Computing Science -one of the longest-established Computer Science departments in the country. Research activities encompass core Computer Science, as well as computational biology, quantum computing, computational linguistics, information systems, software verification and software engineering.
• The Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance is the home of interdisciplinary research in quantitative aspects of finance at the University of Oxford. It has particular strengths in computational finance, financial econometrics and hedge fund research.
• The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science has expertise in RF and microwave systems design and integration, which are developed for demanding applications in particle accelerators but can also be applied to other systems.

Talent Pool

There are considerable concentrations of computing talent in Oxfordshire universities. Oxford Brookes University has over 1,700 students on computer science and engineering and technology courses. University of Oxford has nearly 700 students on computer science, systems security, and software engineering courses. The Oxford Internet Institute is the only major department in a top-ranked international university to offer multi-disciplinary social science degree programmes focusing on the Internet, attracting top-scoring students drawn from a variety of different disciplines.

Connectivity

In 2013, Oxford was rated the second top performing city in the UK with access to Super-Fast Broadband (as defined by Ofcom as 30Mbit/s.15). Oxfordshire is investing heavily in infrastructure for connectivity. Key initiatives include Better Broadband for Oxfordshire - a project to bring fibre-enabled broadband (Download speeds at or above 24Mb/s) to over 90% of homes and businesses in the county by the end of 2015. Oxford will soon become one of only 12 super connected broadband cities in the UK.  Also there are other funded projects which will help deliver free wireless connectivity for those that visit, live and work in the city.

Also read more on the 2015 Tech City UK which puts Oxford on the nation's digital map.