About Us
Although IP Network is new, it’s got a strong track record. Suffolk has long been a place of technical innovation and home to some great technology companies and start-ups.
Originally launched in April 2000 as IP City, the movement was founded by like-minded business leaders as a support network to encourage step-change innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. With the input of a visionary steering group led by James Hehir, Stewart Davies and Julian Harris and including BT, Ipswich Borough Council, Agilent, Smart421, NTL, 4EN, Prettys Solicitors and KPMG, it drew upon a concept of opening a high-tech corridor between the business clusters already operating in Cambridge and Ipswich. The Cambridge 2 Ipswich High Tech corridor was formed in 2000, but met with limited success in connecting the two centres of excellence. Nevertheless, it was successful in bringing together a significant majority of business leaders across the East of England and in promoting better collaboration towards new opportunities and business growth.
Continually moving with the times, IP City became the IP City Network and reformulated its ethos around a strengthened events program, knowledge sharing and business networking among organisations with an IP postcode. It’s vision was to provide a supportive and attractive environment for innovation and to promote IP City and the Cambridge 2 Ipswich High Tech Corridor as locations of choice for high technology organisations, providing their communities and partners with sustainable economic growth and prosperity whilst identifying new ways to communicate its message globally.
A great example of this was in 2006, when Frank Stone delivered a successful initiative for a knowledge exchange enterprise network. “Networking in the 21st Century” was a series of well attended networking events in conjunction with BT Adastral Park, University Campus Suffolk and others. It attracted speakers such as Digby Jones, former director of the CBI, Sean Phelan, the founder of MultiMap and other notable technology entrepreneurs. It delivered a support structure to pre- and post- dot com start-ups, many of which went on to mature and grow their businesses. Richard Nicol was the Chair of the Steering Group for two years and under his leadership established the Networking in 21st Century Programme as well as the partnership with the National Technology Strategy Board's ICT Knowledge Transfer Network (ICT KTN).
In 2011, the name was changed to IP Network and it was brought in as special interest group under the custodianship of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce.
With new impetus and leadership, the IP Network is ready to help you meet the challenges of a fast moving world and ferociously competitive markets, whether you’re an inventor or innovator, whether you’re working in the supply-side or demand-side of the ICT sector.
Make a difference. Join us today