Key points.
Check the sector definition and reference period before comparing market figures.
Investment, turnover and gross value added describe different forms of activity.
An organisational technology decision still needs an assessment of local requirements and readiness.
The UK's digital economy is regularly described through investment totals, company valuations and employment figures. Each measure has a purpose. Combining them without examining their scope can produce a confident but incomplete account of the market.
Read the definition with the figure
DSIT's June 2026 economic release measures the Digital and Technologies sector using a company-level definition. It reports on the 2024 economy and uses a different scope from the older Digital Sector Economic Estimates series. The publication explicitly explains those differences. [1]
An increase in a reported total may reflect a different definition as well as a change in activity. Investment, turnover and gross value added also describe different things. None should be treated as a direct measure of demand for an individual consultancy.
Sector activity and organisational demand
For an organisation making a technology decision, the relevant assessment is closer to its own operations. Which systems need replacement? Where is information unreliable? Which service creates avoidable work? Who will maintain a proposed platform?
Market statistics help place these questions in context. They do not determine the appropriate solution, the timing of an investment or the organisation's readiness to implement it.
Tiph's position
Tiph is incorporated in the United Kingdom. Our focus is digital strategy, service design and the application of AI within organisational processes. We use published research to examine the market while keeping recommendations tied to the requirements of the organisation under review.
An account of a market should be precise about what its evidence establishes. The same discipline applies to the advice drawn from it.
Published evidence. Scope and limitations.
- [1]Department for Science, Innovation and Technology / 2026 release / 2024 dataDigital and Technologies Sector: Economic Statistics
The release measures companies, employment, productivity, turnover and gross value added using a company-level sector definition.
ScopeThe release uses a different definition from the older Digital Sector Economic Estimates series. Totals should not be compared without checking coverage.
Analysis of digital strategy, service design and applied AI.
Further analysis
