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Connectivity through the digital world we live in has enabled productivity and profitability opportunities to businesses everywhere. The glitch in this extremely welcome development is the vulnerability to cyberattacks and fraudulent activity. The technology that makes business more profitable also enables those who want to disrupt.  As a result, spending in cyber security has skyrocketed, bringing with it many legitimate business opportunities for companies large and small.

Join us on Tuesday 23 March where we will come together to explore the business opportunities in today’s digital world. We will delve into the region’s thriving digital, chemical-processing, and automotive sectors and provide an insight into the challenges that a connected world presents to these industries and the hot opportunity for businesses seeking to diversity, support and grow in this booming area.

Guest Speakers

Cyber Security Risks in the Automotive Sector
Steve O’Connell , Sales and Marketing Director, Advantex Network Solutions

The Automotive and Manufacturing sector rely more on ICT and a stable and secure infrastructure than they ever have which is where Advantex can advise, support and help. Working in this sector for nearly 20 years, Advantex can provide support services from infrastructure to Cyber Security.

IoT and the use of Industry 4.0 technologies brings new security challenges at the edge whilst at the opposite end of the scale, cloud technologies bring different risks with an access anywhere anytime policy in many organisations. In this presentation Advantex will discuss the risks you will face and how available technologies can help overcome these.

Industrial Cyber Security – The landscape & the opportunities
Ian Gemski, Managing Director, Tekgem

Digitalisation represents an extraordinary growth and productivity opportunity for manufacturing in general, however, by its very nature brings with it increased risk. In fact, cyber security is still the number one risk for manufacturers whether that’s safety impact, business impact or financial impact – and attacks are on the rise.

Ian Gemski, Managing Director of North East-based Tekgem, will join us to talk about the industrial cyber security landscape and highlight the opportunities that this technological transformation presents to supply chain companies. Ian will also share the remarkable journey that led him to running one of the most reputable cyber security companies in the region.

Introducing Ian: With a passion for technology and having graduated with an honour’s degree in computer networking, Ian worked as lead technical architect for major blue-chip companies internationally prior to founding Tekgem. With over 20 years’ experience in the process industry focusing on designing highly available, reliable, and secure critical infrastructure, Ian now leads the ever-growing team at Tekgem providing industrial cyber security services to customers across the globe. In 2020, Tekgem won the NEPIC Small Business of the Year Award.

About Supply Chain North East

Supply Chain North East brings together four key partners to work with over 800 businesses through to 2021, supporting them to identify opportunities in new and existing markets. An integral part of the North East Strategic Economic Plan, that has a vision to create 100,000 more and better jobs between 2014 and 2024. , Supply Chain North East is delivered across the region by RTC North, Generator, North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA) and North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC).

Supply Chain North East is a multimillion programme aimed at revolutionising the way SMEs diversify their offering and embrace new markets. The programme has received more than £3m of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund, which is part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.

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