The UK’s economy could experience a whopping £413bn boost by 2030 from digital tech alone. That’s according to new independent research from Public First commissioned by Amazon.

The research goes on to say that both the public and businesses see digital as the nation’s biggest growth opportunity area after health.

It also warns that many organisations aren’t ready to grasp the opportunities. It stresses that businesses will need to focus “on increasing digital adoption, strengthening digital skills, and continuing to invest in digital infrastructure to unlock its full digital potential.”

Perhaps unsurprising findings from Amazon, but some prompts to reflect upon in our own organisations.

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“Customers need to be put at the heart of the business to make sure that the organisation delivers on the wants, needs and motivations of their client-base and consumers,” says digital transformation leader, James Goldhill of Paragon DCX.

You can watch or read his interview in The Drum here. According to Goldhill the benefits of getting digital transformation right include better customer engagement, faster growth and the ability to do more at a lower cost. He also talks about the importance of buy-in at senior levels.

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Speaking of which, apparently less than one in ten government leaders feels their organisations has met its digital transformation goals. This is according to a new report from EY which shares recommendations about how to overcome barriers like the skills gap and old-fashioned working practices. It warns that governments in the UK and beyond are at risk of failing citizens through lack of digitalisation.

The authors of the report are encouraging the public sector to adopt dynamic workforce planning, scale digital capabilities, foster digital leadership and re-imagine employee experience.

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In recruitment news, demand for workers with AI skills has massively spiked, in fact it’s more than tripled in the past decade according to Lightcast.

Lightcast’s Andy Durman told FE news: “Skills demand is often a leading indicator of where industries are headed, and job postings are showing that AI skills will likely continue to become more in-demand in the future.”

Those who possess AI skills are also more employable Durman added, since “technical AI skills are often highly transferable across a range of industries such as IT, finance, manufacturing and quarrying”. More here.

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Are tenants paying over the odds for broadband? Ofcom reports that millions of people are missing out on cheaper tariffs because firms are failing to promote them properly.

Consumer group Which? added that the average consumer could save £140 a year by switching to social tariffs, a low-cost broadband deal offered to customers on benefits costing about £15 a month.

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How prepared is your organisation for a cloud-related security incident? Apparently, the vast majority (80%) have experienced such an incident in the past year according to Venafi.

The machine identity management provider said that the three most common cloud-related security incidents are security incidents during runtime, unauthorised access and misconfigurations.

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Our colleagues at the Regulator of Social Housing have revealed the key risks facing the sector.

There were no surprises on reading that the sector faces ‘substantial’ financial pressures.

Influenced by high inflation, the cost of debt rising and increased cost-of-living pressures on tenants, a proposed rent cap, and a weakening housing market.

The regulator is urging providers to continue responding appropriately to the changing conditions. Adding that; “boards and councillors will need to have a clear sense of their priorities and make trade-offs, and must ensure that their mitigating actions are strategic and timely, underpinned by stress testing and robust planning, and communicated effectively to stakeholders.”

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ICYMI. Did you read about how Yorkshire Housing launched an “industry first” app specifically designed to help tackle hoarding?

The team said; “Technology can almost always make processes more efficient…delivering a better experience for our customers. Our goal was to use the systems and technologies we already have at Yorkshire Housing to digitalise the hoarding reporting process…”

“The app, which is still being piloted, has streamlined the reporting process, which means we’re made aware of concerns and can provide support much earlier than we could previously.

“For both the ‘report a concern’ and ‘full assessment’ tools, the app uses a score-based system for each question to grade the risk. The app then automatically sends a report to our customer-independence team where the reports are triaged. If concerns have been reported, we can quickly arrange a visit to the customer’s home to carry out a more in-depth assessment.”

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And finally…delays in construction? Why not print new houses instead?

That’s what pioneers at Building for Humanity are doing in Accrington. Its £6m scheme will house homeless veterans and low-income families in 46 eco homes which will be ‘printed’ in mere weeks.

The proposed development will be the first 3DCP residential project in the UK, and when completed the largest such development in Europe.