Is Location Still Important?

In this BBC video report, Rory Cellan Jones asks Joichi Ito and Elizabeth Varley if they think the geographical location of new technology companies is still important. Laptops, tablets, smartphones and teleconferencing mean staff can work for their multi-national from practically any location. And cloud computing – storing information on remote servers rather on local PCs – means that projects can be synced effortlessly, no matter where you are.

Earlier this week, the University of Oxford’s Said Business School hosted its annual meet-up of US and British entrepreneurs. So why didn’t they just all stay where they are and gather on Skype?

“We’re seeing that a lot of people involved in technology did start in their bedroom and when they really want to take things forward, they seek out like-minded people,” says attendee Elizabeth Varley of London-based TechHub, which helps start-ups in the capital by providing desk space and meeting rooms.

Another attendee at the conference in Oxford, Joichi Ito of Asian start-up incubator Neoteny Labs, talks about the importance of an “ecosystem” where all the ingredients to make a company work are there already.

“There’s huge serendipity in the physical world,” he says.

Perhaps location matters, just not as much as it used to. And that may be the limits of the technology of business.