Innovation revolution

The explosion of mobile applications coincided with another massive shift in the technology world. During the last five years or so the tools for building apps and web services have become more and more accessible for everyone, not just large companies or those with deep pockets.

Hosted services like Amazon Web Services and Heroku have enabled even small companies and individuals to build web services and mobile applications. Not only that, they have helped them to rack up millions of users without needing to touch a single piece of server hardware, or worry about how their technology will scale with their rapidly growing user base. Some high profile examples are Instagram and WhatsApp, whose teams were small but their impact mighty.

These affordable and easy to use technology enablers have empowered a new group of individuals, start-ups and SMEs to not only build innovative new services but to compete with large companies.

If you have an idea you are no longer restricted by financial constraints, but can use open source web and mobile frameworks. Building a prototype for your idea takes far less time than ever before.

This revolution is not restricted to software development either. The introduction of both the Raspberry Pi and Arduino is enabling anyone to prototype their own innovations for the Internet of Things, and 3D printing is being used in more and more innovative ways – from creating custom prosthetics through to replacement parts for spacecraft.

Alongside these accessible technologies, organised events have emerged offering people an amazing  opportunity to work collaboratively over a weekend on projects they would otherwise never be able to access.

These events, known as ‘Hackathons’ or ‘Hack Days’ facilitate learning and innovation in a fun and collaborative environment.

They might last a day or 24 hours non-stop, and teams will work to solve problems by building web services, mobile applications and hardware products. You’ll find hackathons around all sorts of topics from finance, wearable technology, healthcare and more.

One of these events is the Space Apps Challenge where teams get together over a weekend to solve space focused problems, and we’re really excited to be hosting this year’s London event on 11-12 April at our offices in London. With an expected turnout of 100 attendees it is the second largest Space Apps Challenge location in the world.

The Space Apps Challenge is a great example of how accessible technology has become, where developers are not only restricted to solving problems on Earth. I am delighted not only to be judging the projects in London but also seeing what amazing things happen in just a weekend when you bring together a group of enthusiastic developers, designers and scientists.