Codeworks Connect is the trade association working with more than 300 companies in the North East. Set up in 2004, they provide expert advice and support to businesses of all sizes – whether single-operators or FTSE 100 companies – helping companies working in the fields of web design, IT solutions, graphic design and pretty much everything else that fits under the digital umbrella.

From regular networking events such as the monthly ‘think and drink’ meetings to coordinating specialist advice, Codeworks Connect helps their members to realise their potential. They are also the organisation behind the prestigious annual Thinking Digital event, which attracts speakers from around the globe, proof (if any was needed) that they have the world-class experience and expertise to support their member companies in their sector.

Twenty people from fifteen Codeworks Connect member companies have attended TechnologyWorld09; the delegates we spoke to explained that the Codeworks Connect team taken pains to provide everything that would be necessary for them at the conference, booking hotels, organising meetings and setting up meetings that may well lead to potential partnerships.

Jill Newey, Managing Director of business development and project management agency Rise, explained that the networking opportunities at TechnologyWorld09 have been key for her business. She found that it has been as valuable to meet other Codeworks Connect member companies as it has been to meet other companies at the event – by sharing the experience and attending TechnologyWorld09 as a group, they have found potential opportunities for working together.

Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine is at TechnologyWorld09 to represent CannyBill, a web-based invoicing and billing solution for businesses and web designers. The idea for the company came about 18 months ago, after Wladimir’s web design company did some work to launch an e-commerce company. Looking for to improve brand awareness and meet new people, Wladimir explained that Codeworks Connect helped his company to attend the event when costs might otherwise have been prohibitive.

 Ross Conney, a representative from premium spam and virus filtration company emailcloud, said that attending TechnologyWorld09 alongside other Codeworks Connect members had not only been financially viable but had also been much more practical – his company doesn’t necessarily need a stand of its own to demonstrate its product, and sharing the Codeworks Connect stand with other brands gave him the chance to attend a show without a huge financial investment. He also commented that, out of the nine business leads he has made so far, two have been with other Codeworks Connect companies; like Jill, he believes that getting to know other member companies will for many brands be just as valuable as any other contacts they make at events such as TechnologyWorld09.

 Other Codeworks Connect member companies attending TechnologyWorld09 include: 

Pebble, Komodo Design, Rozmic, Auto Sum Accounts, Orange Bus, Orangepanda, Oolioonline.com, STCS, 5G Technologies Europe