by Alistair Hardaker
There are two sources of data on the UK’s companies and sectors, but neither are quite fit for purpose. That’s the view of Alex Craven, Co-Founder and Director of The Data City.
As part of the Leeds-based company, Craven and a team of 10 have introduced machine learning to the categorisation of UK businesses in an effort to keep up with the pace of change. I assumed the government would know what our businesses do, but I was completely wrong,” he told Prolific North.
Craven explained that one source of business data, Companies House, categorises businesses by a Standard Industrial Classification or SIC code, which doesn’t allow for firms in emerging industries to properly identify themselves.