UK IT Association (UKITA)

People sometimes ask us to explain the difference between UKITA and some of the following groups:

British Computer Society - (BCS) - an excellent Professional Devlopment Institute which focuses on individual professional development and issues the CITP chartered qualification - BCS focuses on individual professionalism while UKITA is about the company and its relationship with its customers and the industry. You could think of BCS membership as the driving license and UKITA membership as the MOT for the vehicle. Both are needed. Many UKITA members are also BCS members and we are happy to promote their events amongst our branches.

Federation of Small Businesses - FSB - a large national small business Federation which has an impressive array of services for its members. Again many of our members are members of the FSB and usually just one of the practical cost-saving services that they offer more than pays for the membership - the FSB has a large and very wide range of types of members whereas UKITA focusses on the business development needs of the IT, digital meda and internet-related sectors only.

Local Chambers of Trade and Commerce - great places to network and meet potential customers - again a very wide range of businesses make up their membership whereas we focus on our own specific sectors.

Online technical expertise communites - these are fantastic global expertise exchange systems for the highly technical and highly specific "how to" or "why doesn't this work" type of question. Offering incredible depth and access to international help, just about all our members use these to research and solve problems in their individual areas of expertise. Where UKITA differs is in its focus on the BUSINESS of IT and the ability to extend your personal network face to face and strike up collaborations and business relationships.