What makes Amsterdam a tech hub to compete with London?

Amsterdam is gaining pace as a European base for relocating large companies and start-ups, and not just because of Brexit. What are the key attractions?

Relocate Editorial

25 February 2020

Home to the world’s first futures market – which was in tulips – Amsterdam is once again taking its place centre stage in the world’s economy by becoming a successful and rapidly growing tech hub.Already ranked number four in the world by Savills in its 2019 Best Tech Cities Index, the ecosystem is continuing to grow and the sky is the limit, according to Tom Brookshaw, who recently joined data, technology and analytics recruiter, KDR Recruitment, as Principal Consultant for The Netherlands.“There are huge opportunities for creative and intelligent people to quickly carve a great career in data science in Amsterdam,” he says. “Jobs in the tech sector in Amsterdam are increasing at a rate of 12% each year, which is hugely exciting.”

Gains from moving to Amsterdam

It isn’t just start-ups that are flourishing in the capital of The Netherlands. Huge global names, such as Netflix, Uber and Google have recently moved into the city.“Brexit is definitely having an impact with these large organisations considering the need for a European base outside the UK,” explains Tom. “But other factors are important too, such as the ease of relocating to Amsterdam, fantastic transport links and a population that has an almost universal ability to speak English.”

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Higher salary potential

Salaries in Amsterdam are also attractive. The average annual salary for a Data Scientist in Amsterdam is around €69,000, which in Europe is second only to Switzerland.CEO of KDR Recruitment, Mark Dexter, comments, “The data, technology and analytics fields are booming in the Netherlands and there is an increasing number of appealing opportunities for us in this market. With the UK no longer being a part of the EU it is important that we secure our ability to serve European markets and our clients who are based or have operations there.“Amsterdam has the potential to take over from London as the major centre for data, technology and analytics recruitment.”