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Technology is poised to lead
Georgia out of the recession.
Georgia is home
to more than 250,000
technologists and 13,000
technology companies
(both producers of
technology and tech-enabled
businesses). Fourteen
Fortune 500 companies are
headquartered in our state,
including recent technology
wins NCR and First Data.
And we were recently ranked
by the Kaufman Foundation as
the top state in the nation for new
businesses (tied for first with Nevada).
Even during the depths of the recession,
Georgia’s technology industry remained
fairly stable and even grew in some
segments, including internet, multimedia
and telecommunications; this as many other
industries, and even the national technology
economy, experienced nominal growth and
losses.
A quick examination of the tech
market in shows it is quickly picking
up steam. In TAG’s 2010 Technology
Decision-Maker’s Survey (conducted
with partners CMS Research and Internet
Decisions), 70-percent of the more than
120 respondents declared plans to expand
their workforce in the next year. And, by the
end of 2010, technology companies here
announced plans for more than one-billion
dollars in investment in the state—which is
anticipated to generate at least 5,000 jobs.
Technologists are in hot demand.
Every month, TAG and partner SkillProof
track the number of open technology jobs
in the state. In April, there were a record
5,050 technology jobs open (up more than
2,000 jobs from the same time last year).
Positions topping the list
were systems engineers,
software developers and IT
architects/consultants.
The state is taking
notice.
Science and technology
have not historically
been priorities for state
lawmakers, but—especially
with the stream of recent
announcements of
technology companies
expanding or moving to
Georgia—they are starting
to take notice. Recently,
TAG worked with Georgia legislators, Sen.
Barry Loudermilk and Rep. Doug Holt,
among others, to pass Senate Resolution
68 to establish a commission to conduct
extensive interviews with technology
stakeholders around the state and gather
data that will ultimately lead to the creation
of a strategic plan for science and technology.
This would be the first ever plan of this type
for our state, and is an excellent example of
Gov. Deal and state lawmaker’s commitment
to the industry and job creation.
And young companies received a shot in
the arm from legislators in the spring of 2010
with the passage of the Angel Tax Credit.
Even with such a strong entrepreneurial
community, Georgia has been challenged to
keep young companies here. The tax credit is
designed to provide motivation for early-
stage investors in Georgia to support local
start-ups and give them the resources needed
to grow and thrive in our state.
The combination of technology industry
growth and increasing support from
lawmakers will have significant impact on
both Georgia’s technology developers—and
the companies who rely on technology to
help their businesses run.
Industry clusters are taking hold.
Georgia’s growing technology prowess
is strongly tied to particular industries that
are expanding at a faster rate than others,
including health IT, financial technology,
information security, IT communication
and logistics. These are the clusters where
Georgia leads.
Numerous studies have shown that
strong industry clusters lead to further
growth for a community because they create
increased competition, a more robust talent
pool and support the growth of related
industries. Combined, our top clusters
bring in more than 80-billion dollars in
revenue each year. And software and IT
communications companies alone supply
state with more than 70-thousand jobs—or
one-third of the high-tech jobs in our state.
Several other industries in Georgia
are picking up steam as well, including
SmartGrid, entertainment and interactive
marketing. A number of these areas,
particularly in gaming and interactive
marketing, thrive on innovation driven by
the educated, young adults that flock to
Atlanta. Georgia is home to more than 60
video game developers and development
companies—resulting in more than
1,600 employees around the state in this
space. And we’ve become a hub for many
nationally-recognized interactive marketing
firms like SilverPop and Definition6.
From high-tech to tech-enabled, the
expansion of these industry clusters will lead
to new opportunities for Georgia and help
fuel our economy.
Don’t keep the secret.
Even with our incredible businesses,
expanding industries and important assets
(including one of the most sophisticated
Technology: Georgia’s Secret Economic Weapon
Tino Mantella , President & CEO, Technology Association of Georgia
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THE EXECUTIVE – SUMMER 2011
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