Technology is seen as an important sector in economic development. In fact, one of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce’s six economic strategy points is to “nurture and attract future-oriented companies, especially businesses that embrace sustainability.”
Keeping these points in mind, the Chamber’s Technology Advocacy Committee released its 2010 Technology Survey and Forecast.
The committee consists of about 20 volunteers from diverse careers and backgrounds who all came together in 2010 for a common goal: to support and enhance the technology industry locally. The committee compiled the forecast as an economic development tool, aiming to inform and influence the actions and policy decisions of local government and organizations.
Among the recommendations of this year’s forecast are:
- Continue to support initiatives, programs, etc. to develop and enhance high-speed Internet connectivity, to allow for more telecommuting and industry growth.
- Foster further collaboration with the Central Coast technology industry and local colleges and universities to help develop the local labor pool, specifically skilled employees, while gearing education in college classes to support local technology companies.
- Enhance air transportation, so Central Coast technology companies can invite clients or easily visit potential clients out of the area.
- Technology companies could make a stronger effort to seek out the networking opportunities that are here and growing, and in so doing enhance these networking groups, creating a stronger sense of community among technology businesses.
- Support the effort to “put out a welcome mat” for technology companies by creating a process where technology companies looking to move here can work easily with the city’s Economic Development department and Cal Poly’s Tech Park to find an affordable place to set up shop.
The survey itself shows that about half of the respondents indicated that their businesses were negatively impacted by the economic climate of the last two years, but surprisingly 41.5% claimed that the economy has had either no effect or a positive or very positive effect on business (7.9% did not know how the economy affected their business).
An online dialogue portion of the survey delves deeper into opinions on technology trends, local business conditions and community characteristics. The survey was conducted in June/July 2010 under TAC Chair Brian Weiss.
“Many of the open-ended answers from in the survey results showed that bandwidth is a technology trend that will impact the economic vitality and growth of the technology industry,” Weiss said. “It’s important that the community recognize this and think about how the Central Coast will continue to compete with other areas in regard to our information technology infrastructure.”
The forecast is a follow-up to an initial survey and forecast conducted in 2005 and again in 2008. The Technology Advocacy Committee plans to conduct a similar survey every two years as a barometer of trends, attitudes and developments and as the basis for future recommendations.
