07-08-14 | Blog Post
The Metro Detroit area has been one of the country’s fastest-growing technology hubs for years, topping that list in 2012 and placing fifth in 2013.
In its 2014 Technology Industry report, Automation Alley says the automotive capital of the world has “quietly become a leader among the nation’s technology economies,” the largest tech hub in the Midwest with a growth rate significantly higher than more traditional technology regions like Silicon Valley.
“Everyone in Michigan knows the exciting story that is emerging, but Detroit has been under the radar nationally,” Online Tech co-CEO Mike Klein said in a press release announcing the company’s new Metro Detroit data center will officially open on August 1. “With smart people like Dan Gilbert making major investments in a wide range of local technology businesses, there is now a vibrant community of startups in Detroit that rivals anywhere in the country.”
As the installation of Henry Ford’s first moving assembly line transformed Detroit’s industrial past, world-class data centers will provide the infrastructure necessary to make today’s Motor City more productive and profitable, and also prepare the burgeoning tech scene for the next several decades.
More than a year ago, Online Tech co-CEO addressed this topic in a video entitled Data Centers Come to Town:
“You can’t have a really successful community with lots of high tech activity if there’s not a single intellectual property lawyer in town or a single accountant that knows how to do depreciation for software. Companies end up leaving those areas because they can’t get important help,” he said. “(Similarly, data centers) are seen as an important piece of the infrastructure. You can’t be a technology corridor if you don’t have at least one or two data center providers.”
Note: Tours of Online Tech’s new Metro Detroit data center are available upon request.
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