Information Technology
Get an Innovation Edge in IOWA
Iowa’s business opportunities for entrepreneurs and corporations, a highly trained workforce and aggressive incentive programs are combining to turn Iowa into the latest hub for the information technology industry.
Iowa is working closely with companies to create hubs of IT innovation in Iowa’s communities. In the last three years alone, Iowa has attracted nearly $600 million in new investments from IT companies, including the recent locations of IBM, Google and Microsoft data centers. Currently, Iowa’s three major cities have been named Top 10 cities for data center locations, and the technology industry employs over 76,000 workers and accounts for $10.6 billion of the state’s GDP.
Iowa’s renowned research universities are providing innovative IT research and workers needed for an expanding IT industry. With three major state universities ranking in the Top 10 research universities in the country, Iowa currently awards the seventh-highest number of science and engineering degrees per 100,000 residents. Programs such as the Iowa Virtual Reality Applications Center at Iowa State University have successfully provided innovative solutions to companies and spawned entrepreneurial activities that are being used globally.
The Battelle Memorial Institute research demonstrated that as the state connects its top university research programs and its development opportunities with key clusters, the research and development efforts are providing a competitive advantage in Iowa's technology-driven development. Led by a steering committee of leaders in Iowa's IT field, key clusters of growth within the IT industry include radio frequency, advanced visualization, human-computer interaction, IT security systems, software quality assurance, and optical science laser technologies.
Other Targeted Industries
- Advanced
Manufacturing — Advanced manufacturing is a major driver of the Iowa economy
and the critical mass of expertise here is worth investigating if your company is
seeking a competitive advantage.
- Renewable
Energy — Iowa is a recognized leader in renewable energy production through
wind, biomass, ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, and biodiesel.
- Biosciences
— Iowa has a rich heritage of research and innovation in the biosciences industry.
From start-up companies to globally respected names in biotechnology, Iowa is creating
breakthroughs from better nutrition to life-saving medicine and renewable industrial
products.
- Financial
Services — As a global leader in the financial services sector, Iowa boasts
a tremendous number of insurance companies offering a wide array of innovative products
that protect, serve and enhance the lives of millions of people within Iowa, throughout
the United States, and around the globe.
- Food Manufacturing
— From ingredients and finished foods to processing and packaging machinery,
Iowa is the birthplace of many food industry innovations.