Metro Detroit Has “Become a Leader Among the Nation’s Technology Economies”

The automotive capital of the world has “quietly become a leader among the nation’s technology economies,” says an Automation Alley’s 2014 Technology Industry Report released today.

According to media reports, the study shows Metro Detroit tech industry employment is up 15 percent (approximately 30,000 jobs) compared to last year, making it the largest tech hub in the Midwest. The growth rate significantly eclipses more traditional technology regions like Silicon Valley, which lost 4 percent (approximately 10,000 jobs) of its employment base.

The automotive capital of the world has “quietly become a leader among the nation’s technology economies,” says an Automation Alley’s 2014 Technology Industry Report released today.

According to media reports, the study shows Metro Detroit tech industry employment is up 15 percent (approximately 30,000 jobs) compared to last year, making it the largest tech hub in the Midwest. The growth rate significantly eclipses more traditional technology regions like Silicon Valley, which lost 4 percent (approximately 10,000 jobs) of its employment base.

Online Tech’s Metro Detroit data center.

The study also shows schools in Metro Detroit graduated more science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science than Silicon Valley.

Online Tech contributed 15 jobs to the Detroit-area technology boom when it announced the opening of its new, world-class Metro Detroit data center facility in Westland. A $10 million investment into the infrastructure of the building will “provide the critical IT infrastructure and services that growing Michigan companies need to sustain growth and credibility in the next few years,” Online Tech co-CEO Mike Klein said in a press release announcing the center.

“Metro Detroit is a perfect location for expansion with a healthy enterprise market of Fortune 500 companies and a fast-growing community of startups in the healthcare, financial and retail industries,” Klein added.

According to the study’s definition, the Detroit region includes Genesee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties — placing all four of Online Tech’s Michigan data centers and its company headquarters in the mix.

The new Westland location is in Wayne County while the company’s headquarters and two additional data centers are located in Ann Arbor, in Washtenaw County. The Mid-Michigan data center is located in Flint Township, in Genesee County.

Automation Alley will release complete details of the study on its website later today.

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