Technology solves problems, improves methods, creates useful tools and entertains. It’s the hardware held in the hands and the software that allows humans interact with it. It’s the tangible product of imagination and the invisible “storage” of ideas. Increasing capabilities of the “cloud” make technology more productive, more powerful and more accessible than ever. Technology exposes society’s vulnerabilities, as demonstrated by the mass hacking of Target customers, and underpins economies.

In less than ten years, Augusta and the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) have evolved into a hub of technological research, implementation, discovery, innovation and delivery. Among U.S. cities, Metro Augusta ranks second for high-tech job growth in the last five years. The number of technology jobs in Augusta increased 81-percent from 2006 to 2011. In Georgia, Augusta has the second highest growth in technology-based businesses, bested only by Atlanta. In 2014, NewGeography.com cited Augusta as #10 in the country for Cities Winning the Battle for Information Jobs, and Wallethub.com designated Augusta as the #3 Best Place to Start a Business. This perfect storm stages Augusta for a steady increase of tech-related jobs and companies.

Technology breeds more technology. Gadgets are quickly obsolete. Computers need constant software updates. The latest hardware and software require the development of hardware or software to support them. Other business sectors rely on tech assistance to aid with the integration of technological advances. Nothing is static. One niche gives way to another as new applications, risks and research open doors for alternative solutions, methods and utilities. The CSRA is capitalizing on these characteristics of the tech industry. “Information Security, Process Automation, Energy and Sustainability, Health, Education and Advanced Manufacturing are our primary areas of specialization as a community,” says Eric R. Parker, AIA, co-founder and managing partner of theClubhou.se Partners and advisory board chair of the Greater Augusta chapter of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG).

The twofold forces of Augusta’s layered healthcare community and the U.S. Army’s Fort Gordon continue to push the CSRA to the forefront of the technology field in Georgia and in the nation. Relocation of the U.S. Army’s Cyber Command Headquarters (ARCYBER) to Fort Gordon is compounding the CSRA’s tech sector expansion. In conjunction with ARCYBER’s move to Fort Gordon, several other units such as the Cyber Center of Excellence and the Cyber Resources Teams, along with intelligence units, will follow. Parker calls the development an “economic game changer.”

The army’s decision to headquarter ARCYBER at Fort Gordon attests that the area’s infrastructure and atmosphere are conducive to the proliferation of tech-based businesses. Scott Poag, Project Manager for the Augusta Development Authority, notes the symbiotic relationship between the private and public sectors. “Augusta is right in the middle of it,” he says. The city is uniquely poised for progress. “Other communities do not have these features that exist in Augusta…the eleven hospitals, the medical university, a research university, a technical training college, Fort Gordon and the presence of the Savannah River Site nearby.”

ARCYBER is expected to create over 2,000 jobs with salaries ranging from $50,000 to over $100,000 by 2019. That adds up to an annual income impact of $154-million. Private sector cyber contractors and tertiary tech-type businesses arriving in the region to meet outsourced needs, to identify and fill high-tech niches and to take advantage of the benefits of clustering will multiply the income effect.

The partnership between Georgia Regents University and Philips Healthcare, a leader in the field of medical technology, provides another example of public sector-private sector synergy. This first--of-its-kind innovative delivery model for treating patients with cutting-edge medical technology will revolutionize the healthcare industry. The 15-year, $300 million alliance signed in June 2013 will not only benefit the four to six million people living in the region served by Georgia Regents Health System, it will also foster continued development and refinement of diagnostic and treatment tools and spur tech businesses that provide supportive services.

Numerous tech-based businesses have set up shop here, taking advantage of the tech-savvy workforce. Poag says, “In today’s economy, companies locate where the talent is available.” Federal facilities, like Fort Gordon, the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center and Savannah River Nuclear Site, along with private enterprises, such as Plant Vogtle, attract a brain-trust of technology experts to the CSRA. Poag adds, “Fort Gordon has about 150 personnel separating from the military every month.  These veterans are already highly trained in IT and Communications which are transferable skills.”   

In addition, local secondary schools, colleges and universities train students to enter a tech-skilled workforce. A. R. Johnson High School, a health science and engineering magnet school, and Richmond County Technical Career Magnet High School, prepare young people for post-secondary study in tech-related fields. Augusta Technical College offers a nuclear engineering technology program to accommodate the area’s growth trends. Poag says, “Georgia Regents University and Augusta Technical College are training the workforce of tomorrow at every level.” 

Efforts are afoot to cultivate a community comfortable with technology, to bring people together to exchange ideas, test hypotheses and implement inventions. Parker’s endeavor, theClubhou.se, for example, “functions as a cultural center for techies and entrepreneurs.” Parker believes this grassroots movement toward a tech-abled citizenry sets Metro-Augusta apart as a model of trailblazing in the 21^st century.

Georgia Regents University’s Office of Innovation Commercialization supports technology development at home and around the globe by marketing and commercializing emerging technologies with potential to solve real-world problems. This office also hosts the Life Sciences Business Development Center, a 10,000 square-foot facility dedicated to promoting a collaborative atmosphere for transferring ideas into action.

Morris Venture Capital, a division of Morris Communications, is taking advantage of the Invest Georgia Act, which creates a $100-million venture capital fund in the state. Other financing opportunities through initiatives like FundAugusta.com educate the community on crowdfunding. Crowdfunding enables average citizens to pool their resources to finance a local project or organization, driving technology growth from the ground floor.

Technology breeds more technology breeds higher incomes breeds increased consumer choices breeds better schools and community services breeds tech industry expansion breeds innovative technology. “[Augusta’s] growth is driven by three primary factors: Massive government spending on information security, affordable quality of life, and a number of highly impassioned citizens who believe in a vision of a prosperous, technology savvy Augusta,” says Parker. The CSRA and Augusta are at the epicenter of a cyber explosion.