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IT's hottest cities
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From the bustling streets of Bangalore to the idyllic Mediterrannean village of Sofia Antipolis, high tech hotspots are sprouting up in surprising places. Here we scan the globe to bring you the latest from today's hottest IT cities.
Sofia Antipolis's idyllic tech park
Viewed from the air, Sophia Antipolis resembles above all else a luxury vacation village. How could somewhere so idyllic possibly be a center for high-tech industry? Because a few local visionaries wanted it that way, and began attracting high-tech companies and talent to the region in 1962. Nowadays, it's safe to say that even the bakers and the window cleaners are in Sophia Antipolis because of high-tech money.
Austin gains high-tech ground
In the 1960's, the Texas Bureau of Business Research along with the University of Texas teamed to attract businesses to Austin, and managed to persuade both IBM Corp. and Texas Instruments (TI) to start up hardware manufacturing facilities. The trend started by IBM and TI kicked off a wave of companies looking to take advantage of cheap real estate and loads of university talent. With all of this activity, Austin now sits in second place just behind San Jose in Silicon Valley as the most attractive spot for venture capitalists.
Seoul is wired for Net success
Since the Asian economic crisis began ravaging the South Korean economy in 1997, the government has held an unswaying faith in information technology and the Internet as one way out of the problems. It's paid off. The country can already claim a world-leading position in broadband Internet and online stock trading and in several other areas, such as cellphone penetration, the country is neck and neck with Asian peers such as Japan.
Net, commerce and content spur NYC IT activity
Location, location, location. It's no accident that a high-tech district has flowered in Silicon Alley, which lies between world class centers of finance and entertainment. In the last decade the Internet fused with New York's three C's --content, commerce, and communications -- and ignited high tech activity, which grew at 15 percent per year in the 90s. Now, high tech and new media counts about 4,000 companies and 140,000 employees, and is a $9.2 billion industry in New York.
Buenos Aires - capital of tango, dotcoms
Call it what you will -- the Capital City of Tango, or simply The Port -- the fact is that Buenos Aires is one of the world's biggest capitals and busiest and most active IT and telecommunications centers. Buenos Aires became the birthplace of many of the region's dot coms between 1998 and 2000, which were often founded by Argentinians who had studied in the U.S. and thus witnessed the heady early days of the Internet frenzy firsthand.
The Valley still dominates but faces challenges
It's been the best of times and the worst of times for Silicon Valley. Faced with decreased venture capital, industry-wide layoffs and a California power crisis, a sobering mood has come over the Valley. Many observers, however, view the recent area trends merely as a small hurdle for what remains a technology juggernaut. Be it technology stalwart or startup, Silicon Valley continues to shell out too many assets for companies to move away.
Bangalore is home to India's tech elite
The heat, the grime, pollution, and potholes on the road make the city quintessentially Indian. But look closely. Cheek by jowl with the noisy bazaars of Bangalore are swanky design and development facilities set up by both multinational and Indian companies. In the cubicles in these premises is where Bangalore's technology innovation thrives, as the city's information technology engineers do software development, design integrated circuits, and even develop products.
Sao Paulo is Brazil's spot for IT and telecom
The bustling city of Sao Paulo is an obvious choice for high tech vendors, as Sao Paulo businesses generate a constant and high demand for software, hardware and telecommunications products and services. Boasting 31 percent of all Brazil's Internet users and 52 percent of all registered Web domains in Brazil, Sao Paulo is clearly Brazil's hottest IT city.
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