Georgia on my mind

I commend Georgia for its Yamacraw initiative, but I'm not holding my breath for a massive shift in technology centers.

Forget Silicon Valley. Georgia wants to be the center of high-tech. That's right. The state most famous for peaches, pecans, Gone with the Wind and a Ray Charles song is pooling its resources to make Georgia a leader in broadband component and equipment development.

The two-year-old economic development project, dubbed “Yamacraw,” encourages technology companies to open development facilities in Georgia by offering tax breaks and other incentives, including access to the R&D efforts of eight state universities. The State of Georgia has allocated money for the universities to hire up to 90 new faculty members in technical fields within a five-year timeframe and modify their curriculum to reflect the Yamacraw areas of interest.

In return, member companies agree to hire a percentage of Georgia residents to work in their facilities. Where will they find the tech-savvy staff? New grads. As part of the initiative, the state promises to step up engineering education in high schools and universities with the goal of graduating 1600 engineers and computer scientists.

Those people, presumably, will join the companies that become Yamacraw members.

Perhaps the biggest draw is that companies can tap into the research of the Yamacraw Design Center, using the information for free (after paying the “nominal membership fee”). The catch of course, is they all get access to the same information. Yamacraw associates assured me that member companies each use the technology differently, so the shared information isn't a conflict for them.

The state of Georgia also created a $5 million seed fund to attract new start-ups and incubate broadband companies. It also has begun to market itself as a technology breeding ground in the hope of educating young whippersnappers about the benefits of Yamacraw membership.

Yamacraw has attracted some big names: BellSouth is the latest to become a member, joining Ciena, Nortel Networks, National Semiconductor, StarCore (an alliance between Lucent Technologies and Motorola) and several others.

But is Georgia really going to attract a slew of high-tech innovators? Hmmm, given the resentment people feel every June when they head to Atlanta for Supercomm, the state might be waging an uphill battle.

The fact of the matter is Georgia is missing a critical component: The best method of getting businesses to launch in your geographic area is to already have them. Silicon Valley is the most obvious example. As one dotcom fails, another emerges (though this time it's not called a dotcom). As experienced engineers and managers look for new opportunities, they move around to other companies or start their own.

The Telecom Corridor in Texas is another, and Ottawa, Canada — the newest hotbed of start-up energy — is a third. Other metro areas — Boston, Washington, D.C. — have additional lures. But Georgia?

I commend Georgia for its Yamacraw initiative, but I'm not holding my breath for a massive shift in technology centers. I doubt Georgia will have enough incentives to pull in top talent from across the country, let alone from around the world. The state is hot and sticky and the home airline is Delta. And while the kudzu looks lush and lovely, it's an uncontrollable weed that saps life from everything around it.

Sure, Yamacraw and Georgia will lure some companies, but the state might have to settle for being second — or third or fourth or fifth — best. Perhaps Georgia will start exploring new state mottoes. My suggestions: “Georgia: home of pecans and broadband” or “Georgia and tech: We're more than Georgia Tech.” Or, my favorite, “Bowl games and broadband.”

On second thought, don't change the state motto just yet.

Contact Susan Biagi at sbiagi@intertec.com