Coming of Age
What was the biggest high-tech story of 2008? Ask Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, and he'll say: "Madison's tech sector is coming of age." From prescient start-ups, its innovative companies are becoming major industry players on the national and even international scenes. Look at Roche's acquisition of Mirus Bio Corporation and Hologic's purchase of Third Wave Technologies.
In other tech milestones, Microsoft and Google opened Madison facilities, plans took shape for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, the Wisconsin Angel Network garnered national attention, and a national stem cell bank was established here. The city hosted the World Stem Cell Summit, and University Research Park--already planning a second west-side park--announced a future downtown urban site.
University Research Park and other technology campuses are great examples of the resources the Madison area is amassing to support tech companies. Our colleges and universities, and even K--12 schools, are providing programs to ensure we have qualified tech workers. As Carl Gulbrandsen, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation's managing director, says, "We're starting to acquire the critical mass needed to be recognized nationally, if not globally, as a good place for technology."
| Madison Magazine - January 2009 |
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