An Unlikely Tech Hub Rising in Northern Louisiana
State agencies and leaders in private industry are working together to turn what locals call the I-20 corridor – Monroe, Shreveport and Ruston – into a prominent, self-sustaining tech ecosystem for capable professionals and internationally relevant innovation.
One of the first major public-private collaborations started in 2007 with the creation of the National Cyber Research Park and the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City, which hugs the Red River across from Shreveport.
The center has tried to deliver more tech employers to the region, including IBM, the Computer Sciences Corporation and CSRA, a tech services provider for government.
At a cybersecurity convention in Louisiana on March 8th, the center’s executive director and president, Craig Spohn, spoke to why the region has been behind, despite the headquarters being in Monroe.
“A single-employer community limits the attraction because people have nowhere to go other than that one organization,” siad Spohn.
Bill Bradley, senior vice president of cyber engineering and technology services at CenturyLink, welcomed the region’s new entrants and the thousands of jobs they have added.
The workers who have filled them are “bringing up children who will stay in the area they grew up in,” he said. “Those things have positive benefits for our state.”
If you are a local company performing research and development activities in Louisiana and are interested in claiming the R&D tax credit on the state or federal level, please contact a Swanson Reed specialist by clicking here.
