State Continues Growth Into Tech Titan
Appirio moved its corporate headquarters to Indianapolis last year.
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSalesforce’s announcement that it will move into the former Chase Tower in downtown Indianapolis and add more than 800 jobs is another example of a continuing trend in Indiana: growth of the tech sector. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says tech jobs grew in Central Indiana at more than double the rate of other occupations in recent years, accounting for more than 5,000 new jobs.
One of the most high-profile moves came in August, when San Francisco-based Appirio Inc. said it would relocate its corporate headquarters to downtown Indianapolis. At the time, the company said the $7.7 million move would result in more than 420 new jobs in five years. High Alpha Managing Director and ExactTarget co-founder Scott Dorsey said the move provides "enormous validation to Indy and our leadership in enterprise cloud computing."
Also that month, Carmel-based GyanSys outlined plans to expand its headquarters and add more than 240 jobs by 2020. The information technology consulting firm picked Indiana over sites in Illinois and Texas for the $4.5 million expansion. Chief Executive Officer Raj Una said Indiana’s "excellent ecosystem" to attract and retain talent led to the decision. In July, Austria-based Emarsys picked Indianapolis for its North American headquarters, with plans for a $3.2 million investment and more than 150 new jobs.
Earlier in 2015, Chicago-based social media monitoring company Geofeedia Inc. announced plans to make Indianapolis its largest corporate office. The company’s plans included a nearly $3 million investment and 240 new workers over the next five years. During an interview last year on Inside INdiana Business Television, Vice President of Product Management R.J. Taylor called Indianapolis a "hotbed" for tech startups.
The momentum has carried into 2016, In February, office technology company Braden Business Systems said it would relocate from Indianapolis to the Nickel Plate District in Fishers and hire 90 additional employees by 2020. Carmel-based Blue Horseshoe Solutions said in March it would move into a larger corporate headquarters and add up to 70 high-wage jobs by 2020. Co-founder and President Chris Cason discussed the growth on Inside INdiana Business Television.
Earlier this week, software developer Lumavate LLC and digital printing company DuraMark Technologies Inc. announced plans to bring a total of more than 120 new jobs to Hamilton County.