Firms See Savannah as Alternative to Going Offshore
By Leigh Miller
GlobalAtlanta
September 2005
Savannah’s Creative Coast Initiative is attracting foreign investors to coastal Georgia, as well as U.S. companies looking for an alternative to going offshore for their knowledge-based industry needs, according to Chris Miller, founder of the initiative.
“Firms that would typically take their expansions offshore are finding the technology infrastructure and assets here that make it more efficient and cost effective to stay in Savannah,” Mr. Miller told GlobalAtlanta.
“We’re quietly tapping people around the world to tell them about Savannah’s innovation economy and selecting the kind of economy we want,” he said. He added that his public/private partnership is receiving calls from consular offices in Atlanta as well as the Georgia Department of Economic Development to talk with foreign and U.S. companies about setting up operations in Savannah. These firms want to tap into the city’s growing community of knowledge- or brain-based businesses, including industries such as Internet/Web design, digital media, consulting and software development, he said.
“From an offshoring perspective, it’s interesting to see this region is extremely competitive,” Mr. Miller said, citing Alpharetta-based Aelera Corp. as a good example of “homeshoring” investment. After visiting Bangalore, India, as well as Armenia and Guang Zhou, China, to evaluate each location’s benefits for opening a software application development center, the company’s executives chose Savannah. The Savannah facility, along with a business outsourcing center in Fitzgerald in South Georgia, will employ up to 250 technical and business support employees over the next two years.
Mr. Miller admitted that labor rates are lower in other countries, but companies like Aelera see Savannah as a better option because they do not have to worry about the additional cost of translation, lack of understanding U.S. business practices and infrastructure issues they may face abroad.
Mr. Miller added that the Creative Coast is getting inquiries from companies in the European Union that are looking to Savannah for its high-tech, innovative business environment that includes 100 square miles of wireless broadband infrastructure with some 33,000 miles of fiber optic cable.
Savannah’s airport is another advantage for international companies, Mr. Miller said, because it’s easy to get into and out of, with 53 direct flights to major markets.
He said that there are already some 350 knowledge-based businesses in the Savannah area that now generate the same wages as the region’s travel and hospitality industry. “Everyone thinks of Savannah as a sleepy little town with historic tourist attractions, but it’s innovation - the combination of technology and art - that makes it an attractive place for companies going offshore or companies overseas that want to have a cost effective U.S. location with international flavor,” he said.
The Savannah College of Art and Design, along with Georgia Institute of Technology’s Savannah campus that officially opened last year, contribute to the city’s innovative business environment, Mr. Miller noted. He added that SCAD has the world’s largest digital media lab and the largest number of digital game design students, with 1,600 students in the digital media program alone. Savannah has a better rate than Atlanta for retaining professionals, age 25-35, that start knowledge-based, not purely technologically driven, businesses, he said.
“You can’t necessarily ask Indians [in India] to use creativity to solve your problems, and even Silicon Valley firms will soon wish they had more creative capacity among their workforce. Savannah is positioning itself to hit the sweet spot of the creative economy,” Mr. Miller said.
“Where else can you live in the U.S. but have the qualities of a European city where you can walk to work, find a sense of community and an influx of young entrepreneurs? It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “Our economy is shifting, and we need to shift with the times. Savannah is taking a proactive, positive response, rather than a reactive one, to adapt to those changes.”
Mr. Miller became one of the original members of Mindspring Enterprises Inc. after volunteering for the Peace Corps in Zanzibar, Tanzania. He spent some 20 years in Atlanta but moved to Savannah for its more relaxing atmosphere.
Founded in 2003 by the city of Savannah, Chatham County, the Savannah Economic Development Authority and local technology leaders, the Creative Coast Initiative was established specifically to grow and attract knowledge-based businesses.
To add a company to the Creative Coast business directory, email addabiz@thecreativecoast.org with the company name, Web site address and requested category. See www.thecreativecoast.org for more information and www.thecreativecoast.org/local/businesses for a listing of local knowledge-based businesses. Contact Mr. Miller at cmiller@thecreativecoast.org or call (912) 447-8457 for more information.
