Abroad Band
U.S. tech businesses find foreign soil is fertile soil.
If your information technology business has been growing for
several years, it may be time for you to take the next step--a huge
stride into another country. Why? The IT industry is ripening all
over the globe. According to the American Electronics Association,
overall U.S. IT exports to the world totaled more than $165 billion
last year.
Of that bonanza, Canada and Mexico were the two largest
individual buyers, accounting for approximately $25.9 billion and
$18.3 billion, respectively. Japan purchased some $15
billion-worth, and the 15 members of the European Union spent a
collective $40.6 billion.
Options on where to find good people and set up shop are also
limitless, with a number of industry experts pointing to Israel for
the former and Scotland for the latter. Israel is hot due to its
burgeoning technology industry. Another plus is the talent it
offers courtesy of defense department spinoffs and Russian
immigrants. Scotland, meanwhile, has set up a "Silicon
Glen" to attract high-tech businesses to its lush
countryside.
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So much is happening in so many places that at least one venture
capital provider claims IT potential isn't limited to big-time
players. According to Steve Baloff, a general partner of Advanced
Technology Ventures in Palo Alto, California, "There are
better and more opportunities for smaller and newly formed
companies in information technology, especially software, because
of the tools available."
Christopher D. Lancette is an Atlanta-area freelance
journalist who covers international business for a variety of
local, national and international publications.
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