INTRODUCTION
The Information Technology (IT) Industry has a large influence on Missouri’s economy, with the service sector accounting for 9 out of 10 direct jobs with the remaining 10 percent of direct jobs in the manufacturing sector. Jobs and sales generated by the industry itself (direct effects) combined with the spin-offs (indirect effects) account for over $17 billion in Gross State Product. The IT Industry accounted for 91,139 direct jobs and 118,532 indirect jobs in 2006. This resulted in a total employment impact of 209,670 jobs.
Missouri is a leader in
the “service sector industry,” making communications and electronic components
function together as a system. Consequently, telecommunications, which remains
at the forefront of the information age, is important to Missouri. This
sub-sector of the IT Industry is primarily engaged in delivering voice, data,
graphics, and video at ever increasing speeds and increasing the number of ways
we communicate.
Wire-line telephone
communication, once the primary service of the industry but still the largest
sector of telecommunications, is witnessing the predominance of wireless
communication services and cable and satellite program distribution. While
voice used to be the main type of data transmitted over the wires and cables,
wired telecommunications service now includes the transmission of graphic,
video, and electronic data primarily over the Internet.
MAJOR COMPANIES
3M
AT&T
Boeing
Daugherty
Systems
Emerson
Maritz
Mid-West
Microsoft
Monsanto
Newberry
Group
Jack
Henry and Associates
Xiolink
KEY FACILITIES
Information Technology entrepreneurs come primarily from employed professionals, in contrast to life science ventures coming from research-based institutions. These entrepreneurs form companies primarily around innovative application of information technology for existing and new business-models as opposed to intellectual property.
Missouri state-supported Innovation Centers include
10 centers across the state. Theses facilities provide a range of management
and technical assistance during the early stages of development for new
technology-based business ventures. Services include market research and
strategies; technology assessment; business planning; financial packaging;
research and development; business management; patent and licensing consulting;
preliminary patent searches; and prototype development.
Missouri Research Parks
Center of Research, Technology, and
Entrepreneurial Exchange (CORTEX)
St. Louis, MO
CORTEX,
in mid-town St. Louis, will enable collaboration between all the area research
institutions. CORTEX is intended to house companies graduating from the incubator
and companies attracted to the region due to the proximity to the research
institutions.
Chesterfield, MO
The
Missouri Research Park is owned and managed by the University of Missouri
System, occupying 130 acres with high-tech and research facilities, housing 17
tenant companies, and employing more than 2,000 people.
University of Missouri Technology
Park at Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood, MO
The
Technology Park is located on an active Army post. The 62-acre park was
developed by the University of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Economic
Development (DED), with the backing of Fort Leonard Wood. The Tech Park collaborates
with the University of Missouri on technology transfer and is focused on
biochemical, homeland security and GIS projects.
Midwest Research Institute (MRI)
Kansas City, MO
MRI,
headquartered in Kansas City, recently established a 160-acre research farm
near Butler, Missouri. The new facility serves as an extension of MRI’s field
station in Grandview, Missouri and supports the expansion in the research of
new technologies in crops, farming practices, agriculture products and the
growing interest in improved nutrition and natural products. MRI is a key
partner in the development of the proposed incubator in Kansas City under
Governor Blunt’s Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative.
Columbia, MO
Discovery
Ridge is a new research park to be located at the University of Missouri (MU)
College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resource’s South farm. Discovery Ridge
will focus on leveraging MU’s resources in life sciences, including the areas
of agriculture, health, veterinary medicine, bioengineering, nutrition, biology
and environmental services.
Missouri has more than a dozen incubator facilities
located throughout the state. These facilities provide divided units of space
on a leased basis for a limited time to typically small start-up businesses.
The incubator provides business development and support services for use by the
tenants that commonly include: clerical support, telephone answering service,
necessary business machines, and networking opportunities.
RESEARCH – ADVANCING THE INDUSTRY
Missouri’s universities are working hard to expand and promote new technologies within the business environment:
High
Performance Computing Center
University of Missouri – St. Louis
This
center, located at a St. Louis information technology incubator, is designed to
enhance Missouri’s entrepreneurial environment and to serve as a catalyst for
innovation and entrepreneurship in the area of information technology.
Institute for
Entrepreneurship
University of Missouri - Kansas City
The
University has shown increased support for entrepreneurship through the
creation of the Institute for Entrepreneurship. The Institute’s vision is to be
the world's leading research and education institute for entrepreneurship and
innovation.
Missouri Innovation Center (MIC)
University of Missouri – Columbia
MIC
focuses on entrepreneurial clients refining and preparing new technologies for
market.