By Mike King
Having recently returned from a couple of weeks in the US, first on the East coast and then the West coast, it struck me how different the industry mood is between the two.
Obviously, Silicon Valley has long been touted as the tech industry’s powerhouse and the place where the tech boom started, but given the sheer size and impact of tech, other significant US technology hotspots - in particular the greater Boston area - have grown up over the past couple of decades.
These days, it's pretty much accepted that the whole tech industry downturn that hit in 2001 is over. As a tech specialist PR agency, we’ve had a couple of years of decent growth (25% and 32% growth for the past two years year on year). And we’re certainly not alone in that.
So, tech is back - or at least that’s the mood in Silicon Valley. Companies there are excited about the business potential of their latest innovations and the availability of funding, and this is reflected in the number of start-ups and the volume of M&A activity.
But the mood is different from the Californian tech-Utopianism of the 'bubble' period prior to 2001. This isn’t a return to the ridiculous ‘sketch on the back of a fag packet, $50 million funding in the bank’ days of the late 90s. This is a far more sensible, business-based optimism, founded on healthy orders, decent customers and an economic climate increasingly conducive to international expansion.
However, in the Boston area, I found there to be a far more cautious, almost depressed attitude. It may well be that the sample of companies I met with wasn’t representative of the community as a whole. Or that culturally, people on the East coast (generally accepted as being more European ie. 'seen it all before', in their outlook) are basically just a more downbeat bunch. But in all the years that I've been going to the States, I've never noticed such a stark contrast between the technology centres on the East and West coasts.
Based on the differing tales I was told about the respective job markets, the number of companies looking to invest their cash in expanding internationally and the general business mood, I know which part of my trip was the most productive. On a positive note, Boston is a great city and, for once, I had plenty of time to see it. Just as well, because I've got a feeling that it may be a while before I'm back.
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