Vikram Desai tells it like it is ”“ in choosing to site his Liquid Computing Inc.”™s de facto headquarters in Stamford this past summer, it was the corporate nabobs and not the nerds that spurred the relocation. For nerds, it turns out, Fairfield County is not a mecca.
Desai left Liquid Computing”™s developers behind in Ottawa, where the company was launched, to develop software and hardware to set up and maintain a range of data center devices, including servers, storage computers and routers. The startup does it well ”“ last month, Stamford-based Gartner Inc. labeled Liquid Computing a “visionary” for such blade server technology, which is also sold by IBM Corp. and other titans.
Despite the wealth of talent at IBM in neighboring Westchester County, N.Y., where it is the largest employer, Desai said he does not foresee creating a local lab even as he aims for $200 million in revenue within five years.
While IBM and security software giant CA Inc. on Long Island offer proximity to developers, Desai said it is difficult for Connecticut software companies to attract the best talent needed to compete.
That is partly a function of the state lacking a renowned high-tech university such as a Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Carnegie Mellon University to provide a feeder of young talent; and partly an accident of history with no “anchor” company mushrooming and proliferating within its borders, the way IBM has provided a self-propelling engine in New York; Bell Labs in New Jersey; or Digital Equipment Corp. in Massachusetts whose legacy in time past to storage computing giant EMC Corp.
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“What I”™ve learned about the Stamford area is that I”™m not going to be able to attract the kind of software developers I am looking for, but I can find customer-facing (personnel) far and wide here,” Desai said.
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Desai is no newcomer ”“ hailing from western New York, he has spent much of his career here. Four years ago, he sat on a state panel that attempted to institutionalize ways to better develop high-tech jobs and startups.
The state has had better success creating such an environment for life-sciences companies ”“ at the UHY LLP Tech Top 40 ceremony last month organized by the Connecticut Technology Council, Cheshire-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. was recognized as the fastest growing technology company in Connecticut, and Fairfield County has seen its own share of success stories in the industry.
Of six Connecticut high-tech companies recognized last month by the Connecticut Technology Council as the fastest growing in their respective categories, four are based in Fairfield County.
Those figures paint a deceiving portrait of the county”™s technology strength, however. While L-1 Security Solutions Inc. made the biggest gains in software revenues, its headquarters in Stamford is comprised mostly of senior business leaders, with its high-tech development teams largely located in Massachusetts, New Jersey and other states.
Norwalk-based Bolt Technology Corp. is an industry leader in manufacturing devices to help oil exploration companies locate undersea deposits, but such a highly specialized function does not afford opportunities for spinout or technology transfer activities.
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Similarly, while Bridgeport-based Clean Diesel Technologies Inc. addresses a hot industry sector in environmental technology, it has a narrow product focus ”“ and has struggled mightily in 2009 with revenue down more than 85 percent through the first three quarters of the year.
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The one local company lauded by CTC that could be said to sum up the fortunes of a growing cluster of companies is Stamford-based M2 Media Group, which uses emerging Web and social media technologies to help publishers sell more periodicals. This month in Stamford, the CT Digital Media Business Network held its second annual conference to bring together a fast-growing local industry made possible in part by tax credits and the county”™s proximity to talent in New York City.
Not all companies would pan the area”™s local capabilities ”“ when Pitney Bowes decided to set up a high-tech development center for its mailing systems, it chose to keep that center local in Shelton rather than establishing an outpost in Massachusetts, California or another technology corridor.
And Dutch computer chip company ASML NV continues to maintain its U.S. development center in Wilton, where it is the largest high-tech employer in Fairfield County with more than 600 workers.
Still, neither company”™s high-tech centers are of the type that would spawn startup ventures from an experienced cadre of high-tech talent. Connecticut Innovations Inc., a Rocky Hill-based venture investment fund overseen today by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, has sought to provide seed funding for such companies but has yet to hit on a smashing success story.
Even in a down economy, Desai said the state should renew its commitment to such a strategy however, with the current job churn potentially freeing up engineers for new ventures through layoffs or voluntary buyouts at behemoths like IBM.
“The belief is that if you can back a handful of very promising high-tech companies, you will get one or two leaders out of it,” Desai said.
