Indianapolis: The Next Silicon Valley?

When one thinks of an Internet-based business, the first thing that comes to mind is California’s famed Silicon Valley. No doubt that Silicon Valley established itself as the home of many of this country’s best known technology- and Internet-based companies such as Google, Apple, Intel, Facebook and HP but other cities in the United States are now slowly catching up with the San Francisco Bay Area, where Silicon Valley is located. One of these cities is Indianapolis, the state capital and economic heart of Indiana.

Indianapolis is not your typical Midwestern city. In 2009, the city was ranked as the best city for recent graduates, thanks to its relatively affordable apartment rental rates and excellent great job opportunities. The city has also been consistently ranked as having the most affordable housing market in the United States, causing the influx of both jobseekers and businesses into the city.

More recently, some technology and Internet-based companies, most of which are start-ups, are being established in Indianapolis. The entrepreneurs behind them are considering two reasons for their decision to be based out of Indianapolis: The city’s relatively affordable cost of living and Indianapolis being a promising location for technology-based companies. With the success of Indiana-based communications firm Brightpoint, Indiana’s technology and Internet-based businesspeople have a lot of reasons to become optimistic.

The ideas behind Indianapolis’ technology and Internet based companies vary. Businesses such as Indiana search engine optimization firms are trying to cash in on the Internet boom. Others are basing their businesses on computer software development.

So far, the effort of SEO Indianapolis firms, start-up software development firms and other technology-based firms of Indianapolis is paying off. Slowly but surely, they are able to tap markets from within Indiana and other places in the country. Although still quite distant from their Silicon Valley cousins in terms of company size and profit, Indianapolis’ technology and Internet entrepreneurs are quickly catching up, thanks to the attention that they are getting from consumers.

The establishment of Indianapolis Internet marketing and other technology and Internet based businesses are proof of the city’s rise as the next Silicon Valley. In the years to come, the same start-up technology-based businesses will grow and become renowned in their respective areas. Who knows if momentum will eventually shift east towards Indianapolis from California’s Silicon Valley in the future?