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Economic development all about IT, UW prof says

Mike Ivey  —  8/27/2008 9:49 am

When it comes to economic development in Wisconsin, biotechnology has been grabbing all the headlines. That's understandable in one sense because the state largely missed out on the silicon revolution of the 1980s and has been a Midwest leader in the life sciences.

Yet when it comes to actual job creation and income generation, computers still rule, says a top University of Wisconsin-Madison professor.

"Epic Systems hires more people every month than all the biotech companies in Wisconsin combined," said Guri Sohi, past chairman of the UW-Madison computer science department.

In fact, Sohi said, the Verona-based medical software developer is often mistaken for a biotech company by those who don't know DNA from IT.

"Few, if any, leaders here talk about information technology as a future economic opportunity," Sohi said Tuesday during a presentation before the Wisconsin Technology Council. "It's all biotech, biotech, biotech."

But the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2012 there will be three times as many new information technology jobs as IT graduates. Conversely, the bureau says there will six times as many biotech grads as actual jobs in that field.

Faculty numbers at the UW-Madison seems to back those assumptions. The UW has about 700 life sciences faculty versus 40 computer science teachers, Sohi estimated.

Sohi said the UW has the classroom space to handle more computer science students but needs to do a better job recruiting. He noted that half of the computer science graduate students are foreign born.

"We need to get the message across," he said.

There are some encouraging signs that the IT world is taking note of what is happening at UW-Madison.

Earlier this year, Google and Microsoft both announced plans for opening Madison offices to take advantage of the talent here.

David DeWitt, considered a leader in database research, is heading Microsoft's advanced development lab. Jim Smith, a retired UW computer science professor, is running the Google office.

Two new companies have also been spun out of UW-Madison's computer science department recently: NovaShield Inc. and Nemean Networks.

In addition, dozens of local firms are working successfully in the computer area, largely below the radar screen. Among them is Earth Information Technologies, headed by President Adam Simcock.

"I'm very excited about the growth of IT companies here, and I know our employees take pride in saying we are based in Madison," said Simcock, whose company at 2453 Atwood Ave. has 11 employees.

Also Tuesday, Iowa-based TEAM Companies announced the opening of its new Tier 3 data center on the Fitchburg Technology Campus, one of three buildings planned in a total $40 million investment. CDW Berbee is the anchor tenant in the facility, which is expected to create up to 20 new jobs with average wages exceeding $25 per hour, the company said.

Fitchburg Mayor Tom Clauder said the new data center is critical to future business growth.

"We cannot overestimate what the presence of this new data center means to economic development for the Madison area and for all of Wisconsin," Clauder said.

The UW's computer science department was founded in 1963 and enjoyed early success. But the department lagged, with no new faculty hired from 1989 to 1998.

"We missed an entire generation that could have been doing a lot of things," said Sohi, a native of India who joined the UW faculty in 1985.

But Sohi said the growth of information technology around the world is creating a shortage of talent. Moreover, as the world develops Sohi said U.S. firms won't be able to outsource their IT work because software engineers will be in high demand in their home countries.

Mike Ivey  —  8/27/2008 9:49 am