By: Jason Warner.
San Francisco and Silicon Valley are at the heart of many of the world’s best tech Incubators and Accelerators. The chance for startups around the world to work and live in the center of the technology universe was a massive benefit for uprooting and moving to the Bay area. Bringing in the best of global technologists to the area was also a benefit to the community. But it didn’t stop there. Educational institutions like Stanford and Berkeley could draw in some of the best entrepreneurial professors, instructors and students because of their technology spirit. Real estate prices soared, business flourished, and the good times were rolling.
Now, at the end of 2020, things are less than rosy. Technology is one of the industries that can work remotely for extended periods of time and with recent announcements from the industry that this is becoming a normal business practice, the need for physical presence is being redefined. And with that comes the impact on the numbers of Accelerators and Incubators being held in person versus through digital connectivity.
Does this spell doom and gloom for San Francisco and the Bay area in terms of technology leadership? I argue that there is opportunity in every crisis and that entrepreneurial leadership for decades to come can be cemented by the actions of policy makers and Californians who want to stay and build a sustainable future for technology and its users. Shy of slipping into the ocean, California is a force of nature and of people. Other boom and bust cycles have been overcome and this one will too. But there has to be concentrated effort between the public and private sectors to solve our issues and spread these successes to the world.
Let’s make some assumptions:
- Some form of Remote Work is here to stay
- People are social and inherently like to be with other people
- Healthy living includes nurturing mind, body and soul
- We like to grow and learn
- Family and friends are important to us
- The movement toward personal control of our data is accelerating
I could go on and on. And California is great for all of the above. We have community and the climate is great for getting outside to nurture our social and personal needs. We also have a connectivity infrastructure that is one of the best in the world and perfect for advancing a hybrid of work from home, work from an office and work off the grid.
As Californians, we need to drive the adoption of Edge Computing and tie it very close to a global interconnectivity so that global and distributed startups can get nurtured by the talent that is centered here. Because at the center of Accelerators and Incubators are the people who are mentoring those cohorts. All Mentors should start using the best technology for connecting globally including professional in-house studios and Virtual Reality meeting proficiencies. A famous startup Mentor, Jason Calacanis, insists that all presenters on his platforms connect via a cable to the internet versus a wireless connection. How many times have we watched the remote “expert” on TV break up via a bad wireless signal? Leadership means leading others. With remote work and technology expertise, let’s make San Francisco and the Bay area a beacon of learning and individual technology expertise and bring that to the world. At Fortress Data Centers, we are focused on supporting our communities to build an advanced and interconnected environment with 5G, Mission-Critical Colocation, Meet-Me Room connectivity, and new technologies like Blockchain and Virtual Reality. And let’s ensure that the People leadership here is accessible to the world. You are here and We are Here for you.
