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EDITORIAL: Trek toward more tech [The Augusta Chronicle, Ga.](Augusta Chronicle (GA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 10--Chalk up another big economic development win for Augusta. The addition of Unisys Corp. is a welcome new feather in the cap of Georgia's second-fastest growing information technology market. But more important, the Pennsylvania-based company's new customer-service center will create here the kind of tech-based jobs that any mid-sized American city would envy. "We wanted these guys very badly," acknowledged Walter Sprouse, executive director of the Augusta Economic Development Authority, which helped state officials court the Fortune 1000 company during the past several months. The global IT consulting firm, whose clients include government agencies and large corporations such as Dell and American Airlines, reportedly considered at least 50 other cities for the 700-employee information technology support center it will locate in the metro area. Unisys said it will initially staff a temporary office near Interstate 20. State and local officials previously have said Unisys will move into the idle Fort Discovery space on Reynolds Street, but company officials have reiterated that decision hasn't been finalized. As major supporters of downtown revitalization, we're keeping our fingers crossed for a Reynolds Street location. It goes without saying the addition of a large office operation in downtown would be a tremendous boost to commerce in the central business district. And it would help fill 130,000-square-feet of space that's been a tough sell since the National Science Center-affiliated attraction vacated the riverfront building nearly four years ago. Though the Unisys operation will have a customer-service component, where techs handle phone and web-based customer queries, officials say it will not be a typical "call center" operation, which tends to hire mostly entry-level workers. Unisys reportedly will seek employees with associate's degrees or comparable experience in the workplace. "Generally, what they're looking for is people with IT experience," Sprouse said. And people really are the main reason Unisys settled on Augusta. As home of Fort Gordon, which is rapidly transforming into the center of the U.S. Army's IT operations, the Augusta market is teeming with potential employees. "There's a great deal of talent here in Augusta, from people who have either served or are serving at Fort Gordon," Sprouse said. Consider this one of the dividends of having a Fort Gordon in your back yard. The Army already is one of Unisys' largest clients, and much of the future Augusta operation will be devoted to running its Army Enterprise Service Desk IT-support service. Unisys may not have the consumer name-recognition of many high-tech firms, such as Microsoft or IBM, but it's not small potatoes. And it's no start-up company either; some may be old enough to remember the company by its former names, Sperry and Burroughs. The $3.5 billion firm has 23,000 employees worldwide and handles cybersecurity, maintenance, cloud management and systems integration and consulting. It is precisely the kind of company Augusta can expect to see more of in the coming years as the Army builds out its Cyber Command operations at Fort Gordon. So, welcome to Augusta, Unisys -- you're going to be in good company. ___ (c)2014 The Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Ga.) Visit The Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Ga.) at chronicle.augusta.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |