2 min read January 2022 — Orange County has emerged as a leading center of high-tech innovation and is amplifying marketing efforts to tell a more comprehensive story regarding what Orlando has to offer beyond tourism and hospitality. “We are a very collaborative region and community and that makes me very optimistic,” Eric Ushkowitz, the county’s economic development administrator, told Invest:.
Where does Orange County stand from an economic perspective and what are some opportunities you see in the market?
A lot of companies from regions that struggled to recover from the pandemic have started to see Orange County in a new perspective. Our community managed the pandemic well and with remote working a reality, the attraction to Orlando as a location for corporate headquarters has grown. We have a great tourism and hospitality industry, but business leaders are also starting to recognize the dynamic business community we have here.
How do you articulate the message that Greater Orlando has a lot more to offer than tourism?
A few years ago, we launched a successful campaign with Orlando Economic Partnership called “You Don’t Know the Half of It,” which showcased that other side of Orlando. We are looking to update that initiative because we have so much here to offer to a diverse set of industries. Even though some might not think of tourism in terms of high tech, there is an incredible amount of technology built into our theme parks to fully immerse guests. And that technology is exactly what this community specializes in. We have the largest cluster of modeling, simulation and training companies in the world. These tech industries have traditionally worked with the Department of Defense but they are seeing many more opportunities for commercial applications.
How has technology impacted the business ecosystem in Orlando?
The ability of our community and universities to take that technology and translate it into other industries is a real asset. In partnership with the Florida High Tech Corridor, we have launched a program called Cenfluence, which takes after a European model of cluster development. In our case, we have started with four industry clusters: life sciences, energy and environmental sciences, learning sciences and gaming, digital media. The focus of this is to bring industries together, not only to collaborate but to grow the existing cluster. It helps us as a public partner to learn from industry what the infrastructure and workforce needs are.
What challenges do you see facing economic development in Orange County?
Branding is a recurrent challenge. We are working with Visit Orlando to do cross-promotion and provide our expertise to the programming and also get more exposure to their constituents. We have had a lot of success keeping companies here but more work needs to be done recruiting new business. Tourism has a marketing budget of over $50 million per year but economic development gets a far smaller allocation. That means we have to be more targeted in our messaging when attracting corporate leaders and site consultants. The Cenfluence initiative will make us smarter in who we recruit. It will help us leverage our strengths, learn industry trends and identify good partners. When people realize the amount of technology talent in the community, it becomes an easy sell.
Do you see the same labor shortage struggles in the county that are happening nationally?
People are demanding higher pay but also more flexible working conditions. Childcare is also becoming a big issue for families and how they choose work. But we are taking this moment as an opportunity. We are using American Rescue Plan funding to support entrepreneurs who want to start a business and train individuals who want to advance in their career or field. On the entrepreneurial side, we have launched an initiative called BizLink Orange, which is an online platform managed by the National Entrepreneur Center that provides online access to anyone who wants to start a business, with resources and assessments to get that process started. It provides a good return because it helps us track what companies are most engaged with the initiative and we can provide more resources to them.
What is your outlook for Orange County over the next two to three years?
We are a very collaborative region and community and that makes me very optimistic. I think we have something a lot of communities do not have with our wide breadth of technology expertise and a platform that translates to multiple sectors. Mayor Jerry Demings is looking, in the near future, to launch a transportation sales tax initiative. We are in a perfect time to overhaul our transportation. Combining the state infrastructure with the Build Back Better funding will give us a chance to transform our systems and take us into the next 100 years.
For more information, visit:
