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If someone were to talk about the technology center of America, Silicon Valley is usually the place that comes to mind. International megacorporations like Google and Apple make their home there. Equally famous are the thousands of start-ups that seemingly revolutionize the world with every successful IPO.
However, there’s another city with a similar reputation and that’s our home here in Seattle.
Many people outside of the region probably don’t realize that much of the computing world runs on technology created in the Pacific Northwest. PCs across the globe run on Microsoft’s Windows OS (based in Redmond) and consumers visit websites using Amazon’s Web Services (based in Seattle). In fact, AWS will soon generate $10 billion in annual revenue for the company, more than many of its customers such as Netflix or SalesForce.
AWS and Microsoft’s Azure platform are part of the cloud computing trend. Cloud technology connects large networks of low-cost computers to share computing resources. This is similar to grid computing in that the resources of the network are pooled together to solve difficult problems one computers could not, with one big exception – it’s delivered through the internet.
The flexibility of cloud technology has made it an integral part of Silicon Valley operations. Many start-ups are actively using Amazon and Microsoft platforms while larger companies are actually setting up shop in Seattle to tap into its experienced talent pool. As they do, more engineers and developers are attracted to the city and its technological reputation grows.
From its origins as an aerospace manufacturer to its modern dominance in new internet based technology, Seattle has and is a city in the clouds.
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