Tracy Ruberg, President at The Circuit

What’s the state of business technology in greater Cincinnati region? How do we compare to other cities nationally or globally?

“The assumption is that we’re the sleepy Midwest and we are way behind. I would argue, however, that we are not. I do think Cincinnati has missed the boat in not talking about what we’re doing from a technology space. We have Amazon here, we’ve got Apple working with NKU, and we’ve got The Brandery and CentriFuse with lots of technology behind what they are each doing. We have Fifth Third investing in tech companies and start-ups, both locally and nationally. There’s a whole lot more going on here than most people realize, but we may be behind the curve because we have these things in islands, rather than collaboratively across the marketplace. We have an opportunity to leverage all that we’re doing, and make a bigger splash for our community by tying it all together. 

Globally, we’re still a great spot. That’s why Amazon located and TaTa Consultancy located here and why Dell has some of their largest warehouses in the region. I think we’re a well-kept secret with a lot of advantages over the bigger markets – lower cost of living and low pollution, but with the big city things like professional sports and the arts – people are amazed when they come here.”