Silicon Slopes

Term describing Utah's technology industry

Silicon Slopes' Salt Lake City winter Skyline

Silicon Slopes is a Utah based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization led by predominantly Latter Day Saint technology and business leaders that promotes and advertises high tech real estate and technology ventures along the Wasatch Front. Silicon slopes is mainly centered north of Lehi, Utah at Thanksgiving Point, but now is also understood to encompass high tech companies anywhere along the Wasatch Front.[1][2]

The Silicon Slopes area centered around Lehi, Utah is a major economic center for technology and innovation businesses. Between the cities of Salt Lake City and Provo and their surrounding suburbs, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Wasatch Front between Salt Lake City and Provo. Served by the Salt Lake City International Airport and less than a two-hour flight from Silicon Valley, California, Silicon Slopes has been recognized in news media as a growing hub for tech employment and startup formation.[3][4][5]

Although often compared to Silicon Valley, Silicon Slopes lacks the workforce diversity and climate of equality and inclusiveness which exists in Silicon Valley. Some sources claim that due to the strong influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the area, women, LGBT, and minorities face significant challenges in the workplace in Utah and discrimination in pay and other benefits. Salt Lake City is somewhat more inclusive than Utah Valley where Silicon Slopes is based, which is over 90% Latter Day Saint in terms of population. Incidents of antisemitism and discrimination of LGBT and women have been reported in the Silicon Slopes workplace. The Silicon Slopes job market is also reported to be over-hyped in comparison to Silicon Valley.[6][7][8] [9] [10][11][12]

## Etymology

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The term Silicon Slopes is attributed to Josh James (founder and CEO of Domo) who coined it as a branding campaign to promote Utah's growing technology community. The nickname is derived from "Silicon Valley," substituting Utah's mountains (slopes) for Northern California's Santa Clara Valley.[13]

## History

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Historically, the region had been home to a state prison and farmland, and Thanksgiving Point real estate development projects.[14] Utah's decades-long history of government contract work and innovative Utah businesses' early involvement in the tech industry include the creation of the Internet as the fourth node of ARPANET. These foundations were built over years, and established Utah's ability to become a leading technology center.

### Local tech businesses

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The Utah tech scene started with WordPerfect and Novell in 1979.[15] Novell, Inc., a software development company founded in 1979 by Ray Noorda, produced software to connect desktop computers so they could share peripheral devices, like a printer (computing) and hard disks. As the price of desktop computers began to fall, Novell captured a large segment of the market with its Netware program.[16] At their height in the early 1990s, Novell controlled 65% of the market for network operating systems in the high-tech industry.

### Government partnerships

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Utah has a long history of partnerships with the U.S. Department of Defense that have contributed to laying the groundwork for the state's high-tech business environment and infrastructure. David C. Evans,[17] a native of Salt Lake City, was one of the original pioneers of computer science in Utah and its groundbreaking work with the DoD. During the early 1960s, Evans worked as the head of the computer science department at the University of California at Berkeley, where he was also in charge of the university's work for the Pentagon's Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). In 1965, Evans was recruited back to Salt Lake City to create a computer science department at the University of Utah, and brought DoD contacts with him, including Ivan Sutherland.[18] Evans and Sutherland continued their work on ARPA for the DoD with their colleagues in California and helped to establish ARPANET, an "early packet switching network and the first network to implement the protocol suite TCP/IP." Both of these technologies form the technical foundation of the internet. In 1969, the University of Utah was one of the original four nodes of ARPANET, cementing its place in military and technological history.[19]

Due to this early partnership with the DoD, Utah was able to encourage more joint ventures with the military. Not only was Utah capable of developing high-tech infrastructure, but many geographic and natural characteristics were appealing to the DoD. Utah is geographically isolated from both the east and the west coasts, providing higher security and less vulnerability to attacks. Utah also has a low probability of large-scale natural disasters and wide open spaces that provide enough room for chemical weapons testing and drone pilot training.[20]

Some notable Utah partnerships with the U.S. military include Hill Air Force Base, Utah Test and Training Range, Dugway Proving Ground, and the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

In the recent years, Utah has also become home to a growing number of big data processing centers. Some of these are government partnerships, such as the largest NSA data storage facility in the United States, located in Bluffdale, Utah.[21] In order to meet the demand and facilitate more partnerships, the University of Utah recently added a new Big Data certificate program[22] within its School of Computing. The program began in the Fall of 2014. Utah is already ahead of the curve in the national trend on big data, and training students how to understand the technicality of big data analysis will continue to attract business and military operations to Utah.

## Economy

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Utah has often been ranked as one of the top five states for businesses.[23][24] There is a continuous focus on creating partnerships between businesses, government, education, and communities. The Governor's Office of Economic Development is based on Governor Gary Herbert's commitment to economic development statewide. In the most recent State New Economy Index, performed by the Kauffman Foundation in 2010, Utah was ranked first in the nation for Economic Dynamism and inventor patents, while ranking third in fastest-growing firms.[25]

## Demographics

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### Schools partnerships

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Universities and high schools in the area have worked on expanding computer science programs in response to the growth of Silicon Slopes. In the early 2000s, the Utah Legislature allocated around $100 million to the state's universities in order to bolster their computer science programs and significantly increase the number of graduates in the field. The universities also provided matching funding and created many new courses and areas of technological study.[26] In October 2021 the University of Utah announced a $15 million donation from the John Price family to construct a new $120 million computer science building.[27] Around the same time Utah Valley University received a $25 million donation from Ryan Smith for its computer science program. Combined the University of Utah and UVU have about 3,400 computer science students. In fall 2019 UVU began offering a tech management MBA in partnership with Silicon Slopes.[28]

## See also

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See also: High-technology business districts in the United States

* Places with "Silicon" names

## References

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1. ^ "About Silicon Slopes". Silicon Slopes Newsroom. May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
2. ^ Accurate, Researchers To Produce The Most; Information., Highest-Quality (April 19, 2023). "Elder David A. Bednar, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to Keynote Silicon Slopes Summit 2023". Silicon Slopes Newsroom. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
3. ^ Wilson, Tilda (December 28, 2023). "2023's high-profile Silicon Slopes layoffs portend slower growth, not disaster". KUER 90.1. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
4. ^ Steve Henn (March 12, 2012). "On Utah's 'Silicon Slopes,' Tech Jobs Get A Lift". NPR. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
5. ^ Hutson, Sonya (May 4, 2021). "Tech Sees Bigger Opportunity In Utah — If The State Works On Its Image". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
6. ^ Chan, Rosalie (October 26, 2023). "Women who work in Utah's Silicon Slopes share its dark side". Business Insider. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
7. ^ Bailey, Sarah Pulliam (December 21, 2021). "A billionaire and the tech industry are trying to shape LGBTQ rights in deeply Mormon Utah". Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
8. ^ "Apostle Describes the Global Church of Jesus Christ at Silicon Slopes Summit". newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org. September 30, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
9. ^ Malatesta, Parker (July 10, 2023). "Park Record owner says discrimination is the main challenge to Utah's growth". KPCW. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
10. ^ Salt Lake Tribune Silicon Slopes Job Market
11. ^ Winslow, Ben (January 13, 2022). "After antisemitic email controversy, Entrata backs anti-discrimination efforts". FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU). Retrieved May 21, 2024.
12. ^ Craig, Austin (January 5, 2022). "Entrata Founder Sends Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Email to State Leaders". TechBuzz News. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
13. ^ "Silicon Slopes". siliconslopes.com. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
14. ^ Forgrave, Reid (December 6, 2018). "How Jazz star Donovan Mitchell and Salt Lake City came together to form a perfect underdog identity". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
15. ^ Forgrave, Reid (December 6, 2018). "How Jazz star Donovan Mitchell and Salt Lake City came together to form a perfect underdog identity". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
16. ^ Fisher, Lawrence (March 29, 1992). "Preaching Love Thy computer". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
17. ^ Markoff, John (October 12, 1998). "David Evans, Pioneer in Computer Graphics, Dies at 74". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
18. ^ Markoff, John (October 12, 1998). "David Evans, Pioneer in Computer Graphic, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
19. ^ Burrington, Ingrid (November 19, 2015). "A Visit to the NSA's Data Center in Utah". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
20. ^ Burrington, Ingrid (November 19, 2015). "A Visit to the NSA's Data Center in Utah". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
21. ^ "NSA Utah Data Center - Serving Our Nation's Intelligence Community". nsa.gov1.info. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
22. ^ "Big Data, Big Business | University of Utah News". archive.unews.utah.edu. February 7, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
23. ^ "Best States for Business". Forbes.
24. ^ "America's Top States for Business 2019". CNBC. July 10, 2019.
25. ^ "Workforce". business.utah.gov. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
26. ^ Lee, Jennifer (June 13, 2001). "WAY OUT WEST; There's Silicon in Them Thar Hills, or Will Be Soon". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
27. ^ Tanner, Courney (October 31, 2021). "$15 million to the University of Utah and $25 million to Utah Valley University will expand computer science programs". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
28. ^ Cortez, Marjorie (February 13, 2019). "Utah Valley University to partner with Silicon Slopes to offer tech management MBA". Deseret News. Retrieved November 18, 2021.