Central Ohio’s reputation as a hotbed for enterprise growth is turning into much less of a secret, and for Silicon Valley-based Saama technology, Inc., expanding into the Columbus area simply took the proper introductions.
CEO Suresh Katta, who says a colleague in the tech industry placed Columbus on his radar around 2008, founded Saama in 1997. The organization is a specialist in big-data analytics with clients in healthcare, insurance, consumer packaged goods, life sciences and other industries. Saama entered the Central Ohio marketplace in 2010 through the acquisition of information-mining enterprise Sypherlink Inc.
Saama Eastern Region Vice President John Sydnor says he came on board last year, after meeting Katta and other Saama leadership at an event sponsored by Columbus 2020 to introduce the tech company to local leaders.
“Induction to the business community in Central Ohio by Columbus 2020 and JobsOhio has proven to be very valuable.” He said “The recognition in Ohio for having a prominent corporation in a transformational region like Silicon Valley to come to Central Ohio is without a doubt big.”
Sydnor stated that in combination with its geographical charm, Central Ohio’s expert pool of information technology professionals turned into a prime asset in the choice to establish operations here.
He continued, “We watch the graduates emerging out of Ohio state, Denison, Kenyon, Miami of Ohio, Case Western, and others, together with all of the groups attracted to the vicinity. That creates an entire ecosystem that facilitates building the version of what Saama can become in the future, in addition to different analytics companies that can setup and compete.”
Saama’s existence in the region strengthened last year with the aid of a six-year, 55-percent job creation tax credit permitted by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. The credit calls for the business to operate in Franklin County for as a minimum of nine years. With that partnership, Saama revealed last year that it plans to significantly grow its Central Ohio footprint by adding about 90 new data analytics jobs over the following 3 years.
As a part of its growth plans, Saama has additionally invested as a member in the Ohio State University’s data analytics cluster at the Fisher College of Business, in collaboration with local partners like The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., JPMorgan Chase, Cardinal Health Inc and Nationwide.
Sydnor says the pairing of Silicon Valley brand recall with the Columbus Region’s fertile business setting counts as a victory for anyone.
“Silicon Valley is Silicon Valley due to the fact they have been capable of spawning new companies that then are able to interest venture capital, and that venture money has then been able to construct additional companies, which more mature corporations will then buy because of their skills. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy” he said. “Furthermore, having that Silicon-based history and DNA, positioning a centre of trade and consulting right here in Central Ohio truly puts Ohio at the map.”
Katta hopes that the same surroundings develop here too.
“We would clearly want to see more of that in Ohio – venture capital being attracted to the region, that’s something the state and the local area has to do, because we feel there is enough talent right here for that culture to be built,” he says. “We’re usually seeking to acquire companies and latest in tech, and to have more home-grown talent around our very own neighborhoods might be a huge benefit. We would really like to see Central Ohio be a hub for us inside the Midwest and East Coast.”
Read the original article published on Columbus Business First here.
