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Harrisonburg:
The Shenandoah Valley’s
Technology Leader
The future indeed looks bright for
the City of Harrisonburg, located in the heart of Virginia's
beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Harrisonburg is proud to
be the home of James Madison University (JMU) and its
College of Integrated Science and Technology (CISAT).
Seven strategic sectors of study in the ISAT Program
include biotechnology, information and knowledge management,
engineering and manufacturing, telecommunications, energy,
environment and health systems. This curriculum, combined
with a faculty possessing tremendous industry experience,
offers a competitive advantage as Harrisonburg seeks
to attract technology developers and to foster the development
of homegrown technology businesses.
JMU is also making a strong name for
itself in the field of information security. JMU is
one of the National Security Agency's original Centers
for Academic Excellence for Information Assurance Education.
In addition, JMU is the only university in the country
with two graduate programs offering concentrations in
information security.
Recently, the Harrisonburg City Council
established by ordinance the Harrisonburg Downtown Technology
Zone (HDTZ), an area in the heart of the City’s
downtown business district. The HDTZ focuses on attracting
startup and mezzanine information technology companies.
Fairfield Language Technologies, the creator of the
Rosetta Stone software, Immerge Technologies, Digico
and the Gravity Group anchor the HDTZ.
Harrisonburg is implementing the first
IPv6 or next generation wireless citywide network in
America. Besides serving the citizens of Harrisonburg,
this wireless network will serve mobile wireless operations
for emergency services and first responders. The IPv6
network will also serve as a test bed site for companies
and/or agencies wishing to build or test applications
of this new wireless technology.
Harrisonburg is also actively working
with the Commonwealth of Virginia to attract back-office
or distributed services operations of regional companies
to the City. Ideally situated two hours from Washington,
D.C. and Richmond, Harrisonburg offers a great quality
of life, a highly skilled workforce and a robust technology
infrastructure. Thanks to technology initiatives including
IPv6, distributed services attraction and HDTZ, the
future looks bright for technology development in Harrisonburg,
the Shenandoah Valley and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Come explore what Harrisonburg has to offer you and
your business.
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