On the map.

• Author: Agresta, Tony
• Position: SILICON SLOPES

NEARMAP SETS UP U.S. HEADQUARTERS IN TECH-PRIMED UTAH. HERE'S WHY.

Crystal clear, bird's eye imagery of the nation's most iconic landmarks and bustling businesses is now viewable from one of Utah's newest tech companies, Nearmap. Famous locations such as the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; President Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida; Apple's under-construction headquarters in Cupertino, California; Utah's Temple Square; St. Louis' Gateway Arch and even Amazon's new headquarters in Seattle are all part of Nearmap--along with neighborhoods, construction sites and much more.

Nearmap is a location content provider that delivers high-resolution aerial imagery to businesses and government entities that allow for easy exploration of their environment. Based in Australia, this publicly traded company recently selected South Jordan, Utah, as the location for its U.S. headquarters.

Why did this growing tech company select Utah as its stateside hub? There are three distinct reasons that made Utah the ideal location for Nearmap: a tech-trained workforce, a culture of commitment and welcoming business climate.

TECH-TRAINED WORKFORCE

With five notable and growing Wasatch Front universities--Utah State, Weber State, University of Utah, Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University--churning out many STEM graduates, the Utah workforce is rich with tech-sawy minds.

With most of those graduates finding jobs within the state, tech companies like Adobe, Qualtrics, Novell, Pluralsight and IM Flash find a wealth of highly qualified employees in their own backyard. Utah added the greatest percentage of tech jobs in the country during the first six months of 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, reaching 7.69 percent, leading all other states.

These impressive statistics made it only natural that Nearmap would hone in on the well-educated workforce as it looked to expand.

CULTURE OF COMMITMENT

We're all well aware that Utah is known as the Beehive State for good reason. Like a bustling hive, Utah's workforce culture is one of industry and innovation. No longer just a pioneer-era adage, the work ethic of Utah residents is consistently praised.

In a study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation called...