Selling the city to software; developers work to attract high-tech to Anchorage.

• Author: Reid, Sean
• Position: Alaska

Back in September, you may remember, heads of 10 small Outside computer software companies came to Anchorage for a "fam tour" -- one of those familiarization affairs where the host expects to sell something. Fresh from high-tech hot spots like San Francisco, Boston and Seattle, these entrepreneurs came to hear Anchorage pitched as a place to set up shop for their future operations.

Paying their own way up here, the business guests met state legislators and business leaders. They heard about Alaska's advantages: bright computer graduates coming out of the university system, low taxes statewide, a strategic Pacific Rim location and grant money available from a state development agency. They took a float plane ride, saw the vast panorama of mountains and water, and discovered the great recreational opportunities in Anchorage's back yard.

When the software businessmen left town a few days later, the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. (AEDC), sponsor of the business trip, issued an optimistic press release: "Of the 10 software development companies that AEDC recently invited to Anchorage, one will move here in the next year, and six others are seriously considering some form of presence in Anchorage in the near future. The remaining three also expressed interest in relocating to Anchorage at some future time. This extremely positive and exciting response seems to support AEDC's theory that Anchorage has a future in the high-tech, high-paying software development industry."

Reality Check. But now, several months after the glow of the $10,000 familiarization trip has faded, does Anchorage still seem so appealing to these Outside computer wizards? Would they really want to move away from the Bay area, where the annual Mac Expo computer extravaganza is just minutes away? Would the giant Carrs store on Huffman Road in Anchorage be as much fun as Seattle's Pike Place Market? Would employees happy in L.A. move north with their company?

"Well, we've been thinking about Anchorage a lot," says Fred Taucher, president of Corporate Computer and one of the executives thought by AEDC to be most enthusiastic about moving to Anchorage. "But moving my entire business to Anchorage would not be profitable," he adds. "In fact, I was always thinking that I would keep my basic headquarters operation in Seattle and just move our software development operation to Anchorage. Unfortunately, some of my key people absolutely do not want to move to Anchorage."

Some of...