Utah has a long and storied legacy of tech innovation.

• Author: Francom, Sarah Ryther
• Position: Utah Technology Council - Editorial

Last month I attended the Utah Technology Council's Hall of Fame Celebration, an annual event that honors a selection of the state's top technology and life science leaders. Three accomplished Utahns were celebrated: Peter Meldrum and Mark Skolnick, co-founders of Myriad Genetics, and Greg Butterfield, managing partner of SageCreek Partners.

It was an honor to take part in the celebration of Meldrum, Skolnick and Butterfield whose astounding innovations and work have truly made a difference to Utah's growing technology and life science communities.

Utah has no shortage of innovation and entrepreneurialism, as demonstrated each year by the UTC's Hall of Fame Celebration. Meldrum, Skolnick and Butterfield join the Hall of Fame with top innovators like Alan Ashton and Bruce Bastian, cofounders of WordPerfect; Ray Noorda, co-founder of Novell; Edwin Catmull, president of Pixar Animation Studios; and 23 other groundbreaking tech and life science leaders.

The state's track record of producing numerous inventions is long, ranging from Philo Farnsworth's invention of the television to Willem Kolff's life-saving work with artificial organs. Utah's record of entrepreneurialism is further solidified by the number of patents filed each year; according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Utah consistently ranks as one of the top patent producing states per capita.

Despite a rich history of innovation, and regardless of the numerous accolades received, Utah's technology industry has not reached its full potential. Too many technology-focused entrepreneurs struggle to turn their viable idea into a viable money-making company. Utah becoming a national tech hub, such as Josh James' Silicon Slopes campaign, is still in the distance.

With such a rich history of tech success, why isn't Utah a national tech hub, yet?

The answer to this question isn't easy to uncover. While many improvements have been made during recent years, there remains a collection of holes in the state's overall...