“With substantial new changes to the Affordable Care Act likely to affect the entire industry, healthcare IT will be primed to produce new ideas and technologies that could eventually create new businesses and, importantly, more jobs,” Rubenstein says. “Similarly, cybersecurity is yet another sector in which Atlanta is well-positioned to both support and benefit from.”

Georgia's cybersecurity industry generates nearly $5 billion in annual revenue, according to Georgia.org, and the state is home to more than 115 companies including major players like IBM, Dell, Verisign, and VMware AirWatch. As this industry becomes more complex, Rubenstein says, new innovative ideas will be the foundation for yet another round of growth, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on Atlanta.

ATLANTA—According to the Technology Association of Georgia, Georgia's invested venture capital increased more than 70 percent in 2015 to reach $836.1 million. Even with that, Georgia's share of the U.S. venture capital market was only 1.4 percent.” As smaller, less established companies mature, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see these numbers increase, both in totals and as a percentage.

So says Savills Studley executive managing director David Rubenstein. He recently attended Venture Atlanta, a conference dedicated to matching investors with emerging technology companies and has some keen insights into the region's rise as tech-dominant.

“As an example of how important this growth is from a total market perspective, growing technology firms have played an integral role in the absorption of Atlanta office space,” Rubenstein tells GlobeSt.com. “In 2010, technology firms leasing 50,000 square feet or more comprised approximately 20% of the Atlanta's office lease transactions. Now, technology represents nearly 45% of those transactions. With less than two% of the US venture capital market currently coming into Georgia, there is room to run and for Atlanta to capture a bigger piece of the economic pie.”

As Rubenstein sees it, healthcare IT alone represents a sizable opportunity. The Metro Atlanta Chamber notes that the Georgia-based health IT sector employs over 16,000 people in the state and the sector's primary businesses are growing at a 40 percent rate. Of companies included in the study, 57 percent anticipate expanding over the next two years, with 75 percent expecting to add Georgia-based employees.

“With substantial new changes to the Affordable Care Act likely to affect the entire industry, healthcare IT will be primed to produce new ideas and technologies that could eventually create new businesses and, importantly, more jobs,” Rubenstein says. “Similarly, cybersecurity is yet another sector in which Atlanta is well-positioned to both support and benefit from.”

Georgia's cybersecurity industry generates nearly $5 billion in annual revenue, according to Georgia.org, and the state is home to more than 115 companies including major players like IBM, Dell, Verisign, and VMware AirWatch. As this industry becomes more complex, Rubenstein says, new innovative ideas will be the foundation for yet another round of growth, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on Atlanta.