Software Association of Oregon hopes to establish a local chapter
by Anna Sowa/ The Bulletin
A Portland technology group is trying to capitalize on Bend’s growing high-tech community, offering the infrastructure and connections to make Central Oregon a competitive tech market.
“Bend is on the cusp of a lot, it seems,” said Harvey Mathews, president of the Software Association of Oregon.
His group, founded in 1989, is pulling the pieces together to create a Central Oregon chapter of the association, adding to chapters in the Portland area, Eugene-Springfield and Corvallis.
Association members include IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft Corp., Symantec, WebTrends and Intel Corp.
The association plans to hold a meeting about forming the group Aug. 13 and have an advisory board set up by then, Mathews said. The meeting is planned at 4 p.m. at McMenamins Old St. Francis School.
Local chapters discuss and advocate for high-tech industry issues specific to the area, Mathews said. Among other actions, they host educational events for the community, organize chief information officer roundtables and work on legislation to help attract, start and grow existing tech businesses.
“We do a lot to put the software industry on the map,” Mathews said. “There are significant economic reasons why software jobs are very good for the economy, and that could be optimized for Central Oregon so (elected leaders and economic development officials) understand why it’s important to help grow and support this industry.”
That could include pushing for more engineering classes at local colleges and seeking land use options for tech-related fields, he said. For example, economic developers hope to add a tech campus to the Juniper Ridge mixed-use development on vacant land in north Bend.
The association will work with existing groups like Economic Development for Central Oregon, Central Oregon Community College, OSU-Cascades Campus, BendTech and WoTech, a women’s tech group, toward the common goal of developing and maintaining the technology sector.
Mathews said he’d heard that a similar group started and fizzled in Bend a few years ago. He hopes interest in the tech community is strong enough now to foster an association chapter.
“There are a lot of people who care here, who want a thriving economy,” Mathews said, “especially in high-tech. And that’s what we want, too.”
Matt Abrams is the executive director and founder of BendTech, an online resource for tech professionals and interested parties. He believes the association is an opportunity for Central Oregon to expand its tech community.
“We certainly have challenges ahead,” he said. “But there’s a certain momentum we all have in that we want Bend to grow into a broader tech community.”
Abrams noted that Central Oregonians are supportive of the tech community.
“We’re really trying to capitalize on this right now,” he said.
Anna Sowa can be reached at 383-0304 or asowa@bendbulletin.com. Anna Sowa can be reached at 383-0304 or asowa@bendbulletin .com.
