Toronto has been recognized as “future ready,” placing 11th on a list of the world’s 50 most tech-friendly cities in a global study conducted by Dell Inc., the Round Rock, Texas-based computer giant announced today.
The only Canadian city to make the cut, Ontario’s capital was lauded for its competitive tax rates, multicultural population, and innovation-friendly atmosphere, among other reasons.
Conducted in collaboration with Douglas County, Colorado-based research firm IHS Inc., the “Dell Future-Ready Economies Model” study evaluated high-growth metropolitan areas across the world for their ability to apply technology to three pillars of economic growth – human capital, commerce, and infrastructure – with Dell noting that the cities best equipped to serve the public sector, technology firms, start-up community, and higher education while adapting to technological change will be in the best position to achieve high levels of growth in the near future.
The company’s latest survey represents Dell’s second application of its Future-Ready Economies model, which it first unveiled during the 2015 Strategic Innovation Summit hosted by Harvard University last September, and used as the basis of a report, also prepared with IHS, that identified the top 25 future-ready economies in the U.S. and was released last October.
While the lists don’t overlap perfectly, 25 American cities appear on Dell’s global list, including six in the top 10:
- San Jose, Calif.
- San Francisco
- Singapore
- London
- Washington, DC
- Boston
- Austin, Texas
- Raleigh, N.C.
- Stockholm
- Sydney
In preparing both reports, IHS and Dell evaluated each city based on three dimensions:
- Human capital – that is, whether a city was attracting or training the right people to drive what Dell and IHS considered “meaningful social and economic change”;
- Infrastructure – whether a city had the infrastructure necessary to support not only human capital, but the types of businesses and technology that lead to progress over time;
- Commerce – whether it provided the types of sustained opportunities that will allow businesses to accelerate innovation, growth, and profitability.
For the complete list of what Dell and IHS consider the world’s top 50 future-ready cities, click here.
As for why Toronto placed number 11, Dell released an infographic, which you can check out below (click on the image for a larger version).
