FiberLight LLC, a fiber infrastructure provider with more than 20 years of experience building and operating mission-critical, high-bandwidth networks, today releases the results of its inaugural Business Relocation Expansion Survey. The survey asked IT executives and business leaders about their post-COVID plans to move headquarters or add locations outside their operating market, as well as scheduled upgrades to IT infrastructure and connectivity to accommodate operations in new markets.
According to FiberLight’s 2022 Business Relocation Expansion Survey, 70 percent of IT and corporate decision-makers say they are considering relocating their business or adding more locations within the next three to five years. Of those respondents, 78 percent said they are considering relocating their business to Texas.
Executives cited market saturation and availability, followed by the expense of doing business in major metropolitan areas, and expanding their operations, as the primary factors driving the change.
Texas offers companies several advantages including a lower cost of living, favorable tax rates and fewer regulations. Ranking high on the list of Texas cities decision makers are considering for relocation are: 1) Dallas/Ft. Worth, 2) Austin, and 3) San Antonio. More rural Texas markets are also in consideration.
“Our research confirms what we already know: Texas is a great place to live and work,” said Will Sears, CRO for FiberLight. “Companies are discovering the advantages to relocating and expanding across a wide variety of communities within the Lone Star State, not just the major metro areas. As Texas continues to grow, businesses will need faster, more scalable connectivity in order to execute their business strategies. FiberLight’s deep roots and expansive network uniquely positions us to support growing organizations with secure and scalable connectivity.”
FiberLight, a fiber infrastructure provider that builds and operates high-bandwidth networks, conducted the survey in March of more than 600 executive leaders responsible for IT and corporate strategy to better understand their post-Covid relocation, expansion, and infrastructure plans.
In a post-Covid world, executives are planning, primarily, for hybrid and cloud infrastructure models. The survey revealed that to facilitate relocation or expansion, executives are prioritizing these local infrastructure needs:
- Data Center Access (29 percent)
- Public Sector (22 percent)
- Cloud Migration (20 percent)
- Dedicated Internet Access (15 percent)
- Dark Fiber (12 percent)
Additionally, leaders said their biggest priorities for connectivity upgrades include:
- Speed / Low Latency
- Security
- Diverse Connections
“The past two years have dramatically changed how businesses across all sectors operate. Couple that with the changing demographics in major metropolitan areas due to employees having the flexibility to work from anywhere, we’re seeing a seismic shift in where businesses are moving their operations,” said Chris Rabii (pictured), CEO at FiberLight. “These moves have highlighted the core infrastructure requirements to support businesses that are moving to new locations. Traditionally, rural areas around our country have been ignored but these findings show that can’t be the case any longer.”
With existing backbone infrastructure and unmatched density, FiberLight is equipped to deploy a multitude of solutions in their communities to meet growing bandwidth needs.
To learn more and to access the survey, visit www.fiberlight.com.