Techno-tour: buckle up and enjoy a quick cruise through the Digital Drive.

Digital Drive--the new brand name that ties together all of the technology "hotbeds" in the 10-county Detroit Region--is a story that needs to be told because it affects virtually everyone who does business here.

If you're the CEO of a Tier 1 automotive supplier in Oakland County's

In October's issue, the Detroiter examined Digital Drive from a marketing perspective. This month, we turn our attention to what it's all about: technology. Join us for a quick tour of the "six pillars" that help define Digital Drive and highlight what it has to offer in the global marketplace.

1. Technology and innovation

The Detroit Region is the automotive capital of the world, and Digital Drive is the intellectual center of the North American automotive industry. According to a study commissioned by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Digital Drive's role has shifted from production to global leadership in research and development. The stakes are high: The automotive sector spends about $18.4 billion on research and development, more than any other sector of the economy, and 90 percent of U.S. automotive R&D takes place in the Digital Drive.

NextEnergy and the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor are also in the Digital Drive. Slated to be located at Wayne State University in Detroit, NextEnergy is Michigan's plan to nurture innovation, strengthen collaboration and focus on long-term growth and job creation in the alternative energy industry. Established with $1 billion from the state of Michigan's tobacco settlement, the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor (MLSC) was created to invest in and promote life sciences research and business development over the next 20 years.

2. Venture capital and services

Just like plants need water to grow, promising high-tech ventures need money to turn ideas into action. The amount of venture funds under management in Michigan has ballooned from just $111 million in 1996 to $2.4 billion in 2000. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. has awarded $600,000 to two new seed and early stage venture capital funds. Arboretum Venture and Accelero Capital Partners have committed to raising $25 million and $20 million, respectively, to invest in companies in the life sciences and health-care industries.

3. Real estate

Digital Drive is a brand name, but it's also a defined geographical area that includes 32 research and technology parks. The 1,100-acre Oakland Technology Park in Auburn Hills is the largest, housing some of the world's most notable high-tech companies.

Digital Drive is also home to some big real estate deals. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer's $600-million laboratory expansion in Ann Arbor, for example, was one of Site Selection magazine's top 10 deals for 2001.

And, of course, the Digital Drive's real estate is wired. The Detroit Region ranks as one of the top 10 fastest-growing wired metropolitan areas in the United States with more than 425,000 miles of electronic information lines or fiber optics. LinkMichigan initiative is a plan to make Michigan the most robust U.S. telecommunications market. The plan would give broadband companies special deals in exchange for guaranteed business with government and educational institutions.

Digital Drive is also home to SmartZones, which are designated areas in Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw counties that can capture the growth in property taxes within the zone for use within the zone. And compared to other high-tech regions, real estate in the Digital Drive is very affordable. The lease rate for Class A office space averages $21.21 per square foot in the Digital Drive vs. $39.12 in California's Silicon Valley and $48 in Boston's Route 128 area.

4. Talented workforce

The Digital Drive has more engineers per capita than any other region in the world. In fact, we enjoy one of the fastest-growing high-tech employment growth rates in the United States. The Digital Drive has the eighth-highest concentration of certified information technology professionals in the nation, according to Brainbench.

Approximately $29 million in training or retraining grants are awarded in the Digital Drive each year, and Michigan's workforce training programs have been ranked No. 3 in the nation by Expansion Management magazine.

5. Collaboration:

As a brand name, Digital Drive is a truly collaborative concept. The Digital Drive "PR Champs" pictured on the cover of this month's Detroiter are working tirelessly to get the message out. Organizations like Oakland County's Automation Alley and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. are firmly behind the marketing effort as is the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership, the economic-development arm of the Detroit Regional Chamber. In fact, Digital Drive is one of the Partnership's No. 1 priorities.

"We are now poised to diversify our market to many other areas of technology, such as telematics, alternative energy sources, life sciences and MEMS, just to name a few," notes Pam Frauenheim, director of the Partnership's Technology Marketing Program. "The state and the region are focused on expanding these areas with economic-development tools that make it more attractive to do business here, and the Digital Drive brand is a key component of our overall strategy."

6. Quality of life

The Digital Drive offers an unparalleled quality of life. Just to name a few of the most prominent cultural attractions, Digital Drive is home to the Detroit Institute of the Arts, the fifth-largest fine arts museum in the United States; the New Detroit Science Center with its newly enhanced IMAX Dome Theater; the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History; Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, the most visited indoor/outdoor historical complex in North America; the renovated Detroit Opera House, home of the Michigan Opera Theater; and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Neeme Jarvi.

Digital Drive on the Web

For more information on Digital Drive, visit the newly expanded Website at www.digital drive.org. For an update on technology programs at Digital Drive's educational institutions, read the Detroiter online at www.detroitchamber.com, Click "Detroiter" on our home page and go to: "Technology education in the Digital Drive." And while you're there, also check out: "Digital Drive: Questions and Answers."

What is Digital Drive?

It's a virtual highway of new and established centers of innovation--spanning businesses, universities, associations and governments--that runs throughout the 10 counties of Southeast Michigan. Digital Drive is a brand. It is not an institution, nor does it replace any existing organization or association.

Melissa Armstrong is senior director of Research & Information at the Detroit Regional Chamber.