Savannah Chamber

16 10 Prospects for Service Producing Industries Above average population and job growth as well as households' ongoing shift in spending priorities from goods towards services will support the expansion of many types of service-related businesses. We expect higher demand for health care, education, business and professional services, digital services, home services, data centers, and technology services. In addition, a lengthy list of projects in Georgia's economic development pipeline will be building out and become operational in 2025, which creates new demand for industries that provide services to these new or expanded operations. Georgia's large, well-established, cluster of Fin-Tech companies will fare well. FinTech, transactions processing, data processing, cyber security, and development of software and mobile apps will continue to support Georgia's economic growth. FinTech industry received a boost from the COVID-19 crisis because contagion fears pushed people to adopt new mobile technologies, including mobile banking and touchless payment systems. Most customers are pleased with such services and fully embrace these new ways of banking and shopping. One of the main reasons why Fin-Tech companies locate in Georgia is the substantial number of existing companies ensures deep pools of experienced workers with the specialized talents needed. Going forward, we expect this advantage to increase rather than diminish. Georgia's post-secondary education system is focused on the production of new talent for the Fin-Tech industry. The Fintech cluster of companies in the Atlanta MSA has grown rapidly. The Georgia FinTech Academy – available at most of the University System of Georgia's 26 institutions – will provide the talent needed to attract more financial technology companies to Georgia. In 2025, we expect Georgia's cyber security industry to grow. The COVID-19 crisis dramatically boosted the use of online and digital services, which increases the need for cyber security. Indeed, the digital transformation of many industries, ranging from health care, to entertainment, to mobile banking, was an existing trend that the pandemic dramatically accelerated. The speed of this widespread digital transformation increases the risks of cyber-attacks, which puts Georgia's cyber security industry onto higher short- and long-term growth trajectories. In addition, the weaponization of cyber-attacks to achieve military or political objectives increases demand for cyber security. According to Business Facilities magazine Georgia's cyber security industry ranks eighth nationally in 2024, up from ninth in 2023. Georgia's cyber security industry is located primarily in Atlanta and Augusta. Talent is the key to Atlanta's success whereas the presence of the US Army Cyber Command at Fort Gordon and Georgia Cyber Center are the foundations of Augusta's cyber security economy. Fort Gordon provides a critical mass of dependable contracts. The Georgia Cyber Center provides the leadership and talent needed to attract more cyber security firms to Georgia. Healthcare IT and telemedicine will create thousands of high-paying jobs in Georgia over the next decade. The COVID-19 crisis accelerated the adoption of telemedicine by traditional healthcare providers, which got large segments of the population accustomed to the online delivery of healthcare. Many patients continue to use online healthcare, which bodes well for healthcare providers, healthcare IT companies, and cyber security companies. Georgia is attracting and growing healthcare IT companies. Georgia's data center industry is thriving. Atlanta's data center market ranks seventh nationally and once the space under construction is delivered the metro area is likely to rise several spots in the national rankings. Remote work, the Internet of Things, AI, the Cloud, the greater adoption, and use of a wide range of digital applications and high-speed streaming will drive demand growth. The outsourcing of data operations will power growth of colocation service providers that specialize in data center operations. The main challenge to even faster growth will be ensuring that ample supplies of electricity are available for this energy intensive industry. The build out of headquarters projects is an important force powering Georgia's current and future economic growth. The Home Depot, United Parcel Services, Delta Air Lines, the Coca-Cola Company, Southern Company, Genuine Parts, WestRock, Aflac, PulteGroup, and Asbury Automotive Group are the ten largest (by revenue) firms headquartered in Georgia. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and

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