Software
Connected in South Louisiana
South Louisiana – located in South Central Louisiana along the Gulf of Mexico – provides a unique fiber optic network and homegrown software engineering talent. For these reasons and more, it continues to attract the world’s newest and most innovative software companies. The region’s major employers include a diverse mix of industry from healthcare to construction. Software and communications investments in the region include:
CGI Group, Inc.
As an anchor tenant of the 143-acre Research Park of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, CGI occupies a new $13.1 million, 50,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility designed to bring world-class IT Consulting capabilities to CGI’s clients. This location is CGI’s fifth Onshore Center of Excellence and well on its way to creating 400 new, high-quality IT jobs in the region. Founded in 1976, CGI is the fifth largest independent information technology and business process services firm in the world, employing approximately 68,000 professionals.
Global Data Systems (GDS)
GDS is an established provider of facilities-based satellite telecommunications serving clients with global needs. In Q4 2013, GDS launched its new teleport facility, located on property at its corporate headquarters site in Lafayette, Louisiana. Directly adjacent to the teleport is its newly completed Tier 4 hardened datacenter facility, where it takes advantage of Lafayette’s fiber optic network to offer a full suite of datacenter, telecommunications, and satellite teleport services to its clients.
Perficient
A leading information technology and management consulting firm serving Global 2000 and other large enterprise customers throughout North America, Perficient chose vibrant downtown Lafayette for its domestic delivery center (DDC) in 2014. The DDC is ramping up its operations which will soon create 245 new direct jobs in the Acadiana region.
Check out the advantages businesses like these enjoy:
- Bold incentives like digital interactive media and software development tax credits
- #7 Best Cost of Doing Business in the nation
- Ability to recruit and retain talent from a number of Louisiana universities focused on meeting and exceeding the software workforce demand with new initiatives
- Proximity to an ecosystem of partners across academic, public, and private sectors
- Availability of business sites to incubate, grow, and expand
Bold Incentives
South Louisiana values its aviation industry and aligns state and local resources to provide customized incentive packages for businesses looking to grow. A couple standard incentives are outlined below. You can find a full list of available incentives here.
High Impact Jobs Program
Louisiana’s High-Impact Jobs Program (HIP) offers qualifying companies up to five years of reimbursable grants for the creation of new jobs that pay above the parish (county) average wage, based on the parish where the project is located.
Digital Interactive Media & Software
Louisiana’s Digital Interactive Media and Software Program (DM)—one of the strongest of its kind in the nation—helps innovative digital media and software development companies of all sizes gain a competitive edge.
Ready to Learn More About South Louisiana’s Software Industry?
“Lafayette’s unparalleled fiber-optic network, paired with strong partnerships between innovative businesses and local educators to build a talented homegrown workforce, made choosing Acadiana as the location of CGI’s fourth U.S. onshore IT services Center of Excellence an easy choice.”
-William Labar
Vice President of Consulting Services
CGI
