Do Not Try to Replicate Silicon Valley - Silicon Valley as We Knew It Does Not Exist Anymore

Do Not Try to Replicate Silicon Valley ” Silicon Valley as We Knew It Does Not Exist Anymore

Gilo ¢ Any region or company thinking they can recreate Silicon Valley as a self-contained region is wrong. Even here in Silicon Valley, the Silicon Valley we knew does not exist any more. We are in a global technology market. That means today Hewlett-Packard manufactures in India, they may manufacture in Ireland, and they may do R&D or some product development in Israel. And they have huge resources, incredible marketing, strongly promote their brand name , and have stood for quality for many years .

Joshi ¢ I think that's where the governments might be in the dark. Free markets are ultimately the drivers of the world's economy and the determinants of individual company or industry sector success. The global free market, for example, is going to decide whether the Israeli security software is the best or not, and if the Brazilians can come up with better software in this area, then the industry in a few years will shift to Brazil. No government can alter that reality. So, Ireland or any other region can dream all they want about being the next semiconductor hub. The reality is that they will have to outperform the Taiwanese and the Koreans who have become the masters of this sector. By the way, I think there will be only one Silicon Valley in our lifetime. You need that kind of ambience, spirit, infrastructure, risk capital, very supportive government framework, and, above all, the diversity of ideas. That is what Silicon Valley represents. And it has been in the making for over 50 years.

Any region or company thinking they can recreate Silicon Valley as a self-contained region is wrong.

What is more likely is the emergence of global centers of excellence stemming from the core competency of a region and the associated economics. Local factors and global economics will determine which region does what best. If you can grow apples better than others, why use the land for growing almonds?