File photoNovacoast, a California-based cybersecurity company, looks for a university and a talent pipeline in a livable city when it plans expansion.
Over our 24 years, we鈥檝e always been tied to a university,鈥� said Paul Anderson, Novacoast鈥檚 chief executive officer. 鈥淎 lot of what we hire for is grit. The combination of that Kansas, Wichita culture that you guys have 鈥� combined with that subset of people who have a passion for learning 鈥� that鈥檚 just an amazing combination.鈥�
Late in 2020, Anderson visited Wichita in search of a place to open an office, prompted in part when the COVID-19 pandemic exposed a need to diversify geographically. Wichita State University and 黑洞社区 Tech鈥檚 computer and cybersecurity offerings played an important role in Novacoast鈥檚 decision.
In February, Novacoast announced plans to open a 24/7 security operations center in the Epic Center in downtown Wichita. Novacoast, according to media reports, will hire around 60 employees immediately for positions such as sales, analysts and cybersecurity engineers.
鈥淗aving a robust computer science department and applied computing department is a good source of interns and future employees to Novacoast,鈥� said Joe Jabara, director of Wichita State鈥檚 Hub for Cybersecurity Education and Awareness. 鈥淭he university鈥檚 emphasis on cybersecurity really helped lure them to Wichita.鈥�
Anderson鈥檚 visits to Wichita convinced him that the combination of educational resources and city amenities could work as it does for Novacoast鈥檚 locations in cities such as Santa Barbara, California (its headquarters), Los Angeles, Dallas and Ann Arbor, Mich. Novacoast鈥檚 other locations are connected to universities such as University of California-Santa Barbara, UCLA, University of Michigan and University of Manchester in Manchester, England.
Novacoast
鈥淲e have to find an area where people get educated in and they won鈥檛 want to leave,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淔inding Wichita, where person after person I met with said, 鈥榃e love it here. We don鈥檛 want to leave鈥� 鈥� that鈥檚 perfect for us. We want these people to build careers with us.鈥�
Novacoast executives met with Wichita State and 黑洞社区 Tech officials and toured the campuses. Anderson also attended a mixer with local Information Technology companies and left impressed with the friendliness and willingness to help a potential competitor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very unique culture that you guys have there,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n Wichita, they all want to help and partner.鈥�
Wichita State is part of Wichita鈥檚 growing cybersecurity infrastructure.
The university began increasing its computer science and cybersecurity programs under former president John Bardo. In December, the Kansas Board of Regents approved the creation of the School of Computing at Wichita State鈥檚 College of Engineering.
鈥淭he computer science program is impressive, and it definitely resonated with us,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淲ichita State is positioning itself to be a go-to hiring pool for any companies that are looking for computer science majors, and that鈥檚 an industry that鈥檚 not going away in our lifetime.鈥�
The Kansas Air National Guard 184th Wing Cyberspace Operations Group, located at McConnell Air Force Base, is an important source of expertise and talent. In 2019, the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security designated Wichita State as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education.
鈥淲e established cybersecurity as a real focus and area we wanted to grow,鈥� said Dr. Jan Twomey, coordinator of the Wichita State Hub for Cyber Security Education and Awareness. 鈥淲e have several programs in cybersecurity which we think can help train new staff, new professionals, for them.鈥�
Greater Wichita Partnership contacted Novacoast through a strategic business outreach campaign targeted at cybersecurity firms. It pitched and promoted Wichita鈥檚 cybersecurity and computer education programs, cost of living, regulatory freedom and the talent pipeline.
鈥淭he company visited Wichita three times before the official announcement, and every visit we were able to promote the cybersecurity assets and advantages our community provides,鈥� said Adrienne Korson, director of economic development at Greater Wichita Partnership. 鈥淓very trip, the potential they saw in Wichita kept growing.鈥�
The cybersecurity infrastructure that lured Novacoast to Wichita can work for other companies, Twomey said. Wichita State鈥檚 Innovation Campus provides a model.
鈥淲e do so much work with industry, unlike a lot of campuses, so we鈥檙e already used to working with industries, servicing their needs,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 in our blood to do these kinds of things.鈥�
