ECoast Helping Seacoast Tech Companies Plug In

New Hampshire's 18 miles of coastline is the smallest in New England, yet the Seacoast region it buffers is home to hundreds of technology companies-and the list keeps growing. To build on that, the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce has revived eCoast, a marketing and branding program to encourage the development of the Seacoast high tech sector and the workers those companies employ.

Just as Pease International Tradeport, which now houses more than 245 businesses, is a hub for tech firms in Newington and Portsmouth, eCoast seeks to be a hub for education and networking. We're now being looked at because of Pease as the place that corporations want to come to, says Salina McIntire, membership manager for the Portsmouth Chamber and an eCoast steering committee. It's a win win for everyone. [Having tech companies attracts people to the area] and keeps our businesses young, fresh and revitalized.

To that end, eCoast held a Techworld conference in 2010, the first in a decade, that attracted 500 to 600 people and included presenters from Microsoft and USA FIRST. This year, eCoast, which originally launched in 1999, held a more targeted one-day Techworld Mobile Summit for 175 people, followed by an ecruise networking event. The group is also working on creating a mailing list and a newsletter. Monthly ebrew events attract 60 to 70 people for networking. While the ebrews continued over the years, the downturn in the economy led many businesses to face inward, says Mark Miller, a marketing and account manager for Axis Business Solutions in Portsmouth and an eCoast board member. That led the all-volunteer group to have less involvement, but it is coming back as tech companies are doing better economically.

Miller says a big part of revitalizing eCoast is to provide education. He says events like the mobile technology summit show eCoast is relevant. This is the new frontier. This is the next thing in marketing and technology, Miller says, adding that attendees at the conference ranged from tech experts to those looking to use technology for their business. The organization is also focused on building awareness among young people that good tech jobs exist in the Seacoast. To learn more, visit www.portsmouthchamber.org/ecoast