IT Geographics

Overview:

The Dominican Republic only has one technological park area within the country, and this Cyber Park does not compete with those clusters similar to the United States. This is another area where the Dominican Republic, although heading in the right direction, is at least a decade behind many other countries.

Highlights:

In 2000, the Cyber Park of Santo Domingo was created. Currently, the Cyber Park is undergoing a major expansion, growing another 1.2 square million feet. The Cyber Park is only located a few minutes from the Santo Domingo airport, making it convenient to travelers coming into the area. The Cyber Park is located next to a University, which is the Institute of the Technology of the Americas. Note that the most significant service provided by the Cyber Park is telecommunications. Interestingly, on the website, it lists technology as one of the industries of the Domincan Republic. No other source stated such information.

Cisco Systems and Touchstar Software are noted as partners of the Cyber Park, however, their relation to one another is not noted on the website for the Cyber Park. There are many companies listed on the website as actual users of the Cyber Park. Currently, there are 7 companies are using the Cyber Park, and there are another 10 that are in the process of installation. Many of these include companies that are based in the Dominican Republic, for example, Wireless Dominicana and Steamatic Dominicana.

It is important to note that the Cyber Park is " is the first industrial estate in the Dominican Republic entirely dedicated to high technology operations and development". In the future, another major university, the Stevens Insitute of Technology of the Americas will provide advanced degrees once it is open (21)

As we can see in the map below, the Cyber Park is, in fact, located in a central location within the country. Santo Domingo is the country's capital, and is centrally located. Additionally, Santo Domingo is only a 45-minute flight from Miami, making it easily accessible from the United States.

It is also important to note that although the Dominican Republic is heading in the right direction, they are still far behind many other companies. One article states that the facility is currently being used more as a training facility so that Dominicans can work for the companies that the Cyber Park is hoping to attract (22)