Silicon Taiga
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Silicon Taiga is a
nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
for
Akademgorodok Akademgorodok ( rus, Академгородок, p=ɐkəˌdʲemɡərɐˈdok, "Academic Town") is a part of the Sovetsky City District, Novosibirsk, Sovetsky District of the city of Novosibirsk, Russia, located south of the city center and abou ...
, a
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n research and development center that is located near
Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...
. The nickname is a reference to the
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
, a renowned IT region found in
Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
. The term was first introduced to the Western press by
Newsweek magazine ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev ...
in 1999.


Location

The town is situated partly on the River Ob, and partly on the shore of a Novosibirsk artificial reservoir that was created by a
dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...
on the river. Informally, this reservoir is called the Ob Sea. The dam contains a large
hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
that was constructed in the 1950s. The town itself has no skyscrapers, and only one remote speedway connecting it to the city of Novosibirsk. Office buildings and residences are connected by many intertwined, footworn paths.


History

In the 1950s the former
Academy of Sciences of the USSR The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (u ...
founded its Siberian Division, today known as the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with a center of
scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and medieval world. The ...
in Akademgorodok, where they established a dozen research institutes. To keep institutes supplied with fresh minds,
Novosibirsk State University Novosibirsk State University (NSU) is a public research university located in Novosibirsk, Russia. The university was founded in 1958, on the principles of integration of education and science, early involvement of students with research act ...
(NSU) was founded by the resolution of the
Council of Ministers of the USSR The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ˌɛsˌɛsˌɛsˈɛr), sometimes abbreviated as Sovmin or referred to as the ...
on January 9, 1958.


Distinctive

The distinctive feature of NSU is its system of competitive selection and its training of talented youth. NSU is the only university in Siberia to have developed a multilevel model of continuing education. The University was built and developed simultaneously with the Novosibirsk scientific center and is focused on training highly qualified specialists for scientific work and tutoring. Since its foundation in 1958, more than fifty thousand specialists graduated from Novosibirsk State University; more than six thousand have defended their
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
dissertations, and over one thousand five hundred have received
doctoral degrees A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
. In 2009, NSU achieved the status of a national research university. This high honor was granted by the
Russian Government The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...
on a competitive basis for a period of ten years.


Information Technology Outsourcing

The first IT companies were established in Akademgorodok in the 1990s. After the collapse of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, the government's investments into scientific activity were greatly reduced, and many scientists left long established institutions on a quest for better conditions. Some of these scientists decided to leave Russia in search of jobs in foreign scientific organizations all over the world. Others established their own
private business A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the company's stock is ...
es, which were
software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
-related
high-tech High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or ...
IT companies. Many of these companies grew up into large, internationally recommended providers of software products and services. Their strategy was simple: the new IT companies would adopt the tried and true principles of the already established, famous IT corporations. All IT companies in the Silicon Taiga can be divided into the two categories according to the offshore programming
business model A business model describes how a Company, business organization creates, delivers, and captures value creation, value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-pub ...
they employ: The firms that provide
Offshore Development Center Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * Of ...
(ODC), and mostly develop new custom products ( NPD), and the firms that are oriented to the
SAAS Software as a service (SaaS ) is a cloud computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is usually accessed via a web application. Unlike oth ...
model. Meantime the global giants in the field of software and high-tech products, such as
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
,
Intel Corporation Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer components such as central processing ...
, and
Schlumberger Schlumberger (), doing business as SLB, is a global multinational oilfield services company. Founded in France in 1926, the company is now incorporated as Schlumberger NV in Willemstad, Curaçao, with principal executive offices in Houston ...
, saw this growing trend and established
branch office A branch office is an outlet of a company or, more generally, an organization that – unlike a subsidiary – does not constitute a separate legal entity, while being physically separated from the organization's main office. Branching is particu ...
s in the Silicon Taiga.


Innovative technology park

The summer of 2010 saw the launch of an innovative technology park in Akademgorodok, which brought together economic and intellectual power in the area, thus expanding innovation in Russia. Today, the Silicon Taiga is not just a collection of IT companies; it is a beneficial environment, in which the Russian national system of innovations can continue to flourish.


Companies and subsidiaries

The following is a partial list of past and present notable companies founded in the Silicon Taiga or which have a major
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
located there: * Alawar Entertainment * Arello Mobile * ATAPY Software * Axmor * Azoft *
Baker Hughes Baker Hughes Company is an American global energy technology company co-headquartered in Houston, Texas and London, UK. As one of the world's largest oil field services, industrial and energy technology companies, it provides products and serv ...
* BCS-IT * Fortess * HP (By establishing HP’s International Institute of Technology in Novosibirsk State University) *
Intel Corporation Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer components such as central processing ...
* Novosoft * Parallels *
Schlumberger Schlumberger (), doing business as SLB, is a global multinational oilfield services company. Founded in France in 1926, the company is now incorporated as Schlumberger NV in Willemstad, Curaçao, with principal executive offices in Houston ...
* Sibers * Velvetech *
Vito technology Vito Technology, Inc. is an American-German mobile software development company, best known for the educational application '' Star Walk'' for iOS, which has had more than 5 million downloads since its release in 2009. History The company is bas ...
Mike Schramm
About Vito Technology's achievements
June 13, 2010


References

{{Reflist


External links


The Siberian Akadempark
a cradle of Russian high-tech innovations High-technology business districts Economy of Novosibirsk Information technology places Science and technology in Siberia