Shortly after the start of the New Year, Darmstadt had every reason to celebrate again – it was declared the German metropolis with the most secure future-ready infrastructure. This was established by the new “Zukunftsindex 2030” (future index 2030) that was generated for the first time based on the renowned city ranking of IW Consult in cooperation with Wirtschaftswoche magazine and Immobilienscout24. Measured by its innovative power, creative potential, and the future-readiness of its industry, Darmstadt is THE city of the future. Not only does Darmstadt have Germany’s highest number of graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from its three institutions of higher education, the research and university town has the highest percentage of Industry 4.0-affine companies among all 69 large German cities included in the comparison. These factors considerably contribute to the success and future-orientation of local companies.
When it comes to research and development in Darmstadt, a wide range of promising future-ready topics can be found. To me it is particularly exciting to see how many research and development projects along with degree programs focus on the Internet alone – there is research related to the future of the Internet, its safety and industrial applications along with its application in marketing and corporate communications, journalism and culture, and learning and information management.
Prof. Pleil, Darmstadt University of Applied Science
In the Zukunftsindex 2030, Darmstadt topped Erlangen, which came in second. There is a clear gap between these two cities and Munich and Jena, which were at ranks three and four respectively. It is remarkable to note that the cities with the highest ranking are specialized in particularly future-oriented sectors.
Coinciding with our 20th anniversary in 2015, we were proud to receive the “Landmarks in the Land of Ideas“ award in the economy category for our CryptoController software. This award proves that we are on the right course as an innovative high-tech company in Darmstadt.”
Tamer Kemeröz, MTG (media transfer AG)
Darmstadt is a location that offers fertile grounds for value creation networks according to the Industry 4.0 concept. Compared to the national average, Darmstadt has twice as many companies with a clear affinity to Industry 4.0. The companies headquartered in Darmstadt are ready to sustainably and effectively support other companies in their successful digital transformation.
The IT innovation award of the “Initiative Mittelstand” shows that not only long established companies, but young companies as well, are able to fully utilize their potentials in Darmstadt. The closely meshed network of innovative companies and creative committed startups in the city offers the best prerequisites for our success.
Holger Kärcher, Helpium
Whether banks, insurance companies, large and medium sized enterprises, or start ups, Darmstadt`s companies offer the services and the expertise required to master all digital challenges. The successful implementation of Industry 4.0 strategies goes hand in hand with the adaption of cloud technologies. This is because the intelligent real time control of a seemingly unlimited number of devices requires handling the gigantic data stream of thousands of sensors. While the cloud is excellently suited for this purpose, conventional rigid infrastructures are not.
Cutting-edge cloud technologies considerably contribute to this result. In cooperation with our partner NetApp, we have created a genuine hybrid cloud environment with full data mobility among private cloud, public cloud, and colocation data. This allows our customers to flexibly decide at all times in real time and without vendor lock-in from where they want to draw their computing resources.
Lars Göbel, Sales and IT Services Manager, DARZ GmbH
Darmstadt has thus succeeded in implementing a structural change into an innovative and digitized economic infrastructure, supported by renowned research institutions and creative service providers.
Based on this outlook, the Zukunftsindex 2030 is the best indication that Darmstadt has an excellent chance that both its competitiveness and innovative potential will increase even further in the coming years.
Software AG has it origins in Darmstadt, where founder Peter Schnell is living. The company is perfectly located – we can reach our offices in 70 countries by airplane using the airport in Frankfurt which is close-by. A dynamic development of our company and the software cluster is possible thanks to the proximity to educational and research institutes. IT-intelligence is based there.
And last, but not least, it´s the home of our soccer club SV Darmstadt 98.
Werner Rieche, CEO Software AG Deutschland GmbH