Strategic Planning

The Lehigh Valley boasts a unique mix of economic assets that align perfectly with the high value business services sector. Whether data processing and hosting, financial transactions, payroll services, administrative management, or consulting services, the professional business and financing services benefit strongly from the convergence of significant economic and technological forces present in the Lehigh Valley.

Why Business Services?

An economic analysis by the Atlanta-based Garner Economics identified high value business services as a target sector for the Lehigh Valley based on these factors, among others:

• Central location and proximity to major U.S. Northeast markets
• Well-developed transportation infrastructure
• High relative broadband rank, measuring access and capacity
• Availability of suitable office space
• Strong existing local pool of high-demand occupations
• 1,275 annual post-secondary completions in critical fields from area institutions
• Excellent healthcare system
• Quality of place assets: ample opportunities for cultural activities, recreation, shopping, restaurants, and sporting events

Companies in this field must constantly respond to the demands of corporations seeking to adapt to rapid changes in customer expectation – like increased online commercial operations, cloud computing, and smart phone transactions – while desiring to maintain focus on their core business activities.

The Lehigh Valley is well suited to allow companies to respond to these demands. Its central northeastern location puts companies in close proximity to the financial and insurance capitals of the nation, like New York City and Philadelphia. A strong cluster of shared service and back office facilities already exist here, including such companies as Guardian Life, Cigna, Aetna, and ADP. The region also boasts a growing population, a strong workforce, and high-class higher education institutions.

For more information, click here to download the full Garner Economics report