How Dell Technologies Changed the Game

Over the past three decades, Round Rock has become an innovation hub that technology companies can count on. Talent oozes from local and regional higher education institutions like South University and Texas State University’s Round Rock campus.

With such high levels of talent, companies continue to grow in Central Texas, including Dell Technologies — a tech company that had its humble beginning in a University of Texas dorm room and grew into a globally recognized brand.

Changing the Dynamics of a City

The year was 1993, and while Round Rock was growing in population, business development and economic growth still had a way to go.

“Dell hadn’t opened yet, and people just knew Round Rock as a growing community north of Austin,” says Mike Robinson, former city council member and mayor of Round Rock from 1984 to 1993. “A lot of us on the city council were committed to raising our families in Round Rock, and we knew we were going to grow. We had to decide how we wanted to do that. That’s when we quit trying to control growth and started to manage the growth instead.”

And grow the city did. Round Rock’s commitment to the success of Dell led to the city’s launch of several programs and incentives to help tech companies stay engrained within the community. This dedication to the tech industry caused a snowball of new developments, small businesses, company relocations and expansions. A trend that has continued to this day.

The Round Rock Advantage

Round Rock’s strong economy and job opportunities are a direct result of the city’s tenacity and forward-thinking abilities. These traits, Robinson says, were pivotal in Dell’s original decision to choose Round Rock over two other sites in 1994 and have only continued to strengthen Dell’s relationship with the city over the past thirty years.

Dell’s legacy continues to drive companies and young, diverse talent to Central Texas. Round Rock currently has more than 60,000 STEM-related jobs and 11% of the city’s workforce is comprised of technology and innovation-related fields. It is in this environment that Dell Technologies and similar tech companies continue to thrive.