Companies such as Harley Davidson Motor Co. in Milwaukee, Illinois Tool Works Inc. in Glenview, Ill. and Essve Tech Inc., a manufacturer of corrugated steel pipes in Alpharetta, Ga., are actively recruiting women to fill the shortage caused by a growth spurt in U.S. manufacturing due to lower energy costs, reshoring a more competitive labor market as Baby Boomers continue to retire. The U.S. Department of Labor estimated last spring that 241,000 factory jobs remained unfilled.

Until recently, projects were largely initiated by and implemented for IT departments, rather than business, and the focus was primarily on eliminating silos and moving from departmental to enterprise programs. That focus has shifted and the shift has led to a $14bn global market for business intelligence software in 2013"”one expected to eclipse $17bn by 2016, according to Gartner Group estimates.

Just as countries vie with one another to be agreeable places in which to do business by having congenial tax rates, U.S, states have come to realize that in order to attract jobs and diversify revenue, they too, must adjust their tax structure accordingly.

When asked to describe the impact on the economy of modernizing factories with advanced technology and automation, nearly two-thirds of Americans told pollsters that it either made no difference or actually hurt the economy, according to The Wall Street Journal.