Report details importance of tech in Mass.

By D.C. Denison, Globe Staff

A report from the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute, released today, gives a snapshot of how important information technology is to the Bay State.

“The IT Industry: Hub of the Massachusetts Technology Economy" was presented and discussed at an event in Watertown by Governor Deval Patrick and a group of local technology leaders.

Among the finding: venture capital investment in the Massachusetts IT industry ranks second only to California, at $10,257 per IT worker. Between 2006 and 2008, half of all venture capital investment in Massachusetts went to the IT industry.

The report also underscores the economic impact of the Massachusetts IT industry, quantifying it as the state’s second largest knowledge-intensive industry cluster second only to health care. The sector is home to 10,300 firms with more than 178,000 workers. The industry directly expended $65 billion in Massachusetts in 2008, a figure that is comparable in scale to nearly 18 percent of state’s gross domestic product.

The report can be downloaded here.