IT Services In Houston, TX

At Straight Edge Technology, our goal is to provide the best business IT support and services for the Houston, TX metro area.

Houston is the largest city in the second-largest state of the US, though you wouldn’t know the latter by asking Texans! Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States. It’s famous for its oil industry, muggy weather, and being the location of the NASA Mission Control Center, immortalized by the unforgettable phrase, “Houston, we have a problem.” from the Apollo 13 mission. Being the control center for one of the world’s greatest accomplishments—man walking on the moon—is no small thing.

For many years, the US had a domestic oil industry, but was characterized by its reliance on Middle Eastern oil. This was true to such an extent that one of the key diplomatic battles (and occasional hot wars) of the Cold War between the US and the USSR was influence in the Middle East to secure supply of oil, especially in the case of a war. Without oil, war machines don’t get very far. However, a decade after electing a Texan as president, the US has become a net exporter of petroleum products. The US is now the #1 oil producer in the world. This feat of energy independence is due in large part to the US oil industry headquartered in Houston, TX. Just like Detroit is synonymous with US automaking, Houston is synonymous with US oil.

But Houston is far more than oil, with 23 Fortune 500 companies making their home there. Healthcare, biomedical research, aerospace, finance, IT, higher education (University of Houston, University of Houston-Downtown, Texas Southern, and University of Houston-Clear Lake), and manufacturing are also large sectors. The Port of Houston is the largest in the US for international trade and the sixth largest in the world. This is reflected by the forty governments with consulates or trade offices there. Houston is consistently ranked as one of the most business-friendly cities in the US which has helped lead to 20% growth in population over the past decade.

TripAdvisor lists the following as a few top attractions in Houston:

• Houston Museum of Natural Science
• Space Center Houston
• Cockrell Butterfly Center
• Minute Maid Park
• Museum of Fine Arts
• Children’s Museum Houston
• Houston Zoo
• The Galleria
• Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

The Houston city website starts off their cheerful description of their hometown with a pun:

Alive with energy and rich in diversity, Houston is a dynamic mix of imagination, talent and first-class attractions that makes it a world-class city. Home to a vibrant economy, beautiful surroundings and a population full of optimism and spirit, it’s no wonder that Houston is a popular international destination.

Wikipedia gives the history of Houston’s founding and early years:

The Allen brothers—Augustus Chapman and John Kirby—explored town sites on Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay. According to historian David McComb, “[T]he brothers, on August 26, 1836, bought from Elizabeth E. Parrott, wife of T.F.L. Parrott and widow of John Austin, the south half of the lower league [2,214-acre (896 ha) tract] granted to her by her late husband. They paid $5,000 total, but only $1,000 of this in cash; notes made up the remainder.”The Allen brothers ran their first advertisement for Houston just four days later in the Telegraph and Texas Register, naming the notional town in honor of President Sam Houston. They successfully lobbied the Republic of Texas Congress to designate Houston as the temporary capital, agreeing to provide the new government with a state capitol building. About a dozen persons resided in the town at the beginning of 1837, but that number grew to about 1,500 by the time the Texas Congress convened in Houston for the first time that May. The Republic of Texas granted Houston incorporation on June 5, 1837, as James S. Holman became its first mayor. In the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County (now Harris County).

VisitHoustonTexas.com gives the following assortment of interesting facts about Houston:

• At 655 square miles, the City of Houston could contain the cities of New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Miami.
• More than 145 different languages are spoken in Houston. That’s the third largest number of languages spoken in a U.S. city behind New York (192) and LA (185). More than a third of Houstonians older than five speak a language other than English at home.
• Houston ranks first among U.S. cities where paychecks stretch the furthest, according to Forbes.
• Houston is home to the second largest concentration of Fortune 1000 companies in the country (49) behind New York (72).
• Houston rates first in total park acreage among U.S. cities with more than one million residents.

If you’re from the Houston metro area, and are looking for excellent IT services, then click the button below to drop us a line!