Harris Technology Center Brings R&D to New Heights

Harris Corporation is an international communications and information technology company that serves government and commercial markets in more than 125 countries. Based in Melbourne, the Fortune 500 company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and 13,000 employees.

Harris is Central Florida’s largest technology employer with nearly 6,500 employees throughout the region, including about 3,000 local engineers and scientists.  In Palm Bay – Harris’ largest single location – the company has been a strong corporate partner for more than 50 years and today employs more than 3,000 people in its local Government Communications Systems operations.
And Harris continues to invest in the region with the Feb. 23 opening of its Harris Technology Center. The $130 million, 464,000 square foot state-of-the-art building will house the best and brightest Florida has to offer and serve as a hub for the company’s nearly $900 million in annual research and development — making Central Florida a leader in technology development.
Throughout the state, Harris helps first responders from Pensacola to Miami connect through the State Law Enforcement Radio System, which has successfully operated since 2001. SLERS acts as a lifeline by providing connectivity for more than 20,000 radios for first responders from state and local agencies such as the Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Corrections and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Without service interruptions during the last eight hurricanes, SLERS processes 29 million monthly network transmissions. The company provides communication solutions for law enforcement officers in some of the busiest areas of the state, including Miami-Dade County, and innovates in other fields such as aerospace, defense, national intelligence, weather, energy and others.

Harris hires Florida graduates and uses Florida-based ideas to help make the world safer and more efficient. The new Harris Technology Center is a testament to its roots in the Sunshine State. The future is even brighter.

Written by Kevin Lombardo, Vice President, Large System Sales, at Harris Corporation Public Safety and Professional Communications