New online data analytics tool will show how Mass. ranks in talent, competitiveness

A new online data analytics tool being unveiled this week by the Massachusetts High Technology Council will show how the state measures up against other states in key areas including talent and business competitiveness.

The project, called Massachusetts Technology, Talent and Economic Reporting System (MATTERS), has been in the works for about a year, according to Mark Gallagher, executive vice president of Mass. High Tech Council’s Public Policy and Communications division.

The MATTERS tool will have its own website and will contain more than 30 different metrics including tax policy, cost, talent supply and demand, from various databases, indices and sources.

“The purpose here is to make this data actionable and to use the data to identify where Massachusetts is performing well or not performing well,” Gallagher said in an interview.

The information goes back about five years and can be compared with 15 other states, including North Carolina and Texas, that are considered competitors to the Massachusetts tech economy.

There’s currently no cost to use MATTERS but the Mass. High Tech Council is considering adding additional or premium features so users can delve into the data and analyze it further.

Gallagher anticipates the tool being used by advocates and policy makers, or “anybody who wants to … see how we are competitive in terms of economic development, or our strengths and weaknesses,” he said.

MATTERS was developed in partnership with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s data science program.

The Mass. High Tech Council is unveiling the MATTERS tool at its 2015 annual meeting on Wednesday.