Just how business-friendly is your city? When we conducted the Connected SMB Research Report, we also took a look at what’s hot for small and growing businesses in various cities around the country. As it turns out, our Atlanta results may surprise you.

We asked participants if they thought their city was a good place to start a business, and guess what... A whopping 92% percent of Atlanta respondents believe the ATL fits the bill — it’s a solid place to start and run a business — compared to the national average of 75%.

So what is it, Atlanta? What makes your fair city so welcoming for entrepreneurs and emerging businesses — the real estate, the tax structure, the mindset and people power? We looked to the data for answers and found that Atlanta is a tech-forward city. 52% of Atlanta entrepreneurs surveyed believe they could run their businesses from a mobile device (compared to 42% nationwide). 42% of Atlanta entrepreneurs surveyed use the cloud to manage at least some part of their businesses (compared to 38% nationally), while 63% said they trust the cloud for their business applications, processes, and data. Pretty amazing!

But of course there’s still room to grow. When it comes to business process automation, less than half (49%) of Atlanta respondents are taking advantage of these time-saving solutions. Of those that are, automated billing and finance are the most common (69%), followed by customer service (52%) and marketing (43%). And only 21% of Atlanta responders are using business analytics or business intelligence software to measure their results. When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), 61% of respondents said their business is not ready for the cutting-edge technology, citing it as too complex for their needs.

Ready for more good news, Atlanta? Salesforce is coming to town! Join us at our popup event on March 22 and get free, hands-on advice for growing your business. Meet with experts from Salesforce, along with partners Airbnb, Chase for Business, SalesLoft, Square, Squarespace, WeWork, Zenefits, and more for a powerful half-day growth extravaganza. You’ll get hands-on advice for launching and running your business, working more efficiently, and building close connections with customers. And best of all, it’s FREE. Learn more and register here.

Salesforce can help you find customers, win their businesses, and keep them happy so you can grow your business faster than ever. Learn more about our small business CRM solutions or join the conversation with #SalesforceGROW.