MIAMI—Miami, long known as the gateway to Latin America, is fast becoming the technology hub of the region. Although Miami didn't make it into CBRE's top 15 tech clusters, the firm said the Magic City is nevertheless promising.

We caught up with Quinn Eddins, director of Research & Analysis for CBRE Florida to get his take on Miami's tech growth. He told us there's a lot of energy around the tech sector in Miami right now and while it's still in its infancy, he is seeing some early indicators of a tech cluster forming.

“We've tracked several foreign digital media companies that signed office leases in Miami last year, for example,” Eddins tells GlobeSt.com. “And Miami's millennial population is growing, which we know is a robust contributor to the growth of tech talent pools. The eMerge conference, which is two weeks away, has really put Miami on the map for tech and it's exciting to see where all this will go.”

eMerge Americas Techweek is a technology conference focused on key trends driving growth in the Americas, came to Miami last May. The conference brought together civic leaders, industry titans, entrepreneurs, and global thought leaders with the purpose of establishing a technology corridor for the Americas.

At around the same time, Shiver Entertainment, a new video game development firm led by industry veteran and former Zynga and Electronic Arts (EA) COO John Schappert, leased 16,000 square feet on the second floor of The Offices at Sunset Place, which is jointly owned by Simon Property Group and Institutional Mall Investors.

Shiver is backed by tech industry heavy-hitters Schappert, Jason Andersen, and John Osvald. Schappert started his career as a programmer on hits like Madden NFL Football. He and Andersen founded Tiburon Entertainment in 1994, which was acquired by EA in 1998. After joining EA, Schappert served in various executive positions including COO. He also served as corporate vice president at Microsoft, overseeing Xbox LIVE and Microsoft Game Studios.

Meanwhile, Tampa, with 38,490 tech talent workers, boasted an impressive 20% growth rate in its tech labor pool between 2010 and 2013, making it one of the fastest growing smaller tech markets. Tampa's millennial population also grew 15% between 2009 and 2013, well above the average of 3%. A sizeable millennial workforce is considered a robust contributor to the growth of tech talent pools.

“For the past two years, the high-tech industry has not only spurred the economy as a whole, but it has been the top driver of commercial office activity nationally, influencing rents and vacancy in major markets across the U.S., including Tampa,” says Eddins. “Florida's labor markets are among the fastest growing in the country and the tech sector is one driver of this job growth.”