The 2013 Georgia Technology Summit took place on Wednesday, March 20 with nearly 1300 attendees, a showcase featuring the top technology conferences in Georgia and plenty of speakers brought in to educate and inspire.
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) went all out for speakers this year, bringing in the likes of Bob Metcalfe, the inventor of Ethernet, Matt Quinlan, CTO of Google, and the recognizable Ray Kurzweil of Google.
All three of these speakers were entertaining, informative and appreciative of the vibrant tech community in Georgia. All three speakers talked about the Global Commerce Revolution and how it impacts all of us.
In addition 40 Georgia tech companies were honored for their ideas and achievements and serial entrepreneur Jeff Arnold, chairman and CEO of Sharecare was inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame.
Most people don't realize that Georgia is one of the leading states in the country when it comes to technology.
Something I didn't know was that 70% of all payment transactions are processed in the state of Georgia.
The technology sector led the state of Georgia's employment recovery, generating nearly 16,000 jobs over the past two years. This is more than any other major sector - to reach 263,000 workers. Over this two-year period, technology jobs represented more than 20 percent of all new jobs created in the state.
The other good news is many of these jobs are high paying jobs and many more jobs are heading to Georgia.
This was all discussed in "Where Georgia Leads - TAG's annual "State of the Industry Report" which unveils the tech highlights, initiatives, statistics and employment trends that have a huge impact on Georgia's tech community in 2013.
Here are 2013 Top 10 Innovative Companies, listed alphabetically:
AirWatch- Mobile device application and content management
Bright Light Systems- Energy efficient lighting systems
Buzzy4Shots.com- Reusable electronic pain relief devices
Catavolt-Enterprise Mobility Services
Egos Ventures Inc.- Innovation Lab
Merlin Mobility, Inc.- Augmented Reality Solutions
NanoLumens- Flexible and fixed large-format LED display solutions
NextInput -Force sensitive touch technology
PGi- Audio/Video Web Conferencing Solutions
SoloHealth- Interactive digital health and wellness kiosks
A lot of positives when it comes to tech companies in Georgia.
A couple things that need to be improved are that colleges in Georgia need to promote their tech programs better, the need for more venture capitalists in the state and the tech sector needs to maximize its strengths.
I'm already looking forward to next year's event.
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