May 9, 2008 – ATLANTA - The Georgia CIO Leadership Association (GCLA), the preeminent association for senior technology leaders, and Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), the largest technology association in the southeast with over 5,000 members, joined forces with some of Georgia’s leading technology providers to present its “Connect Georgia’s Companies” event on April 29th. The inaugural program was held at the Tech Square Research Building and drew over 80 suppliers and C-level buyers, which included a number of prominent Georgia CIOs.

The program connected TAG-member technology providers with GCLA leaders and other members of the community. The rigorous selection process began in February with GCLA identifying Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery, Networking/Network Performance, and Reporting/Analytics as their biggest “pain points.” TAG then sent out a RFI (request for information) to its member companies asking them to members to respond if they had a unique solution. From all of the responses, GCLA selected 12 companies, 4 from each category, to make presentations at the event. The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) stepped in to provide rehearsal space and coaching the selected companies on an effective presentation in the short amount of time given.

On April 29^th, the 12 companies had the opportunity to present to the audience of GCLA members, CIOs and IT professionals. Presenting companies included: Corus, Cypress Communications, Racemi, Stratus Technologies, Arcato Global, Aunigma Network Solutions Corp., FiberLight, Tideway, Applied System Intelligence, Engage, Information Builders, and Inteletix.

"The ‘Connecting Georgia’s Companies’ event allowed the GCLA members to learn about innovative Georgia companies that could provide solutions targeted at their needs and challenges,” said Guido Sacchi, 2008 Chairperson for the GCLA and a member of TAG’s Board of Directors. “The joint event between GCLA and TAG presented a valuable opportunity to connect and engage our members.”

The event also included a networking reception and exhibit booths, which provided attendees with the opportunity to engage further with presenters and sponsors in particular areas of interest. Event sponsors included: CCCi, Spartan Technologies, Cypress Communications, Racemi, Data Center and Cogentes.

"This event brought together TAG member companies with the CIO audience to showcase their solutions and make new connections. A request we get consistently from our members is to help them get their unique products and services in front of the decision makers. TAG will continue to do events like this that foster and accelerate technology development in Georgia.” said Tino Mantella, President of TAG.

About GCLA
The Georgia CIO Leadership Association (GCLA) is comprised exclusively of chief information officers or individuals in equivalent positions at companies and organizations throughout the state. The GCLA is a nonprofit, noncommercial organization led by an Advisory Board of Georgia CIOs and is underwritten by contributions from five founding companies, including Deloitte, Intellinet, Internet Security Systems, Kilpatrick Stockton and Microsoft.

About TAG
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support its members by generating opportunities for personal, professional and business growth. By forging strategic alliances, TAG serves as a primary catalyst to foster a rich environment for economic development in Georgia's technology community. TAG is made up of 5,000 members representing technology leaders from over 1000 Georgia-based companies, affiliated technology and business organizations. For more information on TAG, visit http://www.tagonline.org.

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