How a Nonprofit Networking Organization Can Raise Funds to Organize Events Like Excalibur Awards

Organizing successful fundraising events is not limited to big organizations. With a little creativity any nonprofit networking organization can turn a community technology center into a fundraising hub.

Honoring excellence is a great way to add value to the community and help small businesses get noticed. Creating a community technology center with local businesses can make it easier to raise funds for events around the community.

The Excalibur Awards are held annually in November as a way of recognizing companies and organizations around the state of Georgia who are able to show strong uses of technology in order to solve business problems. These companies do not create the technology; they simply rely on it and use it to succeed.

A nonprofit networking organization makes it possible for events such as these awards to take place each and every year. It brings the community together and helps small business get the spotlight they need to continue striving towards excellence.

A community technology center within many cities can help educate small businesses on ways technology can improve their businesses. This community technology network can offer help by businesses that have already used technology to take their business to the next level.

For examples of how technology has changed a company, visit us at http://www.tagthink.com. TAG think has supported the technological development for many years and has also been an important pillar in the Georgia state.

Article optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

How to the Technlogy Association of Georgia connecting IT professionals

This article discusses how the Technology Association of Georgia benefits the state by connecting IT professionals. Features of the association are discussed.

Within the past 20 years, technology has changed drastically and so has the world. Whereas just a few years ago, completing tasks manually was still the norm in many industries, today we wouldn't know what to do if we lost our technological infrastructure, even just for a few hours. How would we conduct business, learn, stay in contact or have fun? In fact, today we carry tiny computers around with us in our pockets that are so tempting, office policies often have to dictate when they can and can't be looked at. This new technologically-integrated world may have affected us all profoundly, but it has a special impact on IT professionals. Luckily, the Technology Association of Georgia provides a forum where IT professionals can connect to chat about how technological changes continue to impact them in a significant way.

According to TAG's mission statement, the organization is committed to furthering and leading the state's technological growth. However, it also serves as a place where IT professionals can network through the many events geared toward connecting IT professionals. From its Georgia Technology Summit events to its breakfasts and 10K, IT professionals can also take advantage of a TAG society (of which there are many) that allows them to mingle with others involved in a particular industry or a type of technology. For example, IT professionals can discuss how they would provide support to websites like http://www.dunsondental.com. Through TAG education and seminars, these IT professionals can learn to further their knowledge in the latest IT trends.

IT professionals have a special relationship with technology. By connecting IT professionals, TAG helps to promote technology development.

Article optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

TAG Education Collaborative Announces 2012 WEBChallenge Scholarship Competition for High School Students

10th Annual WEBChallenge to Focus on Engaging Students in STEM Learning with Mobile Websites and a New Marketing Challenge

ATLANTA (December 21, 2011) – TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed), the charitable organization established by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) that is dedicated to preparing the next-generation workforce through better education and real-life job experiences, announced the opening of registration for the 10th annual WEBChallenge Scholarship Competition beginning December 12, 2011. Student teams have until February 10, 2012 to register and build an application of their choosing (simple game, tutorial, etc.) that will teach other students a topic of the team’s choice related to science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) in a new and engaging way.

This year’s challenge includes two new components to engage students:

• Mobile website—In addition to developing a traditional website, the mobile website component encourages students to earn “extra credit” by developing their solution optimized for the smaller handheld display and touch-screen interface available on a mobile device.
• Marketing Challenge—students must design and implement a plan to bring their application to market. Students will have from February 10 – February 29 to market their solution to their target market. A special award will be given to the team with the best adoption rate.

“We expect this year’s program to be the most competitive yet. We nearly doubled the number of teams and participants last year and the addition of our two new components truly allows students to showcase their web development talent, as well as to experience the broad spectrum of skills needed to run a technology business today,” says Michael Robertson, executive director of TAG Education Collaborative.

Judging and Scholarship Awards –Judging will be conducted by members of the business community and scholarship prizes will be given at a special awards program in March in the following categories:

• Best/Most Useful Concept
• Best/ Most Effective Implementation
• Best Documentation Package
• Judges Prize for Best Overall Creativity
• Grand Prize for Best Overall Entry
• Successful Marketing Award

Tino Mantella, president of Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) stated, “The WEBChallenge Scholarship Competition, now in its 10th year, has awarded over $150,000 in scholarships since its inception. This is one step TAG has taken to improve the workforce readiness of technology students in Georgia. Students are given a true opportunity to learn firsthand many of the skills needed in technology businesses today.”

Supply Budget Stipends for Teachers – Faculty members from last year’s winning teams were overwhelmingly positive about the teachers’ stipend. TAG-Ed plans to continue the stipends awarded in 2012.

“This continues to be a challenging time and we want to recognize the hard work that the faculty advisors do to help teams be successful. It’s an opportunity for us to help teachers access the tools they need to best educate their students.” said Dan McDade, chairman of the TAG Education Collaborative Board and president of Point Clear LLC.

Eligibility – To be eligible teams must meet the following criteria:

• Teams consist of two to four high school students (home school teams and after-school programs are also encouraged to participate).
• Each team must have a faculty advisor. The faculty advisor may be anyone who represents the school organization and he or she may represent multiple teams from the same school.
• Students from different schools may participate on a single team, as long as they have one faculty advisor.

The TAG Education Collaborative is dedicated to strengthening Georgia's future workforce by uniting Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) resources with leading education initiatives while emphasizing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

For more information on the WEBChallenge Scholarship Competition, visit www.tagedonline.org or contact Michael Robertson, Executive Director of TAG Education Collaborative at mrobertson@tagonline.org .

About TAG Education Collaborative

TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed) initiatives include a student internship program for STEM students that placed 60 students in 2011, the WEBChallenge competition for high school students, and the Vine Event, a fundraiser which has raised more than $160,000 to support STEM education. TAG Education Link is the newest program from TAG-Ed that brings TAG’s 14,000+ members together with middle school and high school STEM programs to provide students with relevance and allows them to gain an appreciation for the opportunities available in STEM careers. For additional information, visit TAG Education Collaborative or contact Michael Robertson at (404) 920 – 2038 or mrobertson@tagonline.org

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

President of SAP North America to Speak to Atlanta Business Community

Bob Courteau to Discuss Future of Business and Technology

ATLANTA (December 12, 2011) – Bob Courteau, President of SAP North America, is traveling to Atlanta to speak with the business community during a special breakfast event hosted by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and Metro Atlanta Chamber at Villa Christina from 7:30-9:30 a.m. on December 7. With technology changing at the speed of light, business leaders and managers face new ‘game changers’ about every 18 months. Bob will discuss his thoughts on how executives can use these advancements to benefit their business, and discuss what some companies are already doing to transform business models, open new markets and increase their competitive advantage.

“SAP has a great reputation for helping companies weather the constantly evolving business environment,” said Tino Mantella, president & CEO of TAG. “At TAG we see and hear about many of the challenges and opportunities our companies face because of advancements in technology, so we are pleased to bring an expert to the Atlanta business community who can provide his insights on what’s next for business and how business leaders and managers can use upcoming ‘game changers’ to their advantage.”

“Metro Atlanta’s potential for new growth in technology is stellar,” said Larry Williams, vice president for technology industry development at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “Bob Courteau’s expertise on global trends in technology and its impact on metro Atlanta will provide valuable insight on the global growth of technology.”

As president of SAP North America, Bob Courteau is responsible for all of SAP's business operations in the region. Previously, Bob served as chief operating officer (COO) for SAP's Global Customer Operations (GCO) division.

SAP provides enterprise applications software and services to more than 24 industry verticals including retail, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, and public services, . The company's products include business intelligence, in-memory computing, cloud computing, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, supply chain management software. Its services include consulting and support, as well as custom development and application hosting.

Tickets are $10 for members of either organization or $30 for the general public. For more information and to register for the event visit: http://tiny.cc/SAPATL.

About SAP

As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 172,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 14,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

About Metro Atlanta Chamber

Everything we do at the Metro Atlanta Chamber - from recruiting businesses to Atlanta from all over the world, to tackling policy issues - is about creating jobs and prosperity to help Atlanta thrive. Our board is made up of Atlanta's top business leaders. Our professional staff serves 4,000 member companies that employ nearly 1 million workers. We focus on recruiting headquarters and global business -- and companies in the supply chain and advanced manufacturing, bioscience, technology and business services sectors. In public policy, we tackle critical issues such as transportation, water and education. For members, we offer 150+ events and activities each year. In sports, MAC's Atlanta Sports Council has helped drive almost $2 billion in economic impact through sporting events over the last 10 years.

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

TechAmerica Georgia and TAG Announce Cool Technology Finalists for the 2011 Spirit of Endeavor Awards

Atlanta, GA – December 7, 2011 – TechAmerica Georgia and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) today unveiled the finalists in the “Cool Technology” category for the ninth annual Spirit of Endeavor Awards. This category recognizes the Georgia company that has developed and/or introduced the most innovative new hardware, software or a technology-service in the state in the past 18 months and can demonstrate the success of that product over the past 12 months. The finalist companies include OpenStudy, Cardlytics, TripLingo, ViziTech USA and SoloHealth.

The winner of the “Cool Technology” award will be determined by onsite text voting at the Spirit of Endeavor Awards ceremony running from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on December 9, 2011, at TWELVE Atlantic Station in Atlanta. The Spirit of Endeavor Awards recognize and celebrate innovative technology companies and individuals in Georgia that drive new ideas, invigorate the community and lead people through technology.

“Each of our finalists in the ‘Cool Technology’ category represent some of the most innovative thinking in Georgia and we are proud to recognize them for their hard work to improve the way we live and do business through technology,” said Tino Mantella, president and CEO for the Technology Association of Georgia and TechAmerica Georgia. “Georgia has become a hotbed for new and established technology companies and the Spirit of Endeavor Awards are our way of recognizing the companies here who are making a difference, not only in our state, but on a national and global level as well.”

The “Cool Technology” finalists were nominated for the following reasons:

• OpenStudy is dubbed by TechCrunch as a “platform for Massively Multiplayer Study Groups.” It connects students studying the same subjects into online study sessions where they can help each other understand lessons, prepare for tests and stay motivated. Currently 75,000 students from 190 different countries and 1,500 different schools are registered.
• Cardlytics Transaction-Driven Marketing platform is a unique advertising platform that enables banks to deliver rich, relevant rewards to their customers based on purchasing history while fully protecting their privacy. The platform is able to reach customers through online banking, mobile banking and mobile apps, social media, email, SMS and ATMs. The company recently secured $33 million in funding and is on track to reach 75 million U.S. households by Q2 2012.
• TripLingo creates a customized experience to help leisure and business travelers navigate the local lingo and culture. With apps available via the web, iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and Nook, TripLingo offers language tools in over 13 different languages and packages local customs, idioms and an intelligent learning system to make it easy for travelers to learn essential bits of the local language and culture both prior to and during trips.
• ViziTech USA holds proprietary intellectual property allowing the company to develop 3D imaging as HoloProjection images similar to the famed HOLODEK from the movie “Star Trek.” The images are not confined to a video or screen, but rather move right out into the classroom, engage students and allow them to interact with machines or objects. Students can get a real feel of how something acts or operates by using their hands to control the interactive image. The company currently assists teachers and trainers in schools throughout Georgia, the Department of Defense and several Fortune 500 companies.
• SoloHealth offers the SoloHealth Station, a free and bilingual health screening kiosk that provides vision, blood pressure, weight, and body mass index screenings, as well as an overall health assessment and access to a database of local doctors. SoloHealth Station is a more comprehensive version of the company’s Eyesite vision testing kiosk for which the company received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance it into a more comprehensive self-service health and wellness station The company plans to provide highly personalized and interactive healthcare opportunities for consumers, advertisers and retailers by placing these kiosks in high-traffic retail locations. SoloHealth is targeting a nationwide rollout out of the SoloHealth Station in 2012.

The 2011 Spirit of Endeavor Awards are sponsored by Platinum sponsor Concurrent, Gold sponsor ASAP Solutions Group, and Silver sponsor Burnette Insurance, CresaPartners and Intel. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the TAG Education Collaborative.

To register for the event, please visit: http://tiny.cc/SpiritofEndeavor or contact Kate Kelsey at 404.920.2012 or Kate@tagonline.org . To see a complete list of nominations, please visit: http://www.tagonline.org/Spirit-of-Endeavor.php.

About TechAmerica Georgia

TechAmerica is the largest and strongest voice and resource for technology in the United States and is the industry's leading trade association. TechAmerica Georgia, formerly TechAmerica Southeast, was created in late 2009 under a unique partnership between TechAmerica and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), which provides operational management for the organization. TAG is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 14,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. For more information visit the about TechAmerica Georgia and TAG, visit www.tagonline.org .

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 14,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

The evolution of TAG's community technology center

Ever since the Technology Association of Georgia, or TAG, was created in 1997, we have worked hard to build a community that fosters innovation and new ideas. Through the networking and connecting of several different high profile companies and individuals, the TAG society is able to enhance a technology-based economy. Throughout our time of operation, we experienced a growth expansion when during the “Tech Bubble” and then matured as an organization to expand beyond simply offering events and networking. We have been working to revitalize Georgia’s tech industry and one of the ways we have been able to accomplish this feat is through our community technology center.

TAG currently serves as the umbrella company for 30 industry societies, holds 170 events each year and has a membership of over 13,000. But in order to keep the society growing, TAG education has become one of our top priorities. By educating members and the community through our community technology center, we can continue to do the work necessary to build up the tech industry and ensure that creative thought and true innovation are the results. These educational endeavors will serve to get a community technology network together so that people from all sectors of the industry can work together on new projects.

We understand that a community is much more than just a bunch of people gathering together to form a group. TAG hopes to continue growing the community technology center so that more people will be willing to join us and progress our community into a new era. Technology moves so quickly and we would like to see Georgia as one of the leaders in that movement. We have a rich history of producing great technological advances and now is the best time to revive that progress.

Article optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

Impact of the Excalibur Awards and the Georgia technology summit in the technology community

Ever since TAG, the Technology Association of Georgia, was founded in 1997, our mission has been to bring together the best minds of the tech industry in our state. Through various educational programs, networking events and other events, TAG has grown to a membership of more than 13,000. Additionally, TAG serves as the umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, all dedicated to moving the tech industry in Georgia forward. One of the most powerful events held in the tech industry by TAG is the Georgia Technology Summit. The summit brings the technology community together by holding the largest gathering of C-level executives (CIO, CTO and CEO), academia and more to celebrate technological innovation in the state. This summit sets the standard for technology work in the field and helps people within the community network with each other.

In addition to the summit, TAG also hosts the Excalibur Awards each year. The Excalibur Awards works in collaboration with our Business and Technology Alliance society. The purpose of the awards is to recognize those using technology in the most innovative ways to solve business problems. Through IT professional discussions and other networking programs, we discover the companies that are using technology in the best ways possible to grow and solve business issues. These companies do not invent technology, but rather use it to their advantage.

Both the awards and the summit have a huge impact on the tech industry in Georgia as they help recognize those who are moving the tech industry forward. Those individuals and companies involved in the awards and summit are given radio and television interviews, articles in papers and magazines and shown to be the brightest and most tech-friendly in the state. Fostering relationships and advancing technology is what TAG wants to do in Georgia.

Article optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

Positive impact of TAG in the technology community of Georgia

The Technology Association of Georgia, better known as TAG, is an important part of Georgia’s community

As a resident of Georgia and a technology professional, we would like to introduce TAG to all our fellow Georgians. In the world of technological growth, it is rare to find a company immersed in the community through charitable giving, TAG education advancements, and several other good will gestures. This includes our nonprofit networking organization and annual Excalibur awards. Visit TAGthink.com today to learn more. Also visit TAGonline.org to learn more about TAG sponsored activities, such as TAG Training Day.

Along the lines of LinkedIn, TAG offers a nonprofit networking organization and other professional opportunities. To further our commitment to the technology community of Georgia, we have added a social feature on our website that allows members to post photos and profiles, thus enabling them to widen their network and make new friends. We like this feature, and have found it to strengthen our roots within the technological community.

Along with our nonprofit networking organization, we are very pleased to announce our involvement in educational advances in the technology community of Georgia. TAG’s education advancements fall under the umbrella of scholarships, TAG education and charitable giving. TAG is serious about professional advancements, and this is reflected in our history of events, such as the annual Excalibur Awards.

The TAG Excalibur Awards focuses on honoring companies within Georgia, that best utilize technology to solve complex business problems. TAG understands that technology can be used to lower costs and raise productivity.

We have met many professionals through our nonprofit network organization, which holds events throughout the year. We are excited to announce that TAG sponsors professional cutting events, such as the TAG Training Provider Program. Visit tagonline.org for more information.

Article optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

Georgia Science and Technology Study Commission Heads to Columbus

Discussion to Focus on Financial Technology, Information Security, Entrepreneurs and More

ATLANTA (November 29, 2011) – Georgia’s Science and Technology Study Commission, which was created after the passage of Senate Resolution 68 earlier this year to help develop a strategic plan for science and technology for the state, will be holding its seventh meeting at the Riverfront Campus headquarters of TSYS in Columbus, GA, from 1:00-5:00 p.m. on November 30. The meeting is open to the public and members of the local business community are encouraged to attend to discuss what they feel is important to grow these industries in Georgia.

“Georgia is becoming one of the leading states in the nation for technology,” stated Tino Mantella, president and CEO of TAG and a member of the commission. “But, in order to continue to grow these important industries, we must do more to support our science and technology companies through the passage of business-friendly laws, developing and retaining technology talent and finding the most effective ways to support our entrepreneurs and growth-stage companies. Our goal through this commission is to tackle those needs through the state’s first-ever strategic plan for science and technology.”

At the Columbus meeting, the 11 members of the commission will listen to testimony from business leaders from around the state, focusing especially on the financial technology and information security industries, as well as the development of Georgia’s entrepreneurial community. There will also be an opportunity for the public to make any comments or suggestions they feel are necessary to grow the industry.

“As a financial technology company, TSYS certainly understands the importance of this commission and the task before them,” said Philip W. Tomlinson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, TSYS. “We are excited to host the next meeting session here in Columbus, and participate in the panel discussion that will help set the course for a strategic science and technology plan in the state of Georgia.”

For more information on the Science and Technology Study Commission and to register for the meeting visit: www.scitechplan.ga.gov. Updates on the Commission are also available on Twitter through the handle @GASciTechPlan.

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 14,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

About TSYS
TSYS (NYSE: TSS) is reshaping a new era in digital commerce, connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Through unmatched customer service and industry insight, TSYS creates a better experience for buyers and sellers, supporting cross-border payments in more than 85 countries. Offering merchant payment-acceptance solutions as well as services in credit, debit, prepaid, mobile, chip, healthcare, installments, money transfer and more, TSYS makes it possible for those in the global marketplace to conduct safe and secure electronic transactions with trust and convenience.

TSYS’ headquarters are located in Columbus, Georgia, with local offices spread across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. TSYS provides services to more than half of the top 20 international banks. For more information, please visit us at www.tsys.com.

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

Peter J. Kight, Founder & Former Chairman and CEO of CheckFree Presented with Lifetime Achievement Award by TAG FinTech

Honors Given at Second Annual TAG FinTech Summit

ATLANTA (November 28, 2011) – TAG FinTech, a society of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), presented Peter J. (Pete) Kight, founder and former chairman and CEO of CheckFree with a Lifetime Achievement award at the second annual TAG FinTech Summit on November 16. Kight, who keynoted the event, is considered a pioneer in financial services technology, specifically in electronic funds transfer, online banking and electronic billing and payment.

“As a national hub for financial technology, Georgia has many fine leaders who continuously look for new ways to innovate and elevate the industry,” said Tino Mantella, president and CEO of TAG. “Pete is a great example of the types of luminaries that make our technology community a place where companies can launch, grow and thrive and we are proud to present him with this lifetime achievement award for a career that has benefited both the business world and Georgia’s growth in technology.”

“Pete represents the entrepreneurial spirit upon which Georgia’s FinTech community has thrived,” said C. David Chambless, president of Abraxas Business Services and chair of the TAG FinTech society. “It was particularly interesting to hear Pete say during the Summit that moving CheckFree to Atlanta helped him position the company to become the world’s dominant provider of Internet bill payment.”

CheckFree was acquired by Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) in December 2007 and Kight serves on the Board of Directors of Fiserv, Inc. Kight founded CheckFree in 1981 with a vision of providing electronic funds transfer services to businesses and consumers. That vision expanded to building infrastructures to support new services that enable and uncomplicate the electronic movement and management of personal and business finances. Kight is co-Chairman and managing partner of The Comvest Group and serves on the Board of Directors of Akamai Technologies, Inc.

The second annual TAG FinTech Symposium brought together more than 200 senior executives, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. For more information on the Summit visit: http://tiny.cc/FinTech2011.

About TAG FinTech
TAG FinTech was founded in 2010 to address the specific needs of companies, individuals and investors serving the financial industry both domestically and abroad. Financial technology or FinTech encompasses products, solutions, services and information providers, which drive decisions, process payments and facilitate transactions for financial institutions. Georgia FinTech company revenues are more than $34 billion annually, which places it third in the nation behind New York and California. Together, the banking, insurance and capital markets consistently spend more on technology than any other industry. For more information about FinTech, see http://www.tagonline.org/TAG-FinTech.php

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 14,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.tagthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

TAG Announces Dates and First Speaker for 2012 Georgia Technology Summit

Tech writer Farhad Manjoo to speak at the annual event on March 28, 2012

ATLANTA (November 21, 2011) – The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), the state’s leading association dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of Georgia’s technology industry, today announced the 2012 Georgia Technology Summit (GTS) will be held March 28 at the Cobb Galleria. The 9th annual event, featuring some of the top technology influencers in Georgia and across the nation, as well as the release of the annual State of the Industry: Technology in Georgia Report, is expected to top last year’s record-breaking attendance of more than 1,000 people.

Farhad Manjoo, a technology columnist at Slate and Fast Company and a regular contributor to the New York Times will be speaking at the 2012 GTS. Manjoo has developed a large following in the tech community and he recently penned an article for Fast Company about the looming battle between tech behemoths Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon for the future of the innovation.

“Mr. Manjoo has a great reputation as a technology writer and his perspectives on the industry are very insightful and thought provoking, making him a perfect fit for the Summit,” said Tino Mantella, president and CEO of TAG. “The GTS is one of the largest annual gatherings of the technology community in our state and we pride ourselves on selecting engaging speakers for this event who can spark inspiration and discussion throughout the community. We are excited to announce Mr. Manjoo as our first speaker and will be revealing our full line-up in the next few months.”

The Georgia Technology Summit is TAG’s flagship event that brings together C-level executives, entrepreneurs, technology professionals and academia to celebrate and recognize Georgia’s technology community. This year’s theme, Innovation: The Path to a Bright Future, builds upon TAG’s public awareness campaign to promote Georgia’s technology industry through an emphasis on the fastest-growing tech clusters in the state, including health IT, information security, financial technology, logistics and communication services. According to experts, clusters bring about more resources which leads to greater innovation.

For more information about TAG and the Georgia Technology Summit and to register for the event, visit http://www.tagonline.org/georgia-technology-summit.php .

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 14,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

TAG Presented the FinTech Georgia 2011

Second Annual Symposium Included Discussions on Monetizing Financial Data and Recognizes Peter J. Kight for contributions to Financial Technology

WHAT:FinTech Georgia 2011 is an annual symposium that will showcase some of the leading financial and payment industry executives discussing the future of technology, emerging trends in payments and factors shaping the industry, such as the Dodd Frank/Durbin Amendment.

Peter J. Kight, founder and former chairman of CheckFree Corporation (now Fiserv), provided this year’s keynote address as he accepts FinTech Georgia’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

WHO: TAG FinTech, a society of Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

WHEN: Nov. 16, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 13,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

About TAG FinTech)

TAG FinTech was founded in 2010 to address the specific needs of companies, individuals and investors serving the financial industry both domestically and abroad. Financial technology or FinTech encompasses products, solutions, services and information providers, which drive decisions, process payments and facilitate transactions for financial institutions. Georgia FinTech company revenues are more than $34 billion annually, which places it third in the nation behind New York and California. Together, the banking, insurance and capital markets consistently spend more on technology than any other industry. For more information about FinTech, see http://www.tagonline.org/TAG-FinTech.php
Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

TAG Social Business presents Social Strategy for Business Performance

It’s not too late to figure out the answer the to this question and others: What’s your Business Social Savvy Quotient (BSSQ)?

Atlanta, GA - 10/31/2011 - When an executive is tasked by their board with developing business strategies to incorporate social strategy into business performance, where do they find the roadmap to take the company THERE? Every major company has a social business initiative today. Some companies have as many as 50 running concurrently across every aspect of their enterprise. Executive teams are struggling to manage the impact on the enterprise from:

• the shift in the way customers are buying
• the speed of information exchange
• the requirements for collaboration
• the amount of data being generated.

Join the TAG Social Business Society on November 2nd at the 5 Season Brewery for a discussion on how to approach your CEO or the board about the “business affect” of the “social effect.”

Executives who have already solved these puzzles have discovered that the real value of social and collaborative technologies is in the ability to make “relationship management” into a core competency of the business. Co-founders of the Social Executive Council, Judy Mod, president, principal of Social Gastronomy and Dan Webber, vice-president, CIO of Prime Holding BV will share what the leading companies are doing from their experiences in leading the Council. Then, it will be your turn to ask questions and discuss topics such as:

• ROI and Measurement from Social Business and Enterprise Communities – Is there a difference in approach in building hard and soft ROI?
• Strategic Alignment between Social Marketing and Social Architecture – Do your customers care where they engage? No, but you might.
• Strategic Marketing & Technology Requirements Planning – What are some of the best practices and “gotchas”?
• Cultural Impact on Customer facing and Internal Organizations – is there a difference?

Customer Experience and Transparency – Will what your customers know kill you or make you stronger?

Presenters:

• Judy Mod - President, Social Executive Council; Principal, Social Gastronomy, LLC.
• Dan Webber, Vice President, CIO of Prime Holding BV
• Martin Schmidler, Vice President of Information Technology for UniPro Foodservice

Event Date and Time: November 2, 2011, 5:30-7:30PM

Event Location: 5 Seasons Brewery—The Prado 5600 Roswell Road, NE Atlanta, GA 30342

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state that connecting it professionals, serving more than 14,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG's mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia's technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia's technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state's economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG's charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG's community technology center website at www.TAGthink.com.

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

TechAmerica Georgia Extends Deadline for Nominations for the 2011 Spirit of Endeavor Awards

ATLANTA –TechAmerica Georgia has extended the deadline for nominations for the Spirit of Endeavor Awards to October 28th, 2011. The ninth annual awards, hosted by the Technology Association of Georgia and TechAmerica Georgia, recognize and celebrate innovative technology companies and individuals in Georgia that drive new ideas, invigorate the community and lead people through technology. To submit nominations for the Spirit of Endeavor Awards, complete the online nomination form located at http://www.tagonline.org/SOE-Nomination-form.php .

Award categories include:

• Outstanding Leadership -- presented to an individual who has demonstrated superior leadership in the technology community and serves as a “model” to inspire others to invent.
• Technology Entrepreneur – presented to an individual who has brought technology to the market and demonstrates entrepreneurial achievements to the technology industry.
• Emerging Business – presented to a young company that is recognized for its success in the marketplace and has significant revenue growth and/or success in the technology industry.
• Technology Innovation – presented to an individual that demonstrates leadership in innovation, inventing or repurposing technology and for the development of breakthrough technology.
• Cool Technology – presented to a company that has developed and/or introduced a new product (hardware, software or technology service product) within the last 18 months. Cool Technology will be determined by onsite text voting and presented to a company that has provided a “cutting edge, hip new idea” in the technology industry.
• Workforce Readiness – this new award will be presented to the 2011 TAG-Ed Student Internship Program mentor company that provided the best opportunity to prepare the company’s student intern for a career in technology. The company will receive a Frabel award and the student will receive a scholarship.

Winners of the 2011 Spirit of Endeavor Awards will be announced during a breakfast ceremony from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on December 9, 2011, at Twelve Hotel, Atlantic Station in Atlanta. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the TAG Education Collaborative.

The 2011 Spirit of Endeavor Awards are sponsored by Platinum sponsor Concurrent, Gold sponsor ASAP Solutions Group, and Silver sponsor Burnette Insurance, CresaPartners and Intel. Sponsorship opportunities are still available and can be purchased by going to www.123signup.com/event?id=vmmqy .

For additional information on sponsorship opportunities, nomination information, award criteria as well as event registration, please visit: www.tagonline.org/Spirit-of-Endeavor.php or contact Kate Kelsey at 404.920.2012 or Kate@tagonline.org .

About TechAmerica Georgia

TechAmerica is the largest and strongest voice and resource for technology in the United States and is the industry's leading trade association. TechAmerica Georgia, formerly TechAmerica Southeast, was created in late 2009 under a unique partnership between TechAmerica and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), which provides operational management for the organization. TAG is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 14,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. For more information visit the about TechAmerica Georgia and TAG, visit www.tagonline.org .

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

How a community technology network can help entrepreneurs

TAG, or Technology Association of Georgia, is a leading community technology network which offers a dedicated industry association. We encourage the promotion of IT professional discussions. Also, we are involved in the economic welfare of the community technology center.

TAG provides leadership by connecting IT professionals with energetic societies. IT professional discussions are categorized in the areas of policy, capital, education and giving through a community technology network called societies. Each society has its own board of directors, hosts and sponsors. They plan their own events. The people in these societies connect on a daily basis to participate in relevant discussions. If you wish to join a particular society, you must complete an application.

The community technology network also brings the technology community together by connecting IT professionals through events, initiative programs and community technology center networking opportunities. At this time, members cannot start their own groups or blogs. However, the Facebook page and our website open forum are available for IT professional discussions. You can request to be added to the blog roll on the TAG Think website. If you add an event, it will have to be evaluated by the TAG administrator before it will be available for viewing.

TAG's community technology network serves as an umbrella framework for several special interest groups, or societies. For example, Women in Technology (WIT) is one of the groups connecting IT professionals under the TAG umbrella. We want the actual community to parallel with the virtual community. If you are interested in becoming involved with a special group, you must contact the chair for that society.

The TAG Education Collaborative, TAG’s charitable arm, is focused on connecting IT professionals through science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Education initiatives thrive through the community technology center.

Article optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

TAGthink.com the Technology Community That Supports IT Professionals in Georgia

IT professionals often work in a vacuum. Scientists, engineers, and mathematicians can spend hours hunched in their cubicle or lab, with only a few colleagues for support. Luckily, our technology community at TAGthink, offers a virtual community technology center that is connecting IT professionals in the state of Georgia. You can get opinions, read the latest news, and network with others in your field, while building a profile that gives you a positive online presence and credibility as an IT leader.

Our site allows users to join societies for various interests within the technology community. Groups exist for a wide range of interests, including corporate development, diversity, marketing, and recruiting. We even have alumni societies for graduates or current students of Georgia colleges and universities. This allows even the most junior specialist to begin networking before they complete their education. Connecting IT professionals in a wide variety of specialties, allows for great career advancement, as well as making employees more valuable in their current roles.

The online community technology center also has a vast and varied forum. There, topics range from charitable fund-raising announcements to the results of recent business studies. A quick glance through the offerings each day, allows users to keep their fingers on the pulse of the technology community.

Should your business be in need of contractors, our Marketplace is easy to navigate. There, qualified individuals can view open positions and submit proposals. Whether the need is temporary or a long-term contract, our system tracks tax information, payroll, and payments for you. What's better is that it is free to get started.

Connecting IT professionals to one another is our primary goal. Visit our community technology center at TAGthink.com to network with the strong technology community in the state of Georgia. Begin making connections today!

Article optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

Learn about TAG think Latest Events in the Technology Community of Georgia

Interested in the state of technology and technological development in Georgia?

At TAG, we think we have the solution for you.

We are an association of IT professionals striving toward the advancement of technology in the state of Georgia. We are actively working toward this aim through our community technology center, our network of resources connecting IT professionals, and our TAG education.

Community Technology Center

TAG think is a hub connecting IT professionals throughout the state. As Georgia's premier community technology center, we offer focused conversation through our discussion forums, member profiles, social networking options, press releases, and community involvement initiatives.

TAG Societies Connecting IT Professionals

In one of our roles as Georgia's community technology center, we at TAG think serve as an umbrella for a plethora of smaller groups, known as "societies."

Examples of our diverse array of society offerings include: Women in Technology, TAG Diversity, TAG Entrepreneurs, TAG Government Technology, TAG Professional Development Programs, TAG International Business, TAG Health, and TAG Infrastructure. Again, this wide list is just a small sampling of the many networking opportunities available on our website.

Additionally, we at TAG believe in connecting IT professionals through regular events and community initiatives. We focus this connection through our leadership initiatives in the areas of charitable giving, capital, government policy, and education.

TAG Education

Education plays an important role in the advancement and promotion of technology. Advancing the knowledge of our members, TAG education offers a vast array of white papers shared by members, approved for the quality and veracity of the knowledge provided.

Furthermore, the TAG Education Collaborative assists in the advancement of STEM education; initiatives aimed toward developing science, technology, engineering, and math education.

To learn more about our community and upcoming events, visit us at http://TAGthink.com and become a member today.

Article optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

Finalists Named for the 2011 TAG Excalibur Awards

Companies were selected for demonstrating exemplary use of technology to enhance their businesses

ATLANTA (October 5, 2011) – The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), the state’s leading association dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of Georgia’s technology industry, in collaboration with its Business and Technology Alliance society (B&TA), today announced the finalists for the 2011 TAG Excalibur Awards. The winning companies will be recognized in one of five categories: small companies, mid-sized companies, large companies, educational and creative.

The 2011 finalists include:

Small
Atlanta Music Project
PSP & Digital
The Savannah Bee Company

Mid-Sized
DIRTT Environmental Solutions
NASCO
Recall

Large
The Coca-Cola Company
InterContinental Hotels Group
Manheim

Educational
Georgia Gwinnett College
Georgia State University
Moultrie Technical College

Creative
The Coca-Cola Company
NCR
The Weather Channel

TAG’s Excalibur Awards 2011 recognize Georgia-based companies for their high-tech innovations based on the complexity of the problem that was solved technologically, the creativity of the solution, and the return on investment (ROI). Winners will be recognized at the Excalibur Awards 2011 on October 21, 2011, at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel.

“Every year our decision process to pick the companies and organizations demonstrating the best use of technology gets harder as the number and caliber of entries increases,” said Tino Mantella, president & CEO of TAG. “We are pleased to announce the finalists for this year’s Excalibur Awards and look forward to honoring the winners at our ceremony on October 21.”

For more information about TAG and the Excalibur Awards, visit http://www.tagonline.org/excalibur-awards.php.

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state that connecting it professionals, serving more than 14,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG's mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia's technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia's technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state's economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG's charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG's community technology center website at www.tagthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

About The Business and Technology Alliance of TAG

The Business and Technology Alliance of TAG is focused on addressing the challenges of today's fast paced marketplace by bringing together business leaders and technology innovators to address key business issues. Their mission is to foster business innovation through the exploration of technological advancements and the ways in which these technologies can help corporations in all industries to solve complex problems and be more competitive. For more information, visit http://www.tagonline.org/tag-business-technology-alliance.php.

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

The Community Technology Center That is Connecting IT Professionals in Georgia

The community technology center that is connecting IT professionals in Georgia hosts a community website where you can set up a profile, communicate with other people, get involved with discussions and view related multimedia.

Whether it is an IT tournament or an in-depth discussion with industry-specific professionals and technology community mavens, the community technology center is your place to create lasting connections. Our awards to technology innovators and leading IT professionals are especially valuable. We also feature an amazing blog roll, which are affiliated with one of our societies.

We are the leading technology industry and believe it is key promote and the technology community within Georgia in order to advance economically. Connecting IT professionals and the technology community, we make it easy to keep track of friends and make friends, view profiles, share photos and video, even join special interest groups.

Technology Association of Georgia Inc., otherwise known as TAG, is the community technology center that is an umbrellas group for 27 virtual communities that we user-friendly call societies. We have a great calendar that is dedicated to TAG societies and formal TAG affiliates. The TAG think calendar extends to all Georgia technology events, regardless of their TAG status.

A community technology center resonates when it takes a leadership role in driving initiates in the areas of policy, capital, education and giving, and brings the technology community together through events, initiative programs and networking opportunities.

We are serious about connecting IT professionals and the technology community with a working, helpful community technology center. We stage an IT tournament and point members to helpful and informative meetings, seminars and programs. Anybody can align with a society if they approach the prospective chairs.

White papers and event announcements are two major reasons we are the community technology center that is connecting IT professionals in Georgia. Many of our members deliver white papers on the leading and latest IT topics. Learn more about emerging technology, global IT, project management, small business entrepreneurship, search engine optimization or SEO, and of course information technology.

Our events listings are second to none in the IT world, which makes it all the better for our exclusive members. We let you know about educational events, Internet marketing seminars, digital summits, organizational meetings and such across Georgia and the Southeast.

For more information, visit the TAG website at http://www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at http://www.tagthink.com

Article distribution by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia

Events and Awards to Technology Community in Georgia

Georgia is one of the top areas in the world for community technology. The technological industry consistently leads the market and is one of the best areas to be involved in technology. TAG is a leader in the community aspect of this field in Georgia and promotes events and awards for technology. TAG is the Technology Association of Georgia and they are an organization dedicated to keeping this field active as a community and recognizing outstanding individuals. TAG has a lot to offer the people that belong to technology community, including educational opportunities, awards and business competitions for members.

TAG education provides users with a good deal of valuable information related to technology. Technology develops very rapidly and it is very important for people in that field to stay up to date with all of the latest trends and developments. TAG education provides blogs and resources for people to read through and access to keep up with everything going on in the Georgia technological community. They have all the latest information on social networking sites as well as hardware issues like server migration. They also give advice to their users like when to consider an upgrade on their materials and software.

TAG’s Business Launch Competition is another big part of the community technology. This competition is for local businesses that are looking to start up online. TAG partnered with GRA to run this competition and provide support to those looking to start a new technology based business. The TAG business launch competition will provide large prizes for the finalists. The people that have the best technology-based business ideas and entries will be given $400,000 in money and prizes to aid the new company with their start up. This competition is open to companies looking to get into hardware, software or Internet business.

The Excalibur Awards is an annual event hosted by TAG to recognize businesses as well. These awards are meant for companies that purchase technology and use it as a vital part of their business. TAG has been hosting this event since 2005 and it has become a large event in the Georgia technological community. The Excalibur Awards consider businesses of all sizes as well as creative and educational categories and their criteria for winning can be found online. Community technology in Georgia will continue to be a leading force with organizations like TAG.

Article distribution by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia

TAG FinTech Announces Date for FinTech Georgia 2011

Second Annual Symposium Includes Discussions on Monetizing Financial Data and the Impact of Regulations on Payments

ATLANTA (September 6, 2011) – TAG FinTech, a society of Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), announced that FinTech Georgia 2011 will be held November 16 from 10:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m. at the Ritz Carlton, Buckhead. The second annual symposium will showcase some of the leading financial and payment industry executives discussing the future of technology, emerging trends in payments and factors shaping the industry, such as the Dodd Frank/Durbin Amendment.

Peter J. Kight, founder and former chairman of CheckFree Corporation (now Fiserv), will provide this year’s keynote address as he accepts FinTech Georgia’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Some of the topics to be discussed include:

• Monetization of Financial Data with executives from Cardlytics, Clovr Media, Oliver Wyman and Cartera Commerce;
• Dodd Frank One Year Later with representatives from, SunTrust, Elavon, Global Payments, Alston & Bird and Raymond James; and
• Regulatory Changes and Top Trends in FinTech with Madeline K. Aufseeser, a senior analyst with Aite Group.
  

“Last year’s event showed us that there is significant interest in Georgia’s influence in the financial, payments and technology space,” said C. David Chambless of Abrax Business Services and Chair for TAG FinTech. “This event’s participants, content and networking will make FinTech Georgia 2011 one of the best, high-level events in the financial industry and further position Georgia as a leading state for financial technology.”
After the sessions, there will be a cocktail reception with panelists and presenters, TAG FinTech board members and executives from Georgia’s leading FinTech companies. Registration details may be found at http://www.tagonline.org/TAG-FinTech-Georgia-2011.php.

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 13,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at http://www.tagthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

About TAG FinTech
TAG FinTech was founded in 2010 to address the specific needs of companies, individuals and investors serving the financial industry both domestically and abroad. Financial technology or FinTech encompasses products, solutions, services and information providers, which drive decisions, process payments and facilitate transactions for financial institutions. Georgia FinTech company revenues are more than $34 billion annually, which places it third in the nation behind New York and California. Together, the banking, insurance and capital markets consistently spend more on technology than any other industry. For more information about FinTech, see http://www.tagonline.org/TAG-FinTech.php

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

TAG Education Collaborative announces CIO from Cbeyond to joinBoard of Directors

Carrie Wheeler brings leadership and strategy skills with a passion for education to Board

ATLANTA (September 7, 2011) –TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed), the charitable organization established by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) that is dedicated to preparing the next-generation workforce through better education and real-life job experiences, announced today the addition of Carrie Wheeler, Chief InformationOfficer at Cbeyond,to the Board of Directors. Wheeler’s extensive experience and leadership in the technology field and her passion for improving education in Georgia will provide insight asTAG-Ed develops programs to link TAG’s 13, 500 members to meaningful educational initiatives that enhance STEM education.

“Carrie Wheeler is a very welcome addition to the TAG-Ed Board,” Dan McDade, President & CEO of Point Clear LLC and Chair of the TAG Education Collaborative Board commented. “Her experience will be very helpful as TAG-Ed works to define and implement programs designed to connect TAG’s membership with education initiatives. Companies like Cbeyond will benefit greatly from education programs designed to improve workforce readiness for technology careers with improved science, technology, engineering and math education across Georgia.”

Carrie joined Cbeyond in 2009 as Vice President of IT Strategy & Planning and now serves as Chief Information Officer at Cbeyond where she is responsible for IT strategy, capital planning and management, enterprise architecture, application development and quality assurance. Her scope of support includes Customer Relationship Management, Operational Support Systems, Billing and Billing Operations, Customer Applications and Online Portals.

Prior to joining Cbeyond, Carrie had held several IT leadership positions at AT&T, BellSouth, MCI Communications and Accenture. In previous roles, she held leadership positions across a variety of organizational functions including IT strategy, merger and acquisition planning and execution, customer operations, development, quality assurance, program management and capital management.

Carrie complements her diverse set of skills by giving back to the community where she lives and works. Carrie currently serves on the board of the Georgia Ballet and is an active supporter of Girls Inc. She is also a member of the Technology Association of Georgia, Women in Technology, Atlanta Telecommunications Professionals and Cbeyond's Women's Network. In 2010, she was nominated for Women in Technology's Women of the Year Award.

Carrie holds a Masters in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing & Finance from Trinity University. Carrie and her husband, John, have a daughter, Elizabeth, and live in Decatur where Elizabeth is a 3rd Grader at Clairemont Elementary in the City of Decatur Schools.

“I am excited and honored to join this exciting and dynamic team. I look forward to working closely with Michael and the board to leverage Atlanta’s strong technology community in furthering the education and competitiveness of Georgia’s next generation” said Wheeler.

For more information on TAG Education collaborative and their programs, visit www.tagedonline.org or contact Michael Robertson, Executive Director of TAG Education Collaborative at mrobertson@tagonline.org .

About TAG Education Collaborative
TAG Education Collaborative initiatives include a student internship program, the WebChallenge competition for high school students, and the Vine Event, a fundraiser launched in 2009 which has raised more than $80,000 to support STEM education. The TAG Education Collaborative provides middle school and high school programs designed to provide these students with hands-on activities that enable them to gain an appreciation for the opportunities available in STEM careers. For additional information, visit TAG Education Collaborative or contact Michael Robertson at (404) 920 – 2038 or mrobertson@tagonline.org

About Cbeyond
Cbeyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBEY) is a leading provider of IT and communications services to more than 58,000 small businesses in the U.S. Serving growing entrepreneurs, Cbeyond offers more than 30 productivity-enhancing applications including local and long-distance voice, broadband Internet, mobile, BlackBerry®, voicemail, email, Web hosting, fax-to-email, data backup, file-sharing, and virtual private networking. In addition, Cbeyond's Cloud Services division offers virtual and dedicated servers and cloud PBX to small businesses worldwide. Recently, the Cloud Services division won Microsoft's Hosting Partner of the Year Award for 2009 and 2010 in connection with Microsoft's Hyper-V Server product. Winning more than 50 awards for product innovation, growth and a quality customer experience, Cbeyond continues to focus on helping small businesses succeed and grow through high-performance technology, superior services and world-class support. For more information on Cbeyond, visit www.cbeyond.net and follow Cbeyond on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Cbeyondinc.

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 13,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

Press release optimization services provided by Atlanta SEO Company Vayu Media. Vayu Media offers customized search engine optimization strategies to domestic and international companies.

TAG Business Launch Competition and Educational Opportunities

The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) has sponsored and continues to sponsor the advancement of both technology through company development and education for technology students. By working with the various community professionals and educational institutions, they are able to ensure that technology continues to be a top offering for new companies that are looking to relocate to an area with highly trained technical folks. They also participate in competitions to assist startup companies in their ventures through grants give to the winners. The combination of advanced knowledge in the population through educational advances, and providing a spirited and enticing environment for companies to take root, they are ensuring the future for the technology community.

The TAG business launch competition is cosponsored with the Georgia Research Alliance in order to provide growth and creation of high-tech firms. By encouraging the creation of new high tech businesses, they are also encouraging economic growth as well as continued interest in the local educational opportunities. Since companies often prefer to hire locally, this creates a self-perpetuating situation. Offering over $400,000 in prizes for the finalists, the technology field is encouraged to join the competition. Specifically the reach is towards encouraging developing technologies aimed at online advances.

The TAG education collaborative was developed to provide better educational opportunities focusing on math, science, engineering and other technologies. The advancement of these educational systems allows students to learn and grow towards better career opportunities. It also provides the lead for a community that is knowledgeable and trained in the fields that high tech companies are looking for. This encourages companies that are looking for a highly educated work force to consider moving to Georgia because the student focus is on high tech products and services and the companies can tap into that source of knowledge to grow their own services.

The technology community is fine tuned and constantly growing. There are advances daily and yearly that call for more and more of a specialized workforce. With the TAG business launch competition and TAG education collaborative the community is able to provide both ends of the needs for a highly trained community.


Article distribution by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia

A Community Technology Center for Those Who Cannot Get Enough!

Sometimes it can be very hard for people who love every aspect of technology to be around people who are interested in the same things as them. This can make it very hard for these people to talk about new things coming out, new ideas they have and to really play a part in the technology community. Well, that is no longer a problem thanks to tagthink.com, which essentially serves as a community technology center. This article will discuss what this website has to offer those in the technology world who want to broaden their horizons.

This website basically serves as a community technology network in the way that it allows people to discuss new and exciting things dealing with technology. People can go on this website and start or become involved in discussions in the Georgia technology community! This means that people can develop connections that may help them in the future or think of new ideas that may lead to new and exciting things in the years to come! Simply put, it's a place where professional discussions can take place and those discussions can lead to new and exciting things in the future!

There are also a lot of events that go on throughout the country in the technology world and sometimes it can be hard for people to be a part of every event. For example, the it tournament as well as the georgia technology summit are two events that anyone who loves technology would love to be a part of in some way, shape or form. That being said, this website allows people to learn about those summits or tournaments in order to help them learn what they may have missed or learn how they can take part in those particular events.

Whitepapers is a section on tagthink.com that provides people with a lot of information on a wide variety of topics. This page includes papers that people can read about things like business intelligence, healthcare, biotechnology, and much more. To add to that, people who register can write and submit papers of their own in order to get their name and ideas out there! In the end, tagthink.com certainly does have a lot to offer anyone who loves technology and that is why people should visit the website and start taking advantage of it right now!

Article distribution by Atlanta SEO Company VayuMedia

TAGthink TAG Education Collaborative

At the TAG education collaborative there is plenty of great information that will be beneficial to business leaders and professionals. If they are curious as to the latest information they will be able to find it at the TAG education collaborative program. It will keep them up on the latest technological advances and teach them about how to be competitive in the tough business world of today.

The Georgia technology summit will lay out the groundwork and find out all the latest information that will affect the rest of the world. With their information out there it will benefit many other people.

Spending time in the community technology center will give awareness to many of the advances that are happening in the world today. It will be an extremely wise use of time when they visit the community technology center and hear what is happening.

The community technology center will have so many sources of information for business leaders and professionals. It is a wise idea to take notes and to store them in a folder that is labeled so the information can be found easily. Since much of technology changes so rapidly it is important to visit the community technology center on a regular basis. It will make a huge difference in their businesses.

Technology is constantly evolving. In the last ten years it has changed drastically. The last couple of years it has moved at lightening speed with new technological advances coming out on a daily basis. As it continues to change so quickly it is more and more important to stay up-to-date on the latest changes. If a company does not do this it can run the risk of going out of business or losing its standing in the community simply because it can’t compete technologically.

Staying competitive in the world today is very important. If a company does not or can’t keep up with the competition they will likely have to call it quits or they will simply not make the money that they could. Their profits will suffer immensely and they will not be in a position of power any longer. That is why it is extremely important to stay up on all the latest information that they can. This way they will stand a better chance of getting through the toughest times in history. Part of why it is so tough out in the business world is that things keep changing on a regular basis. That is why the business owners and professionals need to stay informed at all times. If they do this they will have a better chance to stay in business.