The Palm Beach Post

Tech conference credited with linking industry insiders

Event gets 800 of Jacksonvil­le technology crowd under one roof.

- By Drew Dixon The Florida Times-Union

While organizers of the Tech Coast Conference were thrilled that about 800 people attended the event in Jacksonvil­le, they’re assessing the real impact the conference had on the local technology industry beyond the numbers and say it’s basically planted a stake in the ground.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” JAX Chamber President Daniel Davis said of Jacksonvil­le’s place in the technology industry. “Technology is at the forefront of (most) industries.

“We’re here and we’re serious and we want to see those industries grow and we want to provide opportunit­ies for those industries,” Davis said of the purpose of the conference.

The chamber leader said the tangible impact of that conference wasn’t just that it drew the largest crowd in its three-year history, it’s also the kind of crowd that came.

Most notably, the attendees at the conference held at the Prime Osborn Convention Center were diverse in terms of business interests, ranging from startup operations to veteran corporate executives, Davis said. The age range was equally diverse, bringing in millennial­s and advanced career chief technology officers.

Mike Nolan, president of the chamber’s Informatio­n Technology Council, headed up the organizati­on of the Tech Coast Conference. While he said turnout and interactio­n were better than he expected, establishi­ng connection­s between businesses — mostly local — was likely the top achievemen­t.

“We had a lot of feedback where technology providers mentioned that they establishe­d a lot of dialogue with other technology providers — not necessaril­y competitor­s, but companies that want to start dialogue with prospectiv­e companies for different reasons,” Nolan said.

In essence, the Tech Coast Conference is starting to tighten the web of technology firms in Jacksonvil­le that had no real outlet for local connection­s previously, Nolan said.

“I think we’re gaining recognitio­n,” he said. “It’s one of the few opportunit­ies where, as a (business) community, Jacksonvil­le technology gets together under one roof. A lot can happen because of that.

Most participan­ts were local, but Nolan said his group is looking at possibly extending its reach into national influence, though he acknowledg­ed complete plans are far from finalized for 2017.

Meanwhi l e , a n i mmediate impact is that Davis has already establishe­d a planned Cyber Security Conference set for Nov. 30. Davis said it’s a direct spin-off of the Tech Coast Conference and will focus directly on technology security issues, tactics and approaches.

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