Columbus area Leaders are urging local tech companies to apply for consideration for “The 2016 Top 40/Top 10 Innovative Companies in Georgia" presented by The Technology Association of Georgia.
 
“Columbus is a city with a long history of innovation,” said James Livingston, Director of Community and Economic Development at the River Valley Regional Commission.  “We have pioneered innovative insurance sales, payment processing, and other industry disrupting innovations. The potential is absolutely here to showcase some of the state's Top 40 Innovative Companies with applications from the Columbus area this year."
 
Columbus is home to a number of national and global corporations including companies in the Financial Technology sector. The region has the 2nd largest concentration of financial services in the state with one local company ranked among the FinTech 100.  Collectively, these companies and the vendors who serve them are driving innovation in Columbus and around the world.
 
“I believe area companies will be excited about the opportunity to apply”, said Ron Pleasant, Muscogee County School District Chief Information Officer.  “Columbus, Georgia is home to some of the Fortune Best Companies To Work For as well as some of the Top 100 Public Companies who embrace innovation.”
 
The “Top 40” will be awarded based on specific criteria including: degree of innovation, scope and financial impact of innovation, likelihood of success, and promotion of Georgia’s innovative efforts nationally and internationally. Eligible companies will be Georgia based and focused on the development and dissemination of technology.
 
Companies selected for the “Top 40″ will be showcased in an exhibition at the 2016 Georgia Technology Summit (GTS), which is expected to draw the state’s technology leaders. The “Top 10” most innovative technology companies will be chosen from among the “Top 40″.
 
“Top 10” Companies will be asked to present at the 2016 Georgia Technology Summit, which will be held Thursday, March 17th at the Cobb Galleria Center.

The 2016 Georgia Technology Summit is expected to draw a crowd of more than 1,300 C-level executives, entrepreneurs, technology professionals and academia to celebrate and recognize Georgia’s technology community. In addition to presentations from some of the top technology influencers in the nation, the newest member of the Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia will be inducted.