The Governor officially opened the IT Innovation Center (ITIC) last month and the final piece of his statewide innovation agenda is now in place. Each Center will focus on connecting certain industries with academia to advance the development of new products, processes and technologies, ultimately leading to the creation of jobs. Industries represented include Logistics, Aerospace, Agriculture, Bioscience and Manufacturing. Our Center is unique in that we focus on the information technology needs of companies that process large amounts of data.

The State of Georgia wants to be your partner. We recognize that the transaction processing industry is being squeezed by its customers, competition and Wall Street to continually process more for less. As a result, businesses may be more apt to look at the bottom line than invest in research and development. That's why I am so excited about this initiative. Not only can I help link companies with new innovations being developed in our universities, but I also have access to matching State funds for certain R&D projects. In other words, ITIC member companies can participate in research projects at a much lower cost than if they conducted the research in-house or brought in outside consultants. Ultimately, I hope to build up a collection of shared intellectual property that benefits the entire transaction processing industry.

The ITIC will work with its members to aggregate common problems and weaknesses in current technologies or services to deliver real-world applications, not just theories and models that reside in the classroom or some white paper. If you are a service provider, imagine being able to fine-tune or redevelop your offering around the identified needs of this select industry.

After attending the last TPAtlanta meeting and now being fortunate enough to contribute to this website, I am eagerly looking forward to sharing ideas and resources with members of TPAtlanta. The ITIC and TPAtlanta have similar visions to create an environment for the growth of strong, pioneering companies by offering a broad background of knowledge and resources in the issues facing transaction processors today. I'm confident that our organizations can generate the forward-thinking industry leaders of tomorrow, helping Georgia to maintain its position as a location for global transaction processors.

To recap, the ITIC is a forum for you to collaborate with your peers on industry-wide issues, seek matching funds from the State to support applied research projects for your company and probably most important, gain access to shared intellectual property that may provide you with a leg up on your competition.

I look forward to actively participating in TPAtlanta and welcome any inquiries that you may have.