Gov. Deal to Help Kick Off Technology Commission

Gov. Nathan Deal will be in Alpharetta tonight to help launch the Alpharetta Technology Commission.

The panel is the brainchild of Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle, who introduced the idea in his State of the City address on Feb. 21.

The Technology Commission will advise the city on economic development policies and how to retain and attract technology companies, .

"We've always been a technology city, but now we get to say it. We've got over 900 technology companies," the Mayor said. "We need to celebrate it. We need to leverage that."

This won't be Gov. Deal's first trip to Alpharetta to promote technology. .

The mayor has said the group is the first organization of its kind in Georgia. It is charged with identifying and pursuing key investment opportunities and policy decisions for Alpharetta’s technology companies and its burgeoning technology industry, according to a news release sent out by Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard on July 13.

The members fall under three categories:

• Legacy Corporations with at least 250 employees – Amdocs, Hewlett Packard, Infor, McKesson, Microsoft, Red Prairie, Siemens, ThyssenKrupp, Verint and Verizon.
• Emerging Corporations with 100 or fewer employees – Edge Solutions, Jackson Healthcare, Lancope, Pyramid Consulting and Priority Payment Systems.
• Strategic partners – Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center, Georgia Power, the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, and the Technology Association of Georgia.