NEOSA Tech Week returns for the third year, April 15-21 at various locations. “This year we reached out to a lot of community organizations around Northeast Ohio, like Team NEO,
JumpStart and the
Regional IT Engagement (RITE) Board,” says NEOSA director Brad Nellis. “We have expanded content, including Information Security Summit’s Spring Summit and NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge.”
The week-long event will also include pitch nights hosted by JumpStart and the Society for Information Management, networking events and
Global Cleveland’s
IT virtual job fair. The highlights of the week are the Best in Tech Awards and Crain’s CIO of the Year award.
Finalists for Tech Company of the Year include
Explorys,
Hyland Software,
OnShift,
TOA Technologies and
Vox Mobile. “It’s a great group every year,” says Nellis of the Best in Tech nominees. “But there are some really cool up-and-coming companies in there this year.”
Other categories include Best Emerging Company, Best Software Product, Best IT Services Company and Best Mobile App. “Best app is a little risky with that category because we’re trying to pick apps that have a great shot,” says Nellis. A new category this year is Most Promising Startup. “We want to capture those really early stage companies that are getting early recognition.” Most promising startup finalists include
InStore Finance,
iOTOS and
Public Insight Corporation.
There are a few new companies in the mix too, says Nellis, such as
Blue Chip Consulting, Level Seven Group,
OEConnection and
Relational Solutions.
NEOSA received more than 60 nominations across all categories. About 1,300 people are expected to attend this year, up from 500 in 2011 and 900 in 2012.
The weekend culminates with NEOSA and Tri-C hosting the NASA Space Apps Challenge, an event involving 75 cities around the world. Volunteers spend the weekend coding to find new software solutions to improve life on earth and in space. The event ends with interactive judging of the teams’ solutions and awards.
The full schedule of events and locations is available on the 2013 Tech Week
website.
Source: Brad Nellis
Writer: Karin Connelly