Last month I wrote to you about the highly successful AeA Technology for Government Dinner where Steve Ballmer provided the keynote address. Since then we've continued to provide numerous business development opportunities for our members in the government and commercial markets. At AeA we are dedicated exclusively to helping our members’ top line and bottom line.

Below, please find a brief recap of our recent California Town Hall Meetings with the State CIO and her top staff, news on the appointment of a new Chairman of AeA's Marketing for Government Steering Committee, and invitations to attend upcoming events in California, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington, DC.

California Town Hall Meetings
AeA once again partnered with the State of California to host four regional Town Hall meetings to continue a dialogue that started in 2005 to offer insights on doing business with the state, which is one of the world's largest buyers of technology goods and services. Meetings were held on:

• May 23 at the State Capitol in Sacramento
• June 27 at AeA's office in Santa Clara
• July 11 at the Xerox Knowledge Sharing Center in El Segundo
• July 31 at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. in San Diego

Nearly 200 IT professionals attended these forums to share their views and discuss process improvement options with Teri Takai, California’s State CIO; Will Bush, Director of the Department of General Services (DGS); P.K. Agarwal, Director of Technology Services; Adrian Farley, Deputy Director of Procurement, DGS; Jim Butler, the new Director of Procurement for DGS; and numerous other senior state contracting officials.

“Opportunities for industry representatives to directly interface with key decision makers are a crucial component to ensuring that California is on the correct path when making appropriate and effective decisions pertaining to California’s IT procurement process,” said Roxanne Gould, AeA’s Senior Vice President of State Government Affairs. “Through the town halls, we are able to take time to thoroughly review and evaluate current procurement processes, examine what’s working, and identify areas for improvement.”

"We have completed the series of IT Procurement Town Halls around the state and we have come away with some very good insights on how to improve the current process," said Teri Takai, Chief Information Officer for the State of California. "We thank AeA for organizing these events and look forward to continue working with them on these and other IT issues."

When the events began in 2005, they resulted in two AeA-sponsored bills being signed into law: SB 954 (Figueroa, 2005), which outlined processes for solution-based procurements and a risk assessment model; and SB 834 (Figueroa, 2006), which created a cabinet-level State Chief Information Officer – the position that is now filled by Ms. Takai.

Intel’s Nigel Ballard to Lead AeA's Marketing for Government Initiative
As a member driven organization, I am pleased to announce that Nigel Ballard, Intel's Federal Marketing Manager for the Americas, is the new Chairman of the Association's Marketing for Government Business Steering Committee. Mr. Ballard was awarded the Homeland Defense Journal’s top award in 2006 for his wireless technology and leadership skills during the Katrina disaster. He was also named one of America’s top 100 technology leaders by Federal Computer Weekly.

Prior to joining Intel, Nigel spent twenty years in the wireless arena, consulting with Fortune 100 companies on wireless investments and consumer product marketing.

Attend These Upcoming Business Development & Financial Conferences
If you are an investor, I recommend that you participate in the annual AeA Oregon Technology Investor Tour on August 11-12. The tour is complimentary for all investors and provides a unique opportunity for the financial investment community to experience Oregon public technology companies first-hand, meet their management teams, participate in product demonstrations, and take company tours if applicable. Now in its sixth year, the tour continues to grow in popularity among investors who consider it a refreshing change from the traditional financial conferences around the nation. For additional information, please contact Kari Naone at 503.624.6050.

On August 28, AeA and the Illinois Homeland Security Procurement Technical Assistance Center at the College of DuPage will host the Illinois FedTech 2008 Security Procurement Conference, which will offer critical market intelligence and business development leads in the growing state and national security solutions market. This program will also provide one-on-one meetings with leading integrators and prime contractors. Register today to secure your spot at this program and to ensure your opportunity to schedule your one-on-one meetings. For additional information, please contact Ed Longanecker at 630.613.7174.

On September 24, Chief Information Officers, Program Managers, and procurement officials from the Federal Government will meet with leaders of the high-tech industry at the quarterly AeA Government-Industry Executive Interchange to discuss and share best practices on Green IT -- Virtualization and Mobility Solutions. The meeting will take place at AeA’s office in Washington, DC. For additional information, please visit www.aeanet.org/Interchange08 or contact Goldy Kamali at 202.682.4432.

Although AeA will be hosting hundreds of events between now and then, I also wanted to specifically encourage you to participate in the 38th Annual AeA Classic Financial Conference in November. The conference will showcase public technology companies of $100M - $4B in market cap or revenues to more than 500 investors in San Diego. For more information visit www.aeanet.org/Classic or contact Melissa La Vigna at 408.987.4236.
 

Sincerely,