Two weeks ago I was joined by 600 leaders at Spruce Mountain Ranch in Larkspur for Colorado Technology Association’s annual Women in Technology (WIT) Conference, and I wish we all could head back there tomorrow.

It takes less than a 1% additional level of effort for companies to make their applications and devices accessible to the disabled community. At its core, accessibility means that all web pages and platforms are coded so that they can be read aloud to the end user.

A future in tech begins with education, and the future of education relies on the collaboration of academia, government and industry.

Blockchain is everywhere. It’s in the news, it’s in investment portfolios, it’s in startups across the world trying to wrangle its potential. It's a growing community here in Colorado, where the Ethereum Denver Meetup is one of the largest in the nation.

This week, the Colorado Tech Caucus in cooperation with Colorado Technology Association convened to learn more about blockchain technology. There is a strong movement behind the use and expansion of blockchain, and with that comes the need to educate policy makers on how the technology works and how regulations may impact the industry.

It’s time to change how we hire in the tech community. The exponential growth in tech occupations, combined with companies’ fast-changing needs to keep pace with the rest of the industry, has made hiring a daunting challenge. Talent is the key to success. In order to remain competitive, tech employers need top talent yesterday, and in Colorado, where our unemployment rate sits at 2.9%, everyone often is competing in the same shallow talent pool.

Not only is Colorado leading the way in tech and innovation, it has the most Team USA athletes at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Olympics have no shortage of tech to enhance the experience of athletes, attendees and viewers alike. With the capabilities of technology set on a global stage, here are some of our favorites so far:

Each week we recap the tech-related bills that have been introduced.

These are tech-related bills that have been introduced in the Colorado Legislature since it gaveled into session on January 10.

The Colorado General Assembly was gaveled into session last Wednesday for its 2018 legislative session. The opening week speeches tackled a slate of issues, where much of the tech discussion centered on broadband.

Happy new year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are geared up for another big year of making Colorado a leader in tech innovation. We’re grateful for an incredible 2017 and have wasted no time working to make 2018 a banner year for our community.

Comcast in Colorado contributes approximately $15 million in financial and in-kind resources each year to programs and partnerships helping communities across the state thrive. These contributions include grants from the Comcast Foundation, which announced today total more than $650,000 to Colorado nonprofit organizations in 2017. The grants help grow the impact of programs aimed at expanding digital literacy, promoting service, and mentoring tomorrow’s leaders. Anchor Center for Blind Children, Boys & Girls Clubs, Servicios de La Raza and Girls Inc. are just a few of the many local organizations making a significant difference in the community supported by the Comcast Foundation this year. “Comcast is proud to support our partner organizations throughout the year to improve our communities and enrich the lives of all Coloradans,” said Rich Jennings, senior vice president of Comcast Mountain West Region. “The important work of these nonprofit organizations ensures Colorado is a better place to call home.”

As the technology sector continues to evolve, many companies are having difficulty finding qualified workers to fill in-demand, high-tech jobs. Expanding immediate access to computer science training is a statewide imperative to help continue to build our tech talent pool and fill critical job openings. Colorado Technology Association (CTA), Colorado Succeeds and Silicon STEM Academy have partnered on a $20,000 scholarship fund for 100 Colorado students statewide to jumpstart their future in tech through online coding classes.

DENVER - Wed.,  Oct. 11, 2017 - The Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will launch a statewide Cyber Security program in October 2017. This program will ensure that small businesses throughout the state have access to relevant and up-to-date education and free one-on-one consulting on how to best protect their assets and investments. Forty-three percent of small businesses owners fall victim to a cyber attack. 

During the interim, many task forces and working groups have convened or have been scheduled to meet. We continue to monitor any tech related issues that may impact our members.    Digital Goods Sales & Use Tax Stakeholder Workgroup The Colorado Department of Revenue will be convening a stakeholder workgroup to discuss whether to promulgate a regulation concerning the application of State and state-administered sales and use taxes to digital goods. The stakeholder workgroup will take place on Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. at 1313 Sherman Street, Room 220, Denver, CO 80261. More Information   Sales & Use Tax Simplification Task Force The Sales & Use Simplification Task Force will be meeting again on Wednesday, November 1 at the state capitol building to identify opportunities and challenges within existing fiscal frameworks to adopt innovative revenue-neutral solutions that do not require constitutional amendments or voter approval. More Information   Remote Notarization Working Group The Colorado Secretary of State's Office has convened a working group on to discuss remote notarization in Colorado and work on possible related legislation. More Information   Sales Tax Stakeholder Work Group The Colorado Department of Revenue will be convening a stakeholder workgroup to discuss rules for determining the location of a sale for sales tax purposes. Generally, the location of a sale can be readily determined when the sale is transacted entirely at a retailer’s “brick and mortar” store. However, when a sale is not so transacted and especially when the purchased item is delivered to the customer at the customer’s location, questions may arise as to the location of the sale and to which jurisdictions may rightly impose tax on the sale. The stakeholder workgroup will take place on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. at 1313 Sherman Street, Room 220, Denver, CO 80203. More Information  

For closely-held private companies, attracting and retaining qualified personnel can be a challenge, particularly when competing against public firms in popular markets and industries, such as technology.  For that reason, many private companies design various equity incentives – such as stock options – to sweeten the allure of an overall compensation package.

During this year’s Women in Technology Conference (June 9, 2017), Colorado Technology Association (CTA) presented the very first Million Women Mentors’ (MWM) Stand Up For STEM Colorado Award to Colorado School of Mines Computer Science Department Head Dr. Tracy Camp. 

Jobber Group, a Denver, Colorado-based talent strategy firm tackling the talent trafficking problem plaguing most companies, recently presented their platform as a service (PaaS) to New York City-based Talent Tech Labs. Talent Tech Labs, a community focused on the discovery and validation of emerging talent acquisition technologies, invited Jobber Group to virtually present their new Persona Platform that operationalizes persona and data-driven validation for candidates during the hiring process. 

On June 8, Colorado Technology Association hosted its inaugural SheTech Explorer Day Colorado — in partnership with AT&T, Digital Globe, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and more than 15 community and industry partners — to provide nearly 60 high school girls from across the Front Range with a fun-filled, STEM-packed day focused on career exploration, skills awareness and hands-on workshops.

Last week at our Women in Technology Conference, CTA and its Foundation launched the Women in Tech Scholarship Fund in partnership with Galvanize. The scholarship fund is aimed at getting more women from under-tapped communities a job in tech and a better future.

Jobber Group, a start-up based in Denver, announces development and beta of our new Persona Platform used to quantify and measure soft skills during the hiring process.  

Colorado Technology Association closely monitors federal policy, regulation and rule making. Included are issues we are currently watching in order to best represent Colorado’s Tech Community.

During the 2017 legislative session, CTA engaged directly at the State Capitol closely monitoring over 35 bills and actively supported key pieces of legislation related to technology in Colorado.

With each new legislative session in Colorado, we have seen the volume of technology-related legislation increase. The 2017 session was no different, as we saw an abundance of bills introduced. Colorado Technology Association actively monitored the bills that may impact our industry.  

Last week, Microsoft hosted their very first a successful CareerX job-shadowing event, a work-based learning program presented in partnership with Denver Public Schools’ (DPS) CareerConnect program and Colorado Technology Foundation (CTF) that exposes participating high school students to tech careers and in-demand skills to meet the needs of Colorado’s future technology workforce.

Gov. John Hickenlooper will congratulate two Colorado high school cyber teams who competed in the largest and most prestigious national high school cyber security competition this month.

There’s no slowing down in Colorado, which is why Colorado Technology Association (CTA) has partnered with local startup SelectHub to simplify the request for proposal process for CTA members searching for tech solutions. The tech industry continues to grow rapidly in Colorado, creating an immense volume of IT projects that need to be fulfilled. The quicker they come together, and the easier it is for companies to partner within the state, the better.

Earlier in the legislative session, Colorado Technology Association hosted the first meeting of the Colorado Legislative Tech Caucus at The Commons on Champa. The Tech Caucus will serve as a platform to discuss key technology issues and improvements in Colorado, and will focus on tech talent, emerging technology and modernizing tech policy.

CTA has taken a support position on five state bills so far in the legislative session. We are also monitoring other legislation that may have an impact on the state's tech industry.

Earlier this month, Colorado Technology Association held its annual Day at the Colorado Capitol. It's an opportunity for members to get further involved in advocacy and policy efforts and to hear directly from legislators and public officials about issues and legislation that directly impacts the industry. CTA members gathered at the Colorado Capitol on March 1st to bring tech voices to the Gold Dome. Participants began their time under the gold dome by taking a tour of the Capitol building, learning more about the building itself and the ins and outs of how policy is created and passed in Colorado. Following the tour, members gathered for lunch and conversation which included legislators and Capitol staff before gathering to hear from legislators and public officials.

DENVER - On March 16, a record-breaking 65-plus top Colorado tech executives across diverse industries will volunteer their time to propel business in the state and raise funds for Colorado Technology Association’s year-long work to advance Colorado’s tech industry and workforce.

The Techtonic Academy has completed week one of a four-week apprenticeship training class, hosted in partnership with the Downtown Denver Partnership and Colorado Technology Association (CTA) at The Commons on Champa in Denver. Techtonic Group is providing opportunity to unemployed and under-employed individuals with an emphasis on increasing the opportunity for youth, women, people of color and veterans to enter the information technology workforce. The current class consists of 12 students with 75 percent of the students in the class falling into the targeted population.The four-week, instructor-led class will teach modern programming concepts, introduce students to the most common coding languages and develop the soft skills and career readiness training to work in a software development environment. Upon successful completion of the class, selected students will be admitted to the Techtonic Group’s paid six-month apprenticeship program, which gives them progressively complicated tasks.  Apprentices work alongside Techtonic Group’s software development team writing software for Techtonic Group clients. After approximately six months, successful apprentices are hired as Jr. Developers. Techtonic Group established a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certified apprenticeship program to teach software skills while working on the job as a member of our software development team. Techtonic Group is currently the only IT Apprenticeship in the State of Colorado approved and certified by the DOL. Additionally, Techtonic Group was recently awarded Innovative Company of the Year by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce.Techtonic Academy was developed specifically to address the talent deficiency in software development.  Not only is this apprentice program beneficial to the Techtonic Group talent pipeline but to clients as well. The Techtonic Academy results in lower client fees and potential new team members for a client’s in-house development team. For more information one the Techtonic Academy and Apprenticeship Program, hiring software development talent or if you have software development projects, please send an email to academy@techtonicgroup.com.

Last week, Colorado Technology Association (CTA) President & CEO, Andrea Young and Program Specialist Matt Wendel attended the 2017 CompTIA DC Fly-In with other Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) members. The DC Fly-In is a chance to get briefed on the latest policy trends in tech and to meet with Congress members and relevant government agencies. CTA was also accompanied by Ed Rios, CEO of the National Cybersecurity Center, and Wendy Brors, assistant director at the Colorado Workforce Development Council. 

Colorado Technology Association is supporting HB17-1090, The Advanced Industries Investment Tax Credit Extension. This bill will continue a program that offers a tax credit to individuals who make investments in small businesses operating in the advanced industries.

Colorado Technology Association recently held its 2017 Legislative Reception at the Denver Art Museum to celebrate Colorado’s state elected officials and to thank them for their work impacting the tech community. CTA strives to be a resource for our state legislators and focuses on making Colorado the most tech educated state in the nation, a global leader in tech and advocates for modern policy that keeps pace.

The 11th-annual C-Level @ A Mile High is approaching fast and we are thrilled about the impressive lineup of executive celebrities and sponsors on board this year. This year’s presenting sponsor, Comcast/Comcast Business, is excited to support the tech community through their engagement at C-Level and took a few moments to share why they decided to get so involved at Colorado tech’s biggest event of the year and the largest fundraiser for Colorado Technology Association.

Last week, Colorado Technology Association held its annual Legislative Outlook to inform members of the tech community about high priority issues facing Colorado. Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Executive Director Shailen Bhatt gave a presentation on the changing nature of transportation and how technology is helping to shape it as well as the policy changes that will need to follow. CDOT is using innovative ideas to address transportation challenges, with many of those projects coming through their RoadX program.

ThoughtWorks, a global technology company, has announced the opening of its business operations in Denver and recently joined Colorado Technology Association as a member. The company spent months embedded in the local business and technology community to fully absorb the innovative growth happening in the greater Denver metro area.

Colorado Technology Association (CTA) recently toured Blue Star Recyclers’ (Blue Star) Denver facility, and we were amazed by the organization’s multifaceted, environmentally focused social enterprise. Providing the opportunity for individuals with varying development disabilities to secure gainful employment while addressing the need for increased e-waste recycling, Blue Star is creating a truly sustainable and scalable model in the heart of Colorado.