A status report on Colorado's top six tech sectors.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: TRENDS IN TECH

Trends in technology change so rapidly it's easy to mistake yesterday's news for tomorrow's. Same goes for trendsetters. But what separates the trends from the fads? Fads come and go, but true trends actually go somewhere.

Kristin Russell, the state of Colorado's newly minted secretary of technology and chief information officer, sees today's trends leading to a bright high-tech future.

"I believe Colorado is the best-kept secret when it comes to innovation and tech industry growth," she says. "We have a highly educated work force. We can tap into some of the best institutions of higher learning in the country. And we have a lot of land and a good climate for green tech."

Identifying the expansion of rural broadband as a priority that will catalyze the economy (as well as education and medicine), Russell says she is also committed to luring Fortune 500 companies to the state as well as fostering...