Tech event draws vendors, businesses: attendance at inaugural Business Technology Expo doubles projections.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: STATE of the STATE

HELD AT THE CAVERNOUS WINDS OVER the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver's Lowry neighborhood on October 12, the inaugural Denver Business Technology Expo drew about 600 attendees who came to network amidst the vintage aircraft and gather swag like foam rockets and blinking ice cubes.

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Attendance was about double the initial projection, according to David DeCamillis, president of the event's organizer, Colorado Technology Partners, and director of business development for Denver-based technology consulting firm Platte River Networks. "The show was a huge success," he said. "We got great feedback from exhibitors, attendees and sponsors."

Colorado Technology Partners, comprised of 12 local technology providers focused on small- and medium-sized businesses, organized the event with the help of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. "We felt the chamber wasn't sufficiently promoting the tech area--and this is Silicone Mountain" DeCamillis said. Chamber officials subsequently embraced the idea, and the idea came to life.

"Tech was an area we were not actively involved in," said Rob Rose, the chamber's engagement manager. "Our members were missing that link." Thanks to a wide-ranging membership with specialties spanning network services, toner-cartridge recycling and staffing, the collaboration with Colorado Technology Partners "is a key partnership," Rose added. "They are the experts. We thought it was a natural fit."

The day-long expo kicked off with speakers from title sponsor Latisys and CoBiz Financial, continued with a diverse menu of presentations by representatives from such big tech names as Cisco, Microsoft and Comcast, and concluded with a happy hour and awards ceremony.

The 60 exhibitors included local and out-of-state companies of all sizes. Among the former was Denver-based Forensic Pursuit, a forensic and e-discovery services firm. "We're really excited," said Melinda Redenius, client relations manager, of the event. "Colorado has an amazing amount of creative technical people."

Of the out-of-state exhibitors, Irvine, Calif.-based SAP provider Vision33 opened an...