Over the next few days, Bryan and I are excited to accompany a small Nashville delegation to Washington, DC for a fly-in visit, organized by TECNA & Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). We’re honored to be joining members from Asurion, c3/consulting, Deloitte, LeanKit, Pilgrim Consulting, TechRev, and WiTT to meet with our members of Congress and represent the technology industry of Middle Tennessee.
Through its advocacy arm, CompTIA champions member-driven business and IT priorities that impact all information technology companies – from small managed solutions providers and software developers to large equipment manufacturers and communications service providers.
On the fly-in, we’ll be hearing from experts and policy makers on regulatory policies to spur innovation, like immigration reform that would close the skills gap and help us remain globally competitive while making recruiting and retaining the ‘best and the brightest’ of high-tech workers easier.
We will learn more about the impact of Electronic Communications and Privacy Act (ECPA) reform and the importance of due process for access to electronic communications. We’ll hear about that delicate balance of the tax policy levers that allow states to collect tax from online commerce while not stifling small business innovators. And we’ll engage on workforce programs to narrow the skills gap with education, training, and career placement.
For a lot of folks, hearing “tech policy,” and reading the issues listed above is enough to make your eyes glaze over. I understand and feel your pain. But as a policy wonk, I’m here to say that if you do business in the competitive technology market, these policies are important and can have an impact on your bottom line.
We and our members will be writing about our experience and what we’ve learned over the next couple days on this blog and on twitter. We encourage you to follow along. As the NTC works with its members to develop our stances on the issues that are important to our region, our businesses, and livelihoods, we’ll be talking more about the issues and their impact. We invite you to tune in and keep subscribed!