The possibilities are endless One of my jobs as the Secretary of Technology & Chief Information Officer for Colorado is also to be an ambassador to tech companies that promote the technology landscape in our beautiful state. That’s the “Secretary of Technology” part of my title. And that is what prompted a recent trip to California as part of an economic development effort to meet with leaders at companies with headquarters in Silicon Valley but with a strong presence in Colorado like Intel, Google, HP, Salesforce, Accenture, Pivotal etc. I was struck by the distinct cultures each company has built for itself. At the Google campus, the employee parking lot was not overflowing. Why? Because Google promotes a culture of biking to work or using mass transit. Most of their employees don’t use cars. Their workspace is open and lively, full of excited engineers and developers who are shaping our newest technologies. At Oracle, there was a distinct feeling of “serious business.” Their culture is much more stayed, focused on form and delivery, and internal innovation. One is not better than the other. But I marveled at the differences and the very clear way each defined its own culture. I was fascinated with the different shades of innovation each company is galvanizing. I look forward to meeting many more companies and how they are moving the technology needle to help with real world challenges. And then there was our stop at Hewlett-Packard. When I heard HP engineers say, “We are part of the Intelligent Infrastructure Lab and the subtext that encapsulates our research is summarized by the catchphrase ‘electrons for compute, photons for communication, ions for storage at net zero energy’, ” it tickled the nuclear physicist in me. I have a degree in nuclear physics and seeing this union of technology and high science was inspiring. I am thrilled that these kinds of innovations all have a growing presence in Colorado. As my plane took off from California and headed back to this beautiful state of ours, it occurred to me that we clearly are not far behind the Silicon Valley in terms of growing our own IT industry. We have an opportunity to inspire and create our unique culture — one that may be equal parts Silicon Valley but with a large helping of inspiration from homegrown companies like Zayo, SendGrid and others. It’s an exciting time of exploration, risk taking and problem solving with information technology. And from where I sit at this moment, flying 30,000 feet above the Rocky Mountains, the possibilities are endless. Related content opinion Customer service: The proof is in the numbers Customer satisfaction increases when you find your greatest weaknesses and then hone in with a laser focus to address them. By Suma Nallapati Aug 17, 2015 2 mins Government IT IT Leadership opinion Women in technology: Inspiring paths forward The statistics can sound depressing -- men outpace women when it comes to holding senior leadership positions in IT and they continue to earn more than women. Additionally, statistics show women face an uphill battle from other women just as much as By Suma Nallapati Jun 16, 2015 2 mins Careers IT Leadership opinion What digital transformation means to the public sector At the State of Colorado, digital transformation is not just a buzz phrase: it means creating digital touchpoints and ease of use at every interaction citizens have with the state. By Suma Nallapati Apr 24, 2015 2 mins Government IT Government IT Leadership opinion What Yoga Taught Me About Customer Buy-In It's all in the approach: stretching your communication skills to engage your IT customers. By Suma Nallapati Feb 18, 2015 3 mins CIO Small and Medium Business IT Strategy Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe