Information Technology Innovation Center Opens in Columbus

COLUMBUS, GA - Governor Sonny Perdue announced today the creation of the Information Technology Innovation Center (ITIC) in Columbus, Georgia. This public-private-university partnership will foster the development of innovative equipment, processes and technologies for Georgia businesses handling vast amounts of information.

“As part of their operations, many Georgia companies handle massive amounts of information on a daily basis,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “The ITIC will leverage our state’s private sector and academic expertise to develop new technologies and processes for meeting the challenges faced by Georgia’s business community.”

The ITIC has four member companies – Aflac, BellSouth, Synovus and TSYS. The center will operate in a 20,000-square-foot facility in the Cunningham Conference Center at Columbus State University.

Aflac has initiated the center’s first research project with the Georgia Institute of Technology and Columbus State University to identify and investigate the issues associated with migrating information from old database systems to newer database systems in order to make the information more accessible and user-friendly. The results of the research project, expected within six to eight months, will be applicable to a broad range of industries, and the solutions will be available to ITIC member companies.

“This research could have sweeping impact in solving a problem common to many companies seeking to modernize their technologies,” said ITIC Director Blair Carnahan. “Aflac’s leadership in bringing our state’s research and academic assets to bear through ITIC to solve this problem will provide a roadmap that all our member companies can follow.”

ITIC is also incubating TimeTraxx, a start-up company that develops software to bring order and simplicity to the construction claims industry, in conjunction with the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). ITIC has also provided office space to Logicalis, an international IT integration company.

A program of Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Office of Science and Technology, ITIC is a distinctive partnership of private industry, academia and federal and state authorities working together to improve technologies related to the secure, reliable and cost-effective process of information.

Georgia’s centers of innovation program, launched by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2003, has developed centers of excellence in the areas of aerospace, agriculture, information technology, life sciences and maritime logistics. By leveraging Georgia’s homegrown industries, the state is creating new jobs, increasing investment and ensuring long-term economic opportunity.