When technology companies in New Mexico want help taking their business to the next level, the New Mexico Technology Council is one resource they can turn to.
An Albuquerque-based trade organization for tech companies across the state, the New Mexico Technology Council has 150 member organizations that range from massive corporations to upstart technological ventures. The council hosts networking events, like the ExperienceIT Conference held in Albuquerque last week, and serves as an overall advocate for the tech sector.
Mia Petersen has led the council as its executive director since April. In an interview with Albuquerque Business First on Sept. 29, she said she was excited for the coming year and the work the council has planned across a number of different areas.
See below for more on Petersen's thoughts about the future of technology in New Mexico.
Petersen's responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Albuquerque Business First: If a business is considering becoming a member of the Technology Council, what can they expect when they become a member?
Mia Petersen: They can expect a warm welcome. They can expect a lot of information. We like to ensure that our members know exactly what's available to them from the get-go. So, making sure they get introduced to the committees and that they are partnered with Brittany Espinoza, the council's marketing and communications director, to understand that there's cross-promotion opportunities.
We really try to offer a lot of support. People in New Mexico are pretty friendly. We like to talk with one another and bring our new members into our community to introduce them and make sure that they feel comfortable networking.
What makes technology in New Mexico special? I think New Mexico is an emerging tech hub because the people are so creative and hardworking. We have a lot of really interesting things happening.
Are there any particular industries or segments of the technology market in New Mexico that you think are going to be really big in the future? I think our bread and butter is going to be software development. That encompasses so much, including digital media. The creative technology sector can really take off.
I also think that bioscience is huge for us and could be a real game-changer. And then, space. Space is sexy and cool and fascinating and futuristic. There's so much in that sector.
The Covid-19 pandemic shifted the ways businesses operate, especially in the technology sector as businesses try to incorporate more technology into their practices. Do you think the pandemic has also shifted the work of the Technology Council? Something that was the silver lining in the pandemic is forced tech adoption. In some ways, technology is less scary because now we're so familiar with it — like video conferencing is so familiar to a lot of people.
The tech council has an important role to play in terms of ensuring that additional industry segments are comfortable with tech and ensuring that we're supporting our tech community and stepping into that gap to really meet business needs.
For example, if we can be that force for alignment between our schools, if our schools need some tech adoption, we can work with them and bring in our industry partners so that they get consultation. We ask ourselves, 'How can we help our members reach out to additional companies?'
The pandemic has also made people more interested in working smarter and not harder, and technology has an important role to play in that.
What are you most excited for about the future of the Technology Council? We're doing a strategic planning session in November. I'm excited to work with my team and the board to figure out what's going to make 2023 special. Some of that is going to be additional programming, and some of it will be enhanced services to our members in the form of business resources.
We've got some exciting partnerships that we're lining up, too, so I'm very excited to see what 2023 and 2024 hold for the council.
