Byline: JEAN DerGURAHIAN Business writer
Regional software alliances in New York are forming a new state association.
The New York State Software Network, NYSSNET, will represent the interests of software companies statewide to the state Legislature.
Robert Labanowski of Watervliet was introduced Friday as executive director of NYSSNET, which will have its headquarters in Troy. The group was started with a $150,000 state grant secured by state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
Labanowski is the former technology and manufacturing specialist for the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce. Yacov Shamash, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences of the University at Stony Brook, and Joseph Magno, former director of the Research Foundation of the State University of New York in Albany, make up the rest of NYSSNET's executive committee.
Executives from seven regional software alliances, meeting Friday at the University at Albany, addressed organizational concerns. This was the first face-to-face meeting for everyone who has worked the last six months on the group's formation.
Nothing was made final because each regional association's representative must get permission from a board of directors before joining the state group. Once organized, the members must decide a voting structure and a legislative agenda.
The group Friday included representatives from the Tech Valley Software Alliance, the Info River Valley of the Hudson Valley, the Long Island Software and Technology Network, The Software Roundtable of Syracuse, infoTech Niagara of Buffalo, the High Tech Business Council of Rochester and the New York Software Industry Association of New York City.
Craig Skevington, president and chief executive officer of Flow Management Technologies Inc. in Saratoga Springs, said a state association will create more awareness of how many software companies New York has. Skevington is chairman of the Tech Valley Software Alliance, which represents 497 Capital Region companies.
What New York needs is a better support infrastructure for start-up software businesses, he said. Flow Management is growing quickly, but nothing is in place to attract more trained employees here, he added.
Flow Management spent about $300,000 on recruiting this year and attracted 60 new workers. The health management software developer has 110 employees now and wants to reach 450 in five years.
