Interview with Berge Ayvazian, UBM Tech, Boston
For its June issue iTechnology.am team talked to Berge Ayvazian, 4G World Conference Chair and Practice Leader at UBM Tech. Mr. Avazian visited Armenian on March 22, 2014 and chaired iGyumri Idea and Tech Conference in Gyumri Armenia. Lets see where starts his success story.
Berge Ayvazian: The tech market has been heavily influenced by 4G and fiber network technologies and mobile internet, and now cloud computing and virtualization. We have some great Armenian start-up success stories, including:
4G LTE trends and successful deployments
Berge Ayvazian: I was an early investor in one of the first Armenian tech companies, Boomerang Software, which was a pioneer in e-commerce and Internet security software market. I was among a few Armenian Americans that formed the Armenian High Tech Council (Armentech), and were later invited to form a partnership with Armenia’s Union of IT Enterprises (UITE) to promote the growth of the sector beginning in 2000. Together we launched SiliconArmenia.com, the Armenian High Tech Portal to promote Armenian companies in key US, European and regional IT/software markets, funded in part by a grant from the World Bank. Armenia has set its sights on becoming a post-Soviet Silicon Valley, and has opened a new information and high tech office in Silicon Valley in December 2012. The original Armentech has become the Armtech Congress with over 1,000 members on Linkedin, and we will hold our fifth global Armenian high tech conference in New York City in October 2014.
iTechnology.am: Can you please share with our readers your impression and thoughts on the iGyumri Conference, the new Gyumri Technology Center and prospects of Gyumri becoming a true hub for creativity and technology.
Berge Ayvazian: I was pleased to chair the iGyumri Conference, showcase new start-ups and help launch the new Gyumri Technology Center during my last trip to Armenia. Several companies including Apaga Technologies and Digital Pomegranate have already decided to locate in Armenia’s second city, and the Gyumri Information Technologies Center (GITC) will offer training to leverage local creativity and technology as an economic development tool. I believe these initiatives will help make Gyumri a prosperous international tech city driven by education, innovation and entrepreneurship.