Last May, Governor Hogan announced the Excel Maryland Initiative at the inaugural Maryland Business Summit in front of more than 700 business, education, and community leaders in the state. The initiative's goal is lofty – to launch a comprehensive, statewide economic development strategy focused on developing new collaborative techniques to accelerate growth in the life sciences and cybersecurity industries.

With more than 35 incubators and research parks and a number one ranking in STEM job concentration, Maryland is fertile ground for entrepreneurs in life sciences and cybersecurity, industries where Maryland already leads. Excel Maryland, the latest tool in the state's toolbox, is designed to propel these industries to even greater heights.

MDBizNews sat down with a few local businesses that are thriving in the state's cybersecurity sector and giving the Commerce team plenty to brag about at the upcoming RSA Conference.

Convergence Technology Consulting in Columbia, Md., is a leader in managing, moving, and securing data. The company prides itself on being able to not only secure their clients data, but also still make it accessible to the people who need it, from anywhere in the world.

Founded in 2012, Convergence has been on the cutting edge of data management since the dot.com bubble. CEO and President Larry Letow, who has more than thirty years of sales, operations and finance experience in the IT industry, says the company has enjoyed tremendous growth in Maryland.

"Maryland has a lot of great resources," said Letow, "one being the biggest client in the country – the U.S. Government – and that trickles down to a high percentage of our companies and supporting businesses. There is no other place (that I know of) where a technology company should be situated."

Convergence Technology's clients include the Armed Forces, the intelligence community, civilian agencies, the nation's largest defense contractors, and major companies in the healthcare and financial services industries. The earned trust of these heavy hitters is something Convergence doesn't take lightly.

"There are very few companies around the country that have our expertise from endpoint to endpoint," said Letow. "We have the ability to successfully deliver and secure your data from the time it's developed to the time it's delivered to any endpoint anywhere in the world."

Convergence believes that the data security industry is only at the beginning when it comes to its role in every facet of society. As software integration increases for industries across the board, so will the threats against it, and that's where Convergence comes in.

"Data security is on every CISO's and CIO's mind," said Letow. "It's a line item in every budget. The future of our industry is strong and at the beginning of the bell curve."

For more information visit www.convergencetech.us

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