By Anne Maxwell Douglass
Alan Dabbiere, a successful developer of two technology companies, was inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia at the 2015 Georgia Technology Summit.
“I think we’re coming into an age of innovation because of mobile and communications. Because of miniaturization. Because of material sciences,” Dabbiere said during his induction remarks. “When I look at the world my children are going to grow up into, I think it’s just a fantastic world that we’re entering. “
Dabbiere is the co-founder and chairman of AirWatch, now owned by VMware, an Atlanta-based company that provides enterprise mobility management software. The company has grown to more than 2,000 employees and secured one of the largest Series A funding rounds of any software company in history under his watch. VMware acquired AirWatch for $1.54 billion in 2014, its largest acquisition.
In 1990, Dabbiere founded supply-chain software company Manhattan Associates. He took the company public eight years later, and it now boasts over 2,500 employees and $400 million in revenues.
“As a founder of both AirWatch and Manhattan Associates, Alan serves as a shining example of the innovative and enterprising spirit that has made Georgia a leading technology center,” said Tino Mantella, president of the Technology Association of Georgia. “He is a true inspiration to many in our technology community and TAG is pleased to see him inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia at the 2015 Georgia Technology Summit.”
Dabbiere credits the city of Atlanta with providing the business and technology climate that allowed his company to thrive.
“Great airport, great technology people. It’s a big enough city that we could recruit people into,” he said. “And again, you can get anywhere in the morning and spend less nights on the road. This is the city we should be in.”
“We moved [Manhattan Associates] to Atlanta in 1995 with 30 people, and within three years that company had grown to 800 people,” he said. “So it was a tremendous growth and I don’t think we could have down this anywhere else in the world.”
In addition to building two billion dollar companies in the state, Dabbiere is active in the technology community in Georgia, serving on the Board of Directors for TAG and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. He is also the Chairman for the Inova Foundation Board, a member of the Georgia Tech Hill Society, and a member of the President’s Advisory Board of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Advisory Board of Emory University’s Roberto C. Goizuetta Business School.
The Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia was established in 1993 to recognize outstanding contributions to the technology industry in Georgia and includes the likes of leaders such as Gov. Zell Miller and Ted Turner. Inductees are chosen each year by the current members of the Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia to recognize achievements in technology in Georgia and their impact on the state.
