COLUMBIA (WACH) - The Midlands community had the opportunity to learn from some of the biggest  names in technology Tuesday.

The fourth annual Carolina Technology Conference and Expo set up at the Columbia Convention Center Tuesday morning for several companies in the area to showcase the latest technology being used in the business world.

The mission of the Carolina Technology Conference is to educate and inspire people to enter the field of technology.

IT, security and technology management professionals were in attendance.

Even Microsoft was on hand to talk about the latest and greatest in the tech field.

AgFirst Farm Credit Bank IT Operations Director John Davis says the conference brought in big name speakers from around the country.

"One of the things that helped me as a young technology professional was going to conferences, however, the conferences of this caliber you usually had to fly to Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., or Atlanta. [This conference] has some of the same speakers, national caliber speakers, from all around the country; right here in Columbia," said Davis.

There were also hands-on labs, training sessions and a career corner for those who registered.