GSA Technology Council

The Executive IT Forum will be on September 8.  The September agenda includes presentations and discussions on “IT Agility” –the latest buzz term and what you need to know about it, Why Competing for the Governor’s Award Might Help Your Business, Challenges and Pitfalls in Rolling Out Big IT Systems for Healthcare, XP Service Pack 2—the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and a lunchtime discussion on lessons learned and past highlights of the forum. RSVP to rrouth@ginesys.com.
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Stratatomic has designed and launched a new Real Time Flight Schedule and integrated FlightView Monitor now online at gspairport.com. The real-time flight data is automatically updated on the website every five minutes, and includes Arrivals, Departures, and actual flight numbers and status. Clicking on a flight number opens a color-coded map of the eastern United States that displays up-to-the-minute weather and GSP flight information, including the current position of each individual flight as it arrives or departs from the airport and moves across the country to its destination.

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The speaker for the August meeting will be Kathleen Anderson, owner of Upper Extremity Rehab Specialists. Kathleen is an Occupational Therapist with over 20 years of experience, her topics will include setting up your workstation and neck, shoulder and hand issues. UWIT meets Thursday, August 12 as noon for lunch at Cityrange Grill. RSVP to UWIT@GSATC.ORG.

Nicole Pascoe has been selected as a finalist in the Greenville First Bank  Best & Brightest 35 & Under Class of 2004.  Each year Greenville Magazine, in cooperation with Greenville First Bank, profiles Greenville’s rising stars in business and civic community involvement. Nicole graduated Magna Cum Laude from Furman University with a degree in History and Political Science.  As an active member of the Greenville Community, Nicole serves on the Board of Directors for the Downtown Symphony Club, is a member of the Junior League of Greenville, and serves on the Alumni Councils for Kappa Delta Sorority and Furman University. Nicole is an Account Executive for TiBA Solutions.
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A number of the upstate’s IT professionals have reported receiving a direct mail flyer offering them a free trial version of Oracle Database version 10g. Oracle positions their new offering as having the performance, reliability and security upon Oracle has built its reputation at a price that is lower than Microsoft’s SQL server. The offer includes a trial version of the software for either Windows or Linux as well as a self-study guide for getting started. To take advantage of the offer, recipients are instructed to enter the keyword GetStarted at www.oracle.com/start.
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Plans Expansion Of Degree Offerings To Greenville

Spartanburg, S.C. – Today, following approval by the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees, USC Spartanburg announced that it is changing its name to USC Upstate in order to signify expanded vision, mission and goals for the University. The name change is effective July 1, 2004.

“This name change positions the University to serve both as a catalyst and support for efforts to think, plan and act regionally as other important enterprises have done,” said Dr. John C. Stockwell, chancellor of USC Upstate. “It both signals and impels the continued expansion of partnerships and services across the I-85 corridor. The change in name also further cements this university’s relationship with the USC system.”

USC Upstate is a metropolitan university, meaning that it acknowledges as its fundamental reason for being its relationship to its surrounding cities, their connecting corridors and expanding populations. The University has responded to regional workforce demands by offering market-driven degrees to Upstate residents.

For more than 10 years, the University has been educating students not just on the Spartanburg campus but also in Greenville at the University Center of Greenville (UCG), a nonprofit consortium of seven higher education institutions dedicated to increasing access to educational opportunities for the citizens of the Greater Greenville Metropolitan Area of South Carolina. USC Upstate has emerged as the largest provider of academic programs at UCG, generating more than 70 percent of the Center’s baccalaureate enrollment.

Stockwell also announced that Dr. Judith Prince, formerly the associate chancellor for strategic initiatives, has been named Vice Chancellor Greenville, effective immediately. Prince has served in various positions at the University, including interim executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, and assistant vice chancellor for graduate programs and extended learning.

Continued and substantial growth for USC Upstate is anticipated over the coming years, with much of that growth occurring with an expanded presence in Greenville. USC Upstate’s main campus in Spartanburg will continue to grow as well, particularly given its residential freshman through senior student population, and with the forthcoming construction of the Library, the Wellness/Fitness Center, the Health Education Complex and additional housing.

The name change is met with tremendous support as it is expected to benefit the Upstate in terms of economic development, public/private partnerships and overall regionalization.

“This region can only grow if it understands the critical importance of the role of higher education,” said Bill Barnet, mayor of the City of Spartanburg. “Our economic development boundaries are directly related to the health and strength of institutions such as USC Upstate. This is an important step forward.”

“The USC Board of Trustees and I strongly endorse this change,” said Dr. Andrew Sorensen, president of USC. “It will enhance the mission of the state’s flagship university, which is to serve the entire state through teaching, research and outreach.”

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Ryan Owens, founder and president of Stratatomic LLC, has recently been selected for the second consecutive year as one of the expert judges for the 2004 WebAward Competition for outstanding website development, sponsored by the Web Marketing Association.    

The annual WebAward Competition is produced by the Web Marketing Association (WMA), founded in 1997 to set a high standard for Internet marketing and site development on the World Wide Web. To learn more about the 2004 WebAward Competition you may visit the website at http://www.webaward.org.
 
Stratatomic is a creative firm specializing in web, advertising, multimedia, and graphic communications. Stratatomic also offers complete solutions for web site hosting, WebAdmin site management software, Search Engine Optimization, and WebStats site analysis tools, providing clients with a singular resource for top-to-bottom implementation of their internet marketing strategies. Founded in September, 2000 by Ryan Owens, Stratatomic LLC is a privately held company based in Greenville, SC.

eBridge Technologies Inc, headquarted in Greenville, SC, has added three Springs Industries production facilities to its client-base.  eBridge is providing ongoing support and implementation services for Springs’ production monitoring system.  “Retaining Springs Industries as a client is an important win for eBridge as we continue to expand our presence into the manufacturing sector.  We already have current clients in textiles, plastics and flexible packaging industries, Springs in a natural fit.  The Springs Industries brand is synonymous with high quality, so we are very proud, ” remarks Brad Cunningham, President of eBridge Technologies.   

As an ongoing customer of eBridge, Springs Industries has access to eBridge’s online 24×7 Customer Care Center and internal staff of technicians qualified to support the unique needs of a manufacturing facility.  “Through our ScheduleFLEX implementations, eBridge has gained an incredible amount of knowledge and familiarity with manufacturing that aids our ability to support clients such as Springs Industries,” Cunningham added.