GSA Technology Council

Baker Consulting, LLC, a reseller and custom developer of Sage accounting and CRM software, recently launched a new website to market the company’s custom designed software enhancement modules. Developed for Sage MAS 500 resellers, as well as the software’s end-users, the site provides an overview of the add-on modules that are currently being offered by Baker Consulting for use with Sage MAS 500 accounting software. Product literature for each module is available for download, and an online form enables the site visitor to quickly and easily request additional information from the company.

via Baker Consulting

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At the 2006 Microsoft Partner Program Awards, TiBA Solutions announced it has won the Regional Winning Customer Award for outstanding competitive efforts in United States. TiBA Solutions was chosen from a field of top regional Microsoft Partners United States for delivering market-leading solutions that highlight the benefits of working on the Microsoft platform. The award winners will be recognized at a ceremony July 12 in Boston at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

Awards were presented in a number of categories, with winners chosen from a pool of more than 2,300 entrants worldwide. TiBA Solutions was recognized for its successful implementation of a Microsoft-based solution, versus utilizing the technology of other vendors, that resulted in significant benefits to customers. Award winners were required to have implemented solutions involving successful migrations, custom software development or completing customer upgrades that leverage Microsoft technology.  TiBA Solutions won this year’s award by expertly developing a customer solution that exemplifies the benefits of working on the Microsoft platform rather than those of other technology vendors.

South Carolina Business One-Stop (SCBOS) was the focus of interest for this year’s award winner.  SCBOS in an innovative idea and impressive technical achievement, meant to be, an extremely convenient and cost-effective business registration tool for South Carolina’s entrepreneurs.

“It is a privilege to recognize TiBA Solutions as a regional winner of this year’s Winning Customer Award for Untied States,” said Allison Watson, vice president of the Worldwide Partner Sales and Marketing Group at Microsoft. “It is this level of commitment in reaching out to customers and underscoring the value of the Microsoft Windows integrated software platform that enables continued success for us and for our partners. We applaud TiBA Solutions for its efforts to implement solutions that successfully met its customer’s IT needs by migrating its systems to take advantage of the Microsoft platform.”

The Microsoft Partner Program Awards recognize Microsoft Partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions over the past year. Multiple awards are distributed in four categories: Partner of the Year for Technology Innovation, Partner of the Year for Sales and Marketing, the Specialization Excellence Awards and the Microsoft Initiative Awards, which include the Winning Customer Award and the Customer Experience Award.  

TiBA Solutions is a Greenville based large-scale custom software development firm.

via TiBA

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Haidee Stith is a private consultant based in Lexington, SC. She has extensive senior-level experience in both state and federal government and has managed large staffs and multi-million dollar budgets in her many roles over the past 20 years. Ms. Stith is known as a change agent and problem solver.

Currently, Stith operates as a private consultant and works with a variety of public agencies and private firms in an array of management roles. Her primary client is the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP). At SCMEP, she coordinates the process to determine the impact of SCMEP’s services to manufacturers and seeks opportunities for new program development.

In 2002, Stith was chosen to direct the start-up of South Carolina’s Women’s Business Center.  Now serving as the Center’s executive director, Stith manages the staff and oversees the implementation of the strategic plan for the Center.

Previously, Stith acted as key executive for the South Carolina Department of Commerce, one of the nation’s most successful economic development agencies, which produced over $22 billion in capital investment and over 110,000 new jobs over a four-year period. During this time, Stith was Chief Operating Officer, Director of Research and Grants, and Director of the SC Coordinating Council for Economic Development.

Prior to that, Stith was a member of the Governor’s staff and acted as Deputy Director of the Division of Economic Development, Coordinator for the Governor’s Initiative for Workforce Excellence, Deputy Director for Intergovernmental Relations and Governor’s Alternate to the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Stith has also served on task forces and commissions such the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council’s Assessment and Documentation Committee; the Governor’s Workforce Education Task Force; the US Department of Labor/US Department of Education’s Workforce Training Committee, and the Midlands Literacy Initiative.

Stith has also served on task forces and commissions such the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council’s Assessment and Documentation Committee; the Governor’s Workforce Education Task Force; the US Department of Labor/US Department of Education’s Workforce Training Committee, and the Midlands Literacy Initiative.

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Haidee Clark Stith of the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership and South Carolina Womens Business Center will present at the GSA Technology Council’s July Meeting.

Join us as Haidee describes the many free resources available to technology entrepreneurs to build their businesses.

About Our Speaker:

Haidee Stith is a private consultant based in Lexington, SC. She has extensive senior-level experience in both state and federal government and has managed large staffs and multi-million dollar budgets in her many roles over the past 20 years. Ms. Stith is known as a change agent and problem solver. >more

GSATC Learning Lunch

Topic: Free Resources for Tech Businesses

Featured: Haidee Stith, SCMEP, SCWBC

Date: Wednesday, August 9, 2006

Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Location: Crowne Plaza (Map: I-385 at Roper Mtn.)

Agenda

11:30 – 11:55 Registration, Networking, Lunch

11:55 – 12:10 Announcements

12:10 – 12:50 Presentation

12:50 – 1:00 Door Prizes, Adjourn

This meeting features easy access from I-385, plenty of free parking, ample networking opportunities, a great presentation, and door prizes. Plan to attend.

Lunch is $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

RSVP Today

Online registration is now closed. Please register at the meeting.

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Government compliance requirements and consumer outcry have continued to heat up demand for corporations to improve their information security practices.  The field is fast-changing with new threats appearing all the time. In an attempt to help upstate South Carolina’s business community prepare themselves for the threats that are pervasive in the information economy, an association of Greenville Area Security Professionals (GASP) was born.  The group meets the last Thursday of each month in Greenville, SC, to discuss physical, information, and network issues.  Many of the attendees are CISSP certified and many are hoping to achieve that certification and thereby better prepare themselves to help their companies.

In support of the organization and its mission, Acentron has offered to act as sponsor for the upcoming GASP meeting. “An informed and educated IT community minimizes the chances that the next consumer data disaster will be in our backyard,” says Acentron President Dan Springer.  “We are delighted to lend a hand.”

via Acentron
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ScanSource, Inc. has made a number of enhancements to its ScanSource VirtualTechnician (SSVT) remote monitoring and management tool. Introduced one year ago, SSVT allows resellers to provide proactive monitoring and management services for point-of-sale hardware and software applications, including analyzing potential problems and repairing hardware or software malfunctions.

SSVT serves as a key tool for resellers looking to differentiate themselves and deliver added value to their end-user customers. By delivering proactive support, resellers improve their customer service and end-user relationships, while also better justifying their support contract costs.

The updated version of SSVT consists of all of the features of version 1, along with additional alerts, actions and tools, delivering improved data usage, more control and simplified processes, including:

– User Initiated Actions, which allow the reseller to provide remote operations, in addition to the preset monitoring activities, giving the reseller improved remote management capabilities

– Improved Information Views allow for better data management and give resellers the ability to view and find information more quickly

– Graphical and Reporting enhancements provide resellers with additional tools to visually communicate important issues and events to their end-users

– Documentation capabilities give resellers the ability to keep detailed records of what took place during the repair of an issue

– Automatic reporting allows resellers to send regular status and update e-mails to the end-user

“With ScanSource Virtual Technician we’re able to provide our customers with the ultimate service benefit: solving problems before they happen,” said Sam Reynolds, vice president, POSTec. “Honestly – it’s like something out of a science fiction story – we know what’s going to go wrong before it does and we prevent it from happening.”

“ScanSource VirtualTechnician has allowed our reseller customers to deliver a level of proactive service and support that wasn’t available in the past,” said Paul Constantine, vice president of solutions and services, ScanSource, Inc. “The enhancements to SSVT not only provide improved management and reporting capabilities, but they also allow end-users to better focus on their business and not the back office, as the reseller has it covered. With SSVT, the reseller can be the hero.”

“ScanSource VirtualTechnician allows resellers to provide remote proactive support for POS solutions, which prevents downtime and service issues for the end user,” said Bill Nulf, director of channel sales, Elo TouchSystems. “It also allows Elo’s touch screens to be monitored remotely, which is another step in the evolution of creating a more value-added product for our reseller partners and their end-users.”

The monitoring system works with all OPOS-compliant devices. ScanSource VirtualTechnician is currently a North American offering.

 via ScanSource

 

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U.S. venture capital investing reached its highest point in 4 1/2 years with $6.73 billion directed to 619 deals, according to the Quarterly Venture Capital Report released by Ernst & Young LLP and VentureOne, the publisher of VentureSource. Overall deal count increased 3% from the second quarter of 2005, and the capital was 5% higher than a year ago, representing the most venture capital invested in a single quarter since the fourth quarter of 2001.

The increase was boosted by the highest infusion of capital in recent quarters in the market’s two major industry groups: health care and information technology. In fact, it was the most capital invested in information technology since 2004 and more significantly, the most invested in healthcare since 2000. Increased later stage funding was another important factor contributing to the overall rise in investment. One of the key emerging sectors in venture capital — the energy segment — also saw financing activity and investment increase significantly, driven mostly by alternative energy financings.

“A plethora of very promising and innovative life science companies and a public market climate that is supporting, at least moderately, health care IPOs over the past 2 ½ years, is generating this strong level of investment activity. Thus, it’s no surprise that health care investing, and in particular record-breaking investment in biopharmaceuticals, is surging ahead,” said Stephen Harmston, director of global research at VentureOne. “Confidence in the market is also apparent in the level of current venture capital fund raising—in which some particularly large funds are readying for deployment.”

Capital investment in health care companies increased 25% over the same quarter a year ago, reaching $2.24 billion in 160 rounds. The biopharmaceutical segment was the major driver of this with 80 deals and $1.45 billion invested, including eight of the top 12 deals posted this quarter. Of note, a number of those large deals included partnering investments from major pharmaceutical companies. The total investment in biopharmaceuticals was the most capital investment in the segment since VentureOne began tracking the data in 1992. The medical devices segment also had a strong quarter with 58 deals and $617.6 million, increases of 32% and 30% respectively, over the same quarter last year. While the health care category was responsible for a number of the largest deals, investors also funded 58 seed and first-round health care deals this quarter, up from 47 in the same quarter of last year. The median size of a health care deal was $8 million, down slightly from $8.2 million a year ago.

“This quarter’s financing activity shows that venture capital investors are oriented toward both providing their existing portfolio companies with the capital needed to exploit market opportunities and funding emerging sectors with exceptional growth potential,” said Joseph Muscat, Americas Director of the Ernst & Young Venture Capital Advisory Group. “The $3.22 billion directed toward later rounds, the most capital devoted to this round class since 2001, indicates that investors are not troubled by significant capital deployment into existing portfolio companies with strong prospects, mainly in the traditional health care and IT segments. At the same time, we see investors pursing early stage opportunities in areas of new innovation, most notably alternative energy.”

The growing interest in renewable sources of energy fueled increases in the alternative energy segment which had deal flow triple from a year ago to 15 and investments reach $239.1 million, a 290% increase. The energy category as a whole reached its highest level on record with $354.4 million invested in 25 deals. Of note, two of the largest deals this quarter were alternative energy investments: a $75 million later round for Nanosolar of Palo Alto, Calif., and a $50 million first round for Altra of Los Angeles, Calif.

While overshadowed by the health care data, information technology also posted significant activity in key areas. Overall deal count was steady at 363 and investment was up 2% over a year ago to $3.51 billion. Within the category, the information services segment posted a 76% increase in deal flow to 79 deals, and the capital rose 128% to $637 million. The electronics and computers segment also increased by five deals to 32, and the capital by 54% to $411.7 million invested. The software segment, which had 170 deals and $1.29 billion invested, was mostly steady with a year ago, as was the semiconductor segment, with 36 deals and $530.3 million. The communications and networking segment posted the only significant decline in IT with a 40% drop in capital and 22 fewer deals than the second quarter of 2005. The segment was home to the largest deal of the second quarter, the $130 million later round investment in Current Communications of Rochester, N.Y., which provides broadband over powerlines. Overall, the median size of an IT deal was $7.8 million, the highest IT median deal size since 2001.

In terms of round class, 38% of the quarter’s deals were later-stage rounds, receiving 48% of the capital. Seed and first-round deals made up 33% of the activity and 20% of the investment this quarter. Second round deals represented 22% of the deal flow and 23% of the capital. The $1.55 billion invested in second rounds was the most capital for this round class since 2002. In addition, $575.3 million was invested in 40 recapitalization rounds this quarter, the most ever to this round type.

By region, the San Francisco Bay Area remained the dominant market for venture capital investing, with 207 deals and $2.42 billion invested, increases of 8% and 13%, respectively, over the same quarter of last year. The New England region also posted a significant increase in capital, 22%, to $740.3 million, although deal flow was down by 11 deals. In Southern California, deal flow was steady but the dollars invested were down by 8%. The New York metropolitan area posted strong deal growth of 37%, but the amount invested in this region decreased by almost half from a year ago, to $595.4 million.

via E&Y
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Jon Davis has been hired as the new IT Manager of Pierburg Inc., in
Fountain, Inn. He will be responsible for the day-to-day IT operations at
both Pierburg Inc and KS Bearings Inc. Pierburg makes air flow components
for most major automotive companies. KS Bearings makes bearings and
assemblies for heavy industry and automotive applications. The IT
department is responsible for Network Administration, SAP, EDI, Telecom and
Security. Jon has over 15 years of IT experience, the last 10 in SAP. Jon
has a BS degree in Computer Science from Lander University and is currently
working on a MS degree in IT Management and Project Management. Jon is a
resident of Greenwood and is married with two children.
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Georgia Tech professor Ron Arkin was recently awarded $290K over the next three years from the Department of Defense (DoD) for his proposal titled, An Ethical Basis for Autonomous Systems Deployment. The proposal outlines an approach for both investigating and implementing an ethical basis for the deployment of lethality in autonomous robotic systems.

Arkin will address the ethical dimensions of robotic weaponry and involve the generation of “an artificial conscience” for an intelligent autonomous robotic agent. By applying limits and constraints on a robot’s actions as required by the bounds of existing ethical decision-making protocols (e.g., the Geneva Convention) rules of engagement, and other ethical and military requirements, Arkin’s study will provide a fundamental contribution toward the deployment of intelligent robotic weaponry.

“Given the far-reaching consequences and ethical aspects of this technology,” says Arkin, “the military can judiciously determine the most effective and appropriate usage an intelligent autonomous robotic agent.”

The net effect of Arkin’s research will be: to produce robots that can perhaps act more humanely than humans do under highly stressful conditions, as evidenced by acts such as those committed at Abu Ghraib; to provide warnings in the field to military decision makers about the potential ethical consequences of battlefield and tactical actions regarding the use of this technology; and to ensure that accountability for the use of these systems is engineered into them from the onset.

Arkin has conducted research into intelligent autonomous systems for twenty years, focusing heavily on military applications. He is also recognized as a leader in the robot ethics community, and holds several significant positions of responsibility in relevant professional societies.

via Georgia Tech 

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In May 2006 we began recording the GSATC meetings. This first audio file of that meeting features Scott Millwood of Customer Effective. Scott spoke to the GSATC on the Essential Ingredients for a (Successful) Start Up Microsoft Partner. You can now listen to an mp3 of that event. (LISTEN)

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