GSA Technology Council

In September, employment of IT workers was essentially unchanged from the previous month. According to the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), IT employment stood at 3,667,100, up 4.2% from September 2005.

“With employment of IT professionals within some key non-IT sectors slowing, overall IT employment was flat in September,” said Mark Roberts, NACCB CEO. Demand for IT professionals remained strong within IT dominated sectors including among ISPs, search portal and data processing companies as well as the non-IT sectors of financial services and health care.

via NACCB

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In September, employment of IT workers was essentially unchanged from the previous month. According to the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), IT employment stood at 3,667,100, up 4.2% from September 2005.

“With employment of IT professionals within some key non-IT sectors slowing, overall IT employment was flat in September,” said Mark Roberts, NACCB CEO. Demand for IT professionals remained strong within IT dominated sectors including among ISPs, search portal and data processing companies as well as the non-IT sectors of financial services and health care.

via NACCB

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The Upstate Women In Technology have changed dates!  They now meet on the 4th Thursday of the month, except when it conflicts with holidays as in November and December of this year. 

Remaining meetings for 2006:

    * October 26, 2006

    * November 9, 2006 (this is a change due to the holiday)

    * December 14, 2006 (this is a change due to the holiday)

Keep up with UWIT at www.gsatc.org/uwit.

Add meeting to your calendar:

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Practical Business Systems of Greenville, SC, has hired Kelly Rush of Duncan, SC, as Internet Marketing Specialist. Kelly is a recent USC-Upstate graduate, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications.

Rush will work closely with clients to enhance their Internet presence and website relevancy by integrating Public Relations and Marketing into their websites. These efforts include search engine optimization, search engine marketing, content marketing, blogging, streaming video, and other technologies as they evolve. Rush will also focus on researching and analyzing new trends with search engines to help clients maximize their Internet marketing efforts.

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Bob Geolas

Bob Geolas, Executive Director of CU-ICAR, Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research, spoke to the October GSATC meeting. He gave an overview of the programs supported at the new campus and an update on how those projects and programs are progressing. He spoke about the principles driving the development of CU-ICAR and answered questions from the audience.

Selected Quotes: 

“Many of you are the Creative Class”

“If we’re going to be globally competitive, we need to to recognize that the brain power can go anywhere.  If we are going to keep them here. If we are going to bring them here, our communities have to be more exciting.  We are designing CU-ICAR in that respect.”

“BMW Information Technology Center is BMW’s only Research and Development Center outside of Munich, Germany. ”

Geolas explained that subsequent to the events of 9/11/2001, the Greenville BMW facilty is essentially their one and only hotsite for global operations.

“If something happens, all the computing and networking necessary to keep BMW running worldwide, 24 hours a day shifts to this facility.”

His slides are available here.  We also have additional photos from the meeting. Audio will soon be posted online via our podcast.

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Monster Worldwide, Inc. today announced that founder Andrew J. McKelvey, 71, has resigned as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. McKelvey will remain on the Company’s Board of Directors and has been elected Chairman Emeritus. The Company’s Board of Directors has promoted William M. Pastore, 58, to the position of Chief Executive Officer and appointed him to the Board of Directors effective immediately.

Mr. Pastore joined Monster Worldwide as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in October of 2002 and was promoted to President and COO in February 2006. In these roles, he has directed all of the Company’s operations, overseeing strategic planning and tactical execution in North America, Europe and Asia.

Monster Worldwide stated that the Board of Directors has established an Executive Committee of independent Board members, consisting of Sal Iannuzzi, Chairman of the Committee, John Gaulding and Ron Kramer. The Company said that the Board of Directors believes this structure will allow Monster Worldwide to further benefit from the three independent Board members’ business insight and corporate governance experience.

“It is certainly not easy to leave my daily responsibilities at the Company I have worked for during the past 39 years,” said Mr. McKelvey. “At this stage in my life, I simply can no longer dedicate the number of hours required by Monster’s rapid global growth and the additional demands of time associated with the ongoing historical stock option grant review. I believe that these managerial changes will assist the Company in addressing the challenges that it faces today. Monster’s continued growth and success have always been, and remain, my number one priority.”

via Monster
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Google Inc. has announced that it has agreed to acquire the YouTube video sharing service, for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Following the acquisition, YouTube will operate independently.

The acquisition combines one of the largest and fastest growing online video entertainment communities with Google’s expertise in organizing information and creating new models for advertising on the Internet. The combined companies will focus on providing a better, more comprehensive experience for users interested in uploading, watching and sharing videos, and will offer new opportunities for professional content owners to distribute their work to reach a vast new audience.

“The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” said Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google. “Our companies share similar values; we both always put our users first and are committed to innovating to improve their experience. Together, we are natural partners to offer a compelling media entertainment service to users, content owners and advertisers.”

“Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media, creating a new clip culture. By joining forces with Google, we can benefit from its global reach and technology leadership to deliver a more comprehensive entertainment experience for our users and to create new opportunities for our partners,” said Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-Founder of YouTube. “I’m confident that with this partnership we’ll have the flexibility and resources needed to pursue our goal of building the next-generation platform for serving media worldwide.”

When the acquisition is complete, YouTube will retain its distinct brand identity, strengthening and complementing Google’s own fast-growing video business. YouTube will continue to be based in San Bruno, CA, and all YouTube employees will remain with the company. With Google’s technology, advertiser relationships and global reach, YouTube will continue to build on its success as one of the world’s most popular services for video entertainment.

The number of Google shares to be issued in the transaction will be determined based on the 30-day average closing price two trading days prior to the completion of the acquisition. Both companies have approved the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2006.

via Google
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The Greenville Area Development Corporation announced today that Ford Motor Credit Company will expand its operations in Mauldin. Currently located in the Brookfield Office Park and employing over 350 employees, Ford Motor Credit will occupy nearly 28,000 additional square feet adjoining its current office to accommodate more than 200 additional employees.

Besides the loan servicing that is currently handled at the Mauldin center, Ford Motor Credit’s expansion will focus on new business operations that will manage originations, dealer credit and wholesale operations. Ford Motor Credit is one of the world’s largest automotive finance companies and has supported the sale of Ford products since 1959.

Agencies instrumental in supporting Ford Motor Credit’s expansion include the Center for Accelerated Technology Training (SC’s Technical Workforce Development Agency), Greenville Technical College, Greenville County’s Workforce Investment Board and the SC Department of Commerce.

“We appreciate the support we received in the Greenville area as we considered this expansion,” said John Strang, infrastructure manager, Ford Motor Credit. “We look forward to welcoming more employees to our Greenville business center and to continuing the productive relationships we have enjoyed in Greenville County.”

“Today’s announcement is another significant step forward in our efforts to create jobs and raise income levels for South Carolinians,” said Gov. Mark Sanford. “With 125,000 more people working in this state than there were in 2003, we remain committed to continue growing our economy through bettering the soil conditions for business creation in our state.”

“Ford Motor Credit’s decision to increase its South Carolina presence with this expansion is another positive example of how Commerce is working with the private sector, local economic developers and elected officials to recruit high paying jobs for South Carolina,” said Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor.

“200 new great paying jobs are welcome news,” said Butch Kirven, Greenville County Council Chairman. “We appreciate Ford Motor Credit’s commitment to the Greenville area.”

“Ford Motor Credit has been a wonderful employer and great corporate citizen for Mauldin,” said R. C. Jones, Mayor of the City of Mauldin. “We are very excited by their continued growth.”

“Ford Motor Credit has found local employees to be very dedicated,” said Ray Lattimore, GADC Chairman. “I am sure that is why they are creating many of their jobs in Mauldin versus one of their other service centers.”

The Greenville Area Development Corporation is a non-profit organization established by Greenville County Council to promote and enhance the economic growth and development of Greenville County.

via GADC
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Bob Geolas joined the International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) at Clemson University in April 2004. As director, Geolas is responsible for overall leadership and management of the Clemson auto research campus. He recruits additional partners from the automotive and motorsports industries and coordinates the private and public sectors activities in an effort to create an environment where world-class education, research and business activities will flourish.

An Overview and Update of the Clemson University ICAR Project

The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) is helping make the southeastern United States an economic cluster of innovation for the automotive and motor sports industry. The project has generated more than $115 million in private and public support, and many of the world�s top corporations � including BMW, IBM, Michelin, Microsoft, SAE and Timken � have signed on as corporate partners. Clemson and its partners are joining forces to deliver innovation and research to help the automotive industry address its most pressing challenges as it increasingly focuses on electronics and software development. Get an update straight from the Executive Director of CU-ICAR and learn how this project is playing a significant role in the future of the upstate tech community.

GSATC Learning Lunch

Topic: CU-ICAR Update

Featured: Bob Geolas

Date: Wednesday, October 11, 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 Online

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

Now Hear This

The GSATC records its presentations and has them available for online listening or we can podcast them to you your portable listening device. Learn more by following the link below.

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Bob Geolas

Executive Director Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research

Bob Geolas joined the International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) at Clemson University in April 2004. As director, Geolas is responsible for overall leadership and management of the Clemson auto research campus. He recruits additional partners from the automotive and motorsports industries and coordinates the private and public sectors activities in an effort to create an environment where world-class education, research and business activities will flourish.

A graduate of North Carolina State University, Geolas has worked as executive assistant to the North Carolina secretary of transportation and as legislative liason for the N.C. speaker of the house. He has served on the Commission for a Competitive North Carolina, the N.C. Governor’s Task Force for Regionalism and the N.C. Governor’s Policy Council. Geolas served as top manager at the 1,334-acre Centennial Campus at North Carolina State University from 2000 until he joined CU-ICAR. In his N.C. State position, Geolas provided direct oversight for Centennial Campus and Centennial Biomedical Campus.

Bob spoke at the October 2006 GSATC Learning Lunch.

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