GSA Technology Council

With a snappy new website as the centerpiece, Michelin has created a new North American marketing campaign that demonstrates the company’s evolution as a tire manufacturer as well as its commitment to society, the environment and protecting people on the road. Michelin’s “A Better Way Forward” slogan will come to life in this multi-tier media campaign across television, radio, print and online media.

The 108 year-old Michelin Man is front and center in the new campaign; but he has evolved, becoming a modern, socially responsible icon – similar to the way Michelin, as a company, has evolved to outfit vehicles and meet the changing needs of consumers while maintaining its position as the leader in tire innovation and technology for over a century. For example, a 1905 advertisement depicts the Michelin Man with cigar to lips in a French wrestling-style leopard loincloth, air-kicking his way through town. Now, a smoke-free, slimmed-down Michelin Man enhances roads and parks as alternatives to sending end-of-life tires to landfills. He is shown in the new TV commercial installing recycled rubber material in a children’s playground to communicate the company’s commitment to finding alternative uses for end-of-life tires.

Using state-of-the-art Flash technology, the Web site features detailed images and videos to guide visitors through important information including driving safety tips and new tire innovations. www.michelinman.com/forward.

AT&T Inc. has announced a three-year $3 million contract with Netherlands-based Hagemeyer for increased capacity in AT&T network services and implementation of Wide Area Network (WAN) services at the company’s North American headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina. AT&T’s service upgrades and expansion for Hagemeyer in North America will extend to 137 sites across the U.S. and include implementation of Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony at 41 locations.

AT&T is providing Hagemeyer with an extensive upgrade in Class of Service data transport speeds and capacity, laying the foundation for a planned Voice over IP (VoIP) rollout in the coming years. Hagemeyer’s core business has long been the distribution of diverse manufactured products, including electrical materials, safety products and other maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products, to electrical contractors in the construction and installation businesses, as well as to industrial users. In addition, the company offers a variety of value-added services, and these services require superior network capacity and coordination to ensure effective communication among associates, customers and supplier partners.

“In addition to being a one-source distributor of thousands of quality products, Hagemeyer is known for its successful integrated sourcing services, storeroom management, automatic restocking programs and online ordering,” said Doug Lauer, Hagemeyer North America chief information officer. “The solution that AT&T offered allows us to significantly reduce operating costs and improve service levels by being able to effectively manage the varying degrees of network needs at each of our locations. Additionally, the MPLS solution allows us to fully take advantage of our network services by seamlessly introducing new applications such as VoIP. AT&T provides the capacity and the backbone that Hagemeyer’s North American time-sensitive business model can depend on.”

About Hagemeyer North America

Hagemeyer North America, Inc. ( http://www.hagemeyerna.com/ ) is a distributor of products and services focusing on business-to-business markets in electrical materials, safety products, and industrial products and services throughout North America. Hagemeyer North America has annual revenues of $1.5 billion, employs approximately 4200 associates, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hagemeyer N.V. ( http://www.hagemeyer.com/ ). Headquartered in the Netherlands, Hagemeyer N.V. is a value-added global distributor of products and services focusing on business-to-business markets in electrical materials, safety products, and industrial products and services.

via AT&T
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Jimmy Wales, creator and co-founder of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.org, will speak in Twichell Auditorium at Converse College April 10 at 7 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

Wales will discuss the world of peer-reviewed open content Internet media and the founding of Wikipedia. The event is an offering of the Friends of the Spartanburg County Public Libraries Dennis L. Bruce Author Series, and is sponsored by Spartanburg County Public Libraries and Converse.

Launched in 2001, Wikipedia currently ranks among the top ten most-visited Web sites worldwide. Today, Wikipedia has nearly 5 million articles in many languages, including more than 1.3 million in the English-language version. There are 229 language editions of Wikipedia.

Despite its growth and popularity, critics have questioned Wikipedia’s reliability and accuracy because anyone can edit and upload content. While Wikipedia’s supporters often portray the site as a brave new world in which scholars can rub elbows with the general public, doubters say Wikipedia devalues the notion of expertise itself.

In the current issue of TIME magazine, Wales says in response to a question about growing concerns of the validity of Wikipedia entries that “The key is to look at the quality of articles. The quality of Wikipedia today compared with three years ago is a dramatic improvement. But people do need to be aware of how it is created and edited so they can treat it with the appropriate caution. The site is a wonderful starting point for research. But it’s only a starting point because there’s always a chance that there’s something wrong, and you should check your sources.”

In 2006, TIME magazine named the 40-year-old Wales as one of America’s 100 most influential people. The former options trader is the founder and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit corporation that operates the Wikipedia website and several other wiki projects. Wales is also founder of the for-profit company Wikia, Inc.

Satellite television provider DIRECTV is now offering local HD programming to customers in the Greenville, S.C. DMA. The following local broadcast networks are available in HD: WLOS/ABC, WSPA/CBS, WHNS/FOX and WYFF/NBC. With the addition of Greenville, S.C., DIRECTV now offers local HD broadcast channels in 53 cities, representing more than 67 percent of U.S. TV households.
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Internet marketing firm, TruePresence, has announced the opening of a new office in the upstate owned by Operations Executive Edward MacMillan.

TruePresence was created specifically to meet the growing demand for effective and measurable Internet marketing programs to maximize return on investment. Key services include web design and development, search engine marketing, email marketing, online advertising, and hosting and support.

Edward MacMillan brings extensive operations experience to the role, having most recently served as VP – Customer Operations for NuVox Communications.

With a network of local offices nationwide, TruePresence works with businesses in retail, manufacturing, professional and home services, as well as consumer goods. TruePresence programs offer the precision targeting of advertising messages while tracking results in real time.

Research firm ZenithOptimedia recently predicted that Internet ad spending will grow 28 percent in 2007 from 2006 levels, far outpacing growth in other channels. Online ad spending is expected to hit $24.5 in 2007 and $31.3 billion in 2008.

ProActive Technology – a Greenville, SC-based custom software development company – has been selected as an information technology resource partner by SC Launch!. The SC Launch! Resource Partner Program is designed to provide support for start-up companies in the state by linking them with a network of experts from various areas of business development and management.

“We are behind the SC Launch! program one-hundred percent. There is no doubt that knowledge-based companies are vital to South Carolina’s economic growth,” commented Bradley J. Smith, president of ProActive Technology. “This program offers access to the support that emerging companies need in order to accelerate their ability to create jobs and contribute to South Carolina’s growth.”

As an IT partner and provider of software design and development services, ProActive Technology will act as a supportive technical resource to emerging growth companies participating in the SC Launch! Program. These companies can tap into ProActive’s high-level technical expertise and resources in validating, designing or delivering a software product or an application supporting a process. “Having been through the entrepreneurial process ourselves, we are well aware of the trials and tribulations one will experience in starting a business, and we can bring this insight backed by our technical resources to assist start-up companies in the state,” Smith added.

SC Launch! Is a collaborative effort between the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA), Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, and the Medical University of South Carolina to accelerate entrepreneurial growth of technology start-up companies in the state by delivering tools for success, creating high-paying jobs and building equity in the future for all South Carolina.

via ProActive
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Anne Kuhns, Senior Manager, IT Risk Management, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, has been named the winner of the Information Security Executive (ISE) of the Year Southeast Award 2007. Ms. Kuhns was selected by the judges for her collaborative, comprehensive and passionate approach to leading security efforts across a large and diverse employee base. She and eighteen other nominees from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee were honored at a gala awards ceremony held during the Executive Alliance Leadership Summit Featuring the ISE Southeast Awards. The two-day event was held at the Sheraton Atlanta Downtown Hotel and drew information security executives from across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Tony Spinelli, Chief Security & Compliance Officer for Equifax, was named the ISE Southeast People’s Choice Award winner. Selected through an online community balloting process, Mr. Spinelli was selected by his peers representing the information security industry throughout the Southeast region.

Five ISE Finalists, including Ms. Kuhns and Mr. Spinelli, were showcased during the evening event. The other finalists are Christopher Leach, Senior Vice President of IT Risk Management and Chief Information Security Officer, First Horizon National Corporation; Steve Scott, Senior Vice President and Director, Corporate Information Security, Wachovia Corporation; and Aurobindo “Robin” Sundaram, Vice President of Information Security, ChoicePoint, Inc.

Bowater Incorporated has announced that it expects first quarter operating income to be $15 to $20 million below fourth quarter levels, excluding any gains from asset sales and other non-recurring items. In the first quarter, the company has experienced significant recycled fiber cost pressures, with the cost for old newsprint increasing by approximately 35% since December. In light of weak newsprint demand in North America, which has declined by 12% year-to-date compared to 2006, the company has curtailed production of newsprint and specialty papers during the quarter at its Gatineau, Quebec mill and selected other machines that are heavily dependent upon recycled fiber. In addition, lumber demand continues to be weak with low pricing through the first quarter.

“We are extremely disappointed by our anticipated first quarter financial performance,” said David J. Paterson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “While North American newsprint demand and lumber pricing continues to be weak, we will remain strictly focused on containing controllable costs and matching our production to demand. That said, our pulp business is performing well with strong pricing across all grades.”

via Bowater
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UCI Medical Affiliates, Inc. is pleased to welcome Nancy Wilkes as Vice President of Practice Management Technology. Wilkes will be responsible for billing, information systems and payer relations at UCI.

Dr. Michael Stout, President and Chief Executive Officer of UCI Medical Affiliates, Inc., said, “Our goal was to find a leader in the industry-an experienced and capable professional. That is just what we received when Nancy joined our team. Her expertise with our CPM and eEDI software will allow us to achieve even greater levels of productivity and efficiency for our patients.”

The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and SC Launch! introduce InnovationLink, today. InnovationLink is an online portal that allows South Carolina universities and colleges to tap into real-world research projects in order to assist government entities and private enterprise.

“Through this portal, SC Launch! is supporting an environment that contributes to the Knowledge Economy by allowing students and professors to engage in meaningful research programs to advance government and business initiatives,” SCRA® CEO and acting president of SC Launch! Bill Mahoney said.

Benefits of the InnovationLink program for South Carolina students include a source of ideas for academic research and projects; a real-world experience for career development, and a source of potential employment after graduation. The program benefits teachers and professors by reducing the burden of identifying student research projects. It also adds another method for them to stay current with business and industry. InnovationLink helps South Carolina retain a knowledge-based workforce, brings a potential entrepreneurial pipeline and implements the recommendations made in state-level economic plans. The portal, at http://InnovationLink.sclaunch.org, currently houses four initial projects submitted by SPAWAR. Universities may enroll in the program to work on research projects that address specific needs. Officials at SC Launch! anticipate additional research postings by both government entities and private enterprise.

“InnovationLink will become a repository of potential projects that will deliver short term and long term results for those involved,” Mahoney said. “This tool will promote South Carolina’s efforts to create and retain a knowledge-based workforce that is research rich and skilled in devising scientific solutions.”

SPAWAR officials agree that the program will promote collaboration that has tangible benefits. “InnovationLink is an important step in creating a solid collaboration environment between SPAWAR Charleston and the state universities and colleges. The end result is that students work on real-world challenges that enable our soldiers and sailors to effectively and safely accomplish their missions,” James Ward, Executive Director, SPAWAR Systems Center – Charleston said.

“InnovationLink is an integral part of the SC Launch! mandate to promote cooperative research efforts between the private sector and South Carolina universities and colleges. It will also strengthen the partnership between higher education and business and industry,” Mahoney said.