GSA Technology Council

Immedion celebrated their grand opening Monday with over two hundred well-wishers, prospects, and customers. Immedion technical staff members conducted tours of the new 15,000 square foot Immedion office and data center located in Greenville’s Global Business Park near the ICAR and Millennium Campuses.

Immedion is Upstate South Carolina’s first dedicated data center and managed services provider offering highly available and scalable solutions for critical business applications. “Our mission is to ensure critical technology applications are running 100% of the time,” stated Immedion Chief Executive Officer Frank Mobley. “Virtually every business today is reliant on technology in some form to successfully operate their business. Email, customer management systems, and other industry specific applications are key components in delivering quality products and services. Immedion assists businesses in ensuring these applications are always online.”

In addition to hosting vital business applications, Immedion’s data center will also be used in addressing disaster recovery, regulatory and other requirements issues associated with expanding technology reliance. Until now, businesses in the Upstate were typically required to look at cities such as Atlanta or Charlotte to find a comparable data center solution.

Immedion’s data center incorporates redundancies in all critical areas to minimize the possibility of a system outage. The redundancies include multiple Internet access providers, standby precision air conditioning units as well as redundant uninterruptible power supplies and a large diesel generator to protect against commercial power failure. Customers have 24 hour access to equipment inside Immedion’s data center via proximity access cards and biometric readers. “We use a layered approach to security to protect against unauthorized access to customer systems while providing 24×7x365 access for authorized users,” said Mobley. In addition to the biometric readers, Immedion deployed additional security features including digital cameras throughout the building, laser motion sensors, and individually locked customer data cabinets and cages.

Upstate based companies Global Vision, North Gate Labs, VirtualConnect, Outdoor Interactive, and Vigilix have signed services agreements with Immedion and have located technology infrastructure in Immeidon’s data center.

“Obviously, we are excited and pleased that these Upstate businesses have chosen to trust their critical technology to Immedion,” stated Immedion’s Chief Operating Officer, Rob Moser. “Upstate businesses have been incredibly welcoming to our presence in the area and are genuinely excited to have our service set available locally.”

Immedion’s facility should also serve as an enticement for new technology firms to locate operations in the Upstate. “New companies do not typically invest in expensive data center build-outs, but technology people like to be close their servers,” said Mobley. “Immedion provides the opportunity for companies to take advantage of the Upstate’s quality of life, yet feel secure their computers are in a world class facility only a few minutes away.”

via Immedion

Software development firm Practical Business Systems announces the addition of three employees to their Greenville operation.

Cindy Yother (pictured) is the company’s new operations manager. Having spent many years managing scheduling, staffing, and payroll in the nonprofit and entertainment industries, Ms. Yother’s responsibilities at Practical Business Systems will include both account and project management.

Aubrey Curtis and John Ferrer join PBS as website developers. Recently returned from Los Angeles, where their creativity was focused on the filmmaking industry, Curtis and Ferrer will be responsible for the design of both e-commerce and web presence sites.

via Practical Business Systems

Acumen I.T has hired Keith Storm as Web Applications Developer. In addition to developing and customizing Web software applications, Storm will serve as the company’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist.

Prior to joining Acumen, Storm served as an e-commerce Software Developer for Practical Business Systems where he was responsible for database administration, Java programming, and Web development. He also led the SEO initiatives for the company. His experience also includes software testing for Website Pipeline.

Storm received his A.A.S in Computer Information Science from ECPI College of Technology where he majored in Information Technology and Web Development.

Want to see the LovemypetsGPS Pet Safety Collar attached to a real live pet? Your chance is coming up at “Paws at the Falls” on Saturday, November 3rd, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

More about the event is at our previous post.

via LoveMyPetsGPS

Harmony Information Systems, Inc. (Harmony), provider of software solutions for the health and human services (HHS) sector, and Synergy Software Technologies, Inc. (Synergy), a firm serving the aging market, today announce the merger of their companies. The combined entity, which will operate under the Harmony name, gains the expanded capability to offer HHS software solutions with both on-demand and on-premise models. These solutions are deployed by tens of thousands of end users and support millions of clients within federal, state, tribal and local agencies, as well as small and large private non-profit organizations.

The new Harmony combines entities with two decades of experience that have built significant customer bases by providing superior solutions that, unlike their competitors, can be in production after only months versus years. Harmony’s on-demand model is the most cost-effective software solution in HHS today and enables organizations with smaller budgets, such as the more than 250,000 non-profit service providers throughout the U.S., the ability to leverage the technologies utilized by much larger state and federal customers. The merged entity is the leading provider of HHS software and consulting services in the U.S., with customers in 43 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada.

-> Harmony will maintain its headquarters in Reston, Virginia under the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer and founder, Tonya J. Harmon. Synergy’s founders, Stan Eames and Dave Dapkiewicz, will continue in senior leadership roles based in Burlington, Vermont and will provide significant customer, product and market expertise.

-> Harmony will grow its team by more than 50% over the next 12 months, to address new opportunities as a result of the combined solutions and to continue to provide world-class products and services for which the merged entities have become known. Harmony and Synergy customers will continue to be served by the same dedicated professionals with which they currently work.

via Harmony

Nearly 500 teachers, school administrators and education policymakers from more than 50 countries are gathered in Helsinki, Finland, this week for the third-annual worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (ITF) and School of the Future (SOF) World Summit, two global events hosted by Microsoft Corp. Both events are focused on the future of education and will feature discussions and demonstrations about how technology can help address some of the challenges educators around the world are facing.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO )

The ITF and SOF World Summit are both part of Microsoft Partners in Learning, an initiative to help teachers and administrators give students the skills they need to succeed. Thus far, more than 73 million students and more than 3.6 million teachers in 101 countries have been influenced through Partners in Learning.

To support these efforts, the ITF recognizes and rewards innovative teachers who practice the elements of 21st century learning and incorporate the creative use of technology in their classrooms. The SOF World Summit provides educators and policymakers with a platform to exchange ideas and new approaches to K-12 learning and education reform, and thereby better equip students around the world to become the business and technology leaders of tomorrow.

“Microsoft is committed to providing educators with the tools and support they need because it’s central to our mission of helping people realize their potential, and Partners in Learning is one way we’re delivering on that commitment,” said Ralph Young, vice president of the Worldwide Public Sector at Microsoft. “As educators strive to transform today’s students into tomorrow’s informed global citizens, private industry has a responsibility to provide assistance. The worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum helps celebrate a global community of teachers who are passionate about adopting new learning methods in the classroom.”

Keeping Innovative Teachers Connected

Partners in Learning is grounded in the belief that education is the universal pathway to prosperity and technology is a catalyst for educational reform. With that in mind, Innovative Teachers Forums are held regionally, enabling teachers to meet and collaborate with colleagues from different parts of the world, access breakthrough content developed by their peers, and propel their technology expertise to the next level. Once a year, Microsoft also hosts the worldwide ITF, bringing together the most innovative teachers chosen from the regional events, and giving them a chance to share best practices and showcase the most effective and innovative use of technology in the classroom at an end-of-event awards ceremony.

These forums complement another Partners in Learning program — the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Network — which helps create global classrooms via a virtual community of more than 500,000 teachers from around the world who are connecting and learning from one another.

Building the School of the Future

While the ITF is focused on fostering and recognizing individual excellence in teachers, the SOF World Summit will provide more than 350 education leaders from 50 countries with a platform to exchange ideas and new approaches to K-12 learning at a schoolwide level. Summit attendees will learn from known researchers and practitioners, connect with schools that share common goals, and engage in lively debate about issues related to education and technology in learning.

“The School of the Future World Summit fosters a dynamic setting for educators and policymakers to engage in energizing discussions with their colleagues, and initiates creative thinking about sustainable change in educational systems around the world,” said Bruce Dixon, chairman of the worldwide Partners in Learning Advisory Board and a keynote speaker at the SOF World Summit. “These events in Finland are helping educators around the world collaborate on innovative learning experiences, and incorporate technology into the learning process to address the challenges of the 21st century.”

As part of its overall School of the Future efforts, Microsoft’s Innovative Schools program is helping 12 pilot schools around the world by providing technology expertise and experiential knowledge that any school — or any system — can use to prepare children for success in the 21st century. Representatives from those pilot schools are also in Finland to listen, learn and continue the process of holistic school reform.

KEMET Corporation has reported that net sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, were $197.1 million which is an 18.4% increase over the same quarter last year and 7.7% higher than the prior quarter. Net income before special charges was $10.6 million, or $0.13 per share, compared to $9.7 million, or $0.12 per share, last quarter and $ 9.6 million, or $0.11 per share, for the same quarter last year. On a U.S. GAAP basis, net income was $4.0 million, or $0.05 per share, for the current quarter compared to net income of $7.0 million for the prior quarter and net income of $0.8 million for the same quarter last year.

“We are pleased with the performance for the quarter as we increased both top and bottom line results,” stated Per Loof, Chief Executive Officer. “Revenue increased sequentially based on strength in Asia and solid results in our new Film and Electrolytic Business Group. Both shipments and bookings gained momentum late in the quarter, and this trend is continuing into the December quarter. End market demand appears to be healthy, as we see strengthening in most segments, particularly in Asia, and continued stability in others. Working capital improved in the quarter as we reduced inventories and increased our cash balance. Overall, we are pleased with the results and the positive market indicators we currently see.”

“As noted, we continue to be pleased with the performance of the Film and Electrolytic Business Group. Net sales for this group during the quarter were $29.9 million and operating income increased to over 6.8% of sales. Earlier this month, this group was enhanced with the successful completion of the acquisition of Arcotronics Italia S.p.A. The combination of Arcotronics with the previously acquired Evox Rifa Group has provided us the foundation for a market-leading film and paper capacitor business which positions KEMET as a premier capacitance solution provider.”

Palmetto GBA, a leading provider of technical and administrative services for the federal government, announced today it has been selected as a subcontractor as part of a contract awarded by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for information technology modernization.

Palmetto GBA is part of a team led by prime contractor Computer Sciences Corp. for the unrestricted portions of CMS’ Enterprise System Development (ESD) contract, and part of a team led by prime contractor Quality Software Services Inc. for the portions of the contract reserved for small businesses. Palmetto GBA will provide technical and analytical services to both contractors.

CMS awarded the ESD contract to 16 prime contractors through the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracting vehicle, making those companies eligible to compete for work worth up to $4 billion over the next 10 years.

“Palmetto GBA has served the Medicare program as a contractor since inception of the Medicare program in 1965, and we have worked together with CMS to implement many technological innovations,” Palmetto GBA President Bruce Hughes said. “We look forward to expanding our role and helping CMS modernize its IT systems in anticipation of a dramatic increase in the number of Medicare beneficiaries over the next couple of decades.”

Under the ESD contract, CMS will award work to the contractors to acquire IT products and services, including software development and maintenance, systems maintenance, systems integration, and migration from legacy systems. The scope of work includes planning, design, development, testing, implementation, operations coordination and maintenance.

Overall goals of the modernization project include enhancing service to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and providers, improving health care quality and lowering costs.

Based in Columbia, S.C., Palmetto GBA is a wholly owned subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Palmetto GBA’s principal business is providing administrative services for the Medicare health benefit program. Palmetto GBA and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Via Palmetto GBA

The Beaufort County School District is implementing a new network foundation that will further enable the district’s e-learning initiatives, touching areas of teacher training for technology applications, and information delivered by streaming video. The Beaufort County School District recently selected Extreme Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXTR) and technology integrator Converged Networks, LLC for a refreshed network infrastructure to increase speed and reliability.

The Beaufort County School District, serving the greater Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head, S.C. area, consists of almost 20,000 students, 28 schools and multiple district office sites. The district is looking to support its growing student population with advanced e-learning applications that help save teachers’ time, keep students more focused on learning, and make for a richer educational experience.

New network infrastructure from Extreme Networks(R) promotes the use of leading edge education tools such as streaming IP video technology that lends to a dynamic learning environment. The resilient network assists with the support of distance learning and the use of Smart Boards, an interactive teaching and presentation tool that connects to the Internet. It also supports participation in the statewide Virtual High School project, and helps underpin the technical training of the Beaufort County School District’s staff.

“We are supporting growth of the student population and consistently embracing innovative technologies that improve the education experience,” said John C. Williams, Assistant Superintendent for Information Services for the Beaufort County School District. “Our network is like an electronic fuel injection system in a car. Our students and staff don’t need to know how it works — we just need to know that it’s there and that it works reliably. We get this experience from the network designed and provided by Extreme Networks and Converged Networks.”

The use of “Smart Boards” in the classrooms boosts the learning experience by providing interactive features such as streaming videos, web pages, and other dynamic content that combine to present the classroom curriculum in compelling and effective ways. The network makes this integration of video and html content simple, stable and predictable.

By connecting with South Carolina’s Virtual High School Project, the Beaufort County School District will promote shared learning experiences for highly diverse subject matter, offerings that were previously not possible because of distance limitations and demand from students in remote areas. Virtual schools utilize streaming video technology to closely mirror classroom curricula, allowing students to communicate with instructors online.

For instance, there may be a few students who want to learn to speak Japanese, or are interested in a special physics or engineering curriculum. It isn’t economically feasible for the school district to hire such specialized teachers for only a handful of students — but when there are handfuls at several schools, one teacher can utilize the new network infrastructure and teach all the students through a virtual class.

Beaufort County Schools bought and installed 2,800 new computers in the schools last summer as part of a four-year life-cycle replacement plan endorsed and funded by the Board of Education. By schedule, more new computers are scheduled to arrive next spring to improve the ratio of computers to students, and to provide better access to technology to students and staff.

“Our school board has really stepped up to the plate when it comes to technology,” Williams said. “They didn’t hesitate when we said we needed to upgrade to a fiber WAN, and after we made a strong business case for the life- cycle replacement plan for classroom computers, they supported that as well. In today’s classroom, and in today’s world, technology is one key to success.”

Additionally, Beaufort County School District is supporting two new Technical Training Centers to provide teachers with convenient ways to learn the latest computer applications and teaching tools. The new Technical Training centers are supported by the new high-bandwidth Ethernet connectivity.

Technology consultation and technology integration is provided by Converged Networks — a South Carolina-based technology integrator with deep experience designing, building, and maintaining full converged solutions for K-12 school districts and commercial businesses. The relationship between Converged Networks and Extreme Networks offers customers in a differentiated network — one that can deliver substantial value to its customers.

The underlying network foundation for the Beaufort County School District is best when it goes unnoticed, with reliability, resiliency and high bandwidth to offer high performance delivery of Internet, data and streaming video. Extreme Networks products can provide this experience with its versatile Summit(R) X450 fixed switching solution, which is complemented by the modular ExtremeXOS(TM) operating system. Summit switches on the local area network (LAN) support connectivity between recently added fiber optic wide area network (WAN) connections at Beaufort County School District, reducing performance and speed limitations between separate sites.

“Our work with the Beaufort County School District signifies how educational applications can really take life for students with the right network solution, integration expertise and a commitment to innovation,” said Scott Lucas, senior director of solutions marketing for Extreme Networks. “By combining a strong network design with products that enable a responsive and consistent network, we can deliver tremendous value to the students of Beaufort County.”

“The Beaufort County School District now has a solid network foundation with the flexibility to deploy leading-edge tools and applications on their own terms,” said Robert Thorn, Converged Networks. “It’s our job at Converged Networks to design networks for maximum efficiency, resiliency and up-time, and to create value for South Carolina tax payers to continue to support the use of technology in K-12 learning environments for our children.”

NuVox Communications has announced the introduction of BizPac, a voice and DSL package aimed at growing businesses. This product provides voice and Internet services in a convenient, customized bundle.

“Today, more than ever before, growing businesses require quality communications services that give them a true advantage,” said Chris Benyo, EVP of Sales and Marketing for NuVox. “At NuVox we believe advanced and cost- effective communications are key to enabling small business growth.”

BizPac offers a variety of features to address the individual needs of any growing business. Businesses can select from a range of Internet options, voice lines, and email addresses to fit their professional needs. BizPac is available today in Georgia and Florida.