GSA Technology Council

The Clemson Small Business Development Center is presenting a FREE tax workshop for prospective and new small business owners. The workshop will be held from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 in Room #2 of the Greenville Technical College Admissions Office (McAlister Square), at 225 South Pleasantburg Drive in Greenville. To reserve a seat, please call the SBDC at 864. 370.1545.

The Small Business Tax Workshop contains general information about different types of business organizations, record keeping requirements and business tax returns. This workshop is a taxpayer education program sponsored by the Clemson Small Business Development Center, the SC Business Initiative (formerly SC Women’s Business Center), the IRS, South Carolina Enrolled Agents and the SC Department of Revenue. It is directed toward the small businessperson who is starting a business or has recently started a small business in the service, retail or manufacturing area.

The morning session will cover federal tax requirements for small businesses and the afternoon session will cover state tax and employment security obligations. A packet of very helpful publications is given to each participant.

To register for the workshop or for more information, contact the Small Business Development Center via e-mail: sbostic@clemson.edu or by telephone: 864.370.1545.

Northstar Creative, based in downtown Greenville, announces the launch of a website for Carolina Safety Consultants at www.csc-llc.net. Carolina Safety Consultants helps its clients provide a safer workplace and an even more competitive position in their industry. Northstar Creative developed an informative site that will help CSC in their presentations to potential clients.

“We enjoyed working with Carolina Safety Consultants,” says Laura MacPherson, president of Northstar Creative. “They are dedicated to safety and make it an enjoyable exercise for their clients—they have fun with it.”

via: Northstar Creative

Customer Effective Inc., a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and value-added reseller of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, has been named 2009 Microsoft Dynamics Financial Services Partner of the Year, chosen from a field of nearly 2,000 entrants worldwide. The award recognizes partners who have exhibited excellence in providing innovative and unique solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics to customers in the financial services industry. Customer Effective has demonstrated industry knowledge and expertise, as well as consistent, high-quality, predictable service to Microsoft Dynamics customers.

“We are very pleased with Microsoft’s recognition of our success in delivering CRM solutions to the unique and demanding requirements of financial services companies,” said Scott Millwood, President of Customer Effective. “I’m really proud of everyone in our company for the hard work they have put into building our customer base and for building superb solutions in complex financial services vertical markets over the past six years. It’s great for the team to see their hard work result in this prestigious award. I’m equally pleased with Microsoft’s continued guidance and support in helping us grow to become the recognized leader in financial services.”

Customer Effective has completed over 300 projects with 170 customers and partners since the company was founded in 2003 to focus exclusively on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The company’s customers include Bank of America, FBR Capital Markets, First Reserve, Markel Corporation, MAG Mutual Insurance Company, Taylor, Bean and Whitaker, Valmark Securities and CapTrust Financial Advisors. Customer Effective’s success in financial services is based upon deep business process knowledge and delivery of Microsoft Dynamics CRM with “XRM” Accelerators specifically configured to address the sophisticated relational models and processes of financial services micro-verticals.

“Microsoft is proud to recognize Customer Effective as the Microsoft Dynamics Financial Services Partner of the Year,” said David Smith, General Manager, U.S. Microsoft Dynamics Partners, Microsoft Corp. “Customer Effective’s innovative solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM have helped their financial services customers achieve their business goals and succeed. Their Capital Effective CRM solution delivers business-class solutions to financial professionals across insurance, banking, and capital markets.”

via: Customer Effective

Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a web site from scratch?

Patterned after a community building effort for a home or a playground, PumpUpTheSite is a day-long community effort to build a better web site for a non-profit organization that can’t afford a much-needed refresh. This time, on July 11, the Greenville Jaycees will get a web site that helps the Jaycees better communicate its goal of building business leaders and supports fundraising efforts.

Aspiring web site builders, established web site professionals, media professionals and the generally curious are invited. Greenville-area web designers, programmers and consultants will gather on Saturday, July 11, to sit down at the OrangeCoat office in Greenville. Their goal is to complete all graphic design, copy and programming necessary to launch the web site at the end of the day.

PumpUpTheSite is looking for people with any level of skill who are willing to help build the site. The participants don’t like to work alone, however, so the general public is invited to give feedback and support as the site is being built.

There will be plenty of seats for participants and spectators alike, and food will be provided by our sponsors. Simply register (for free) at www.pumpupthesite.com.This event is limited to the first 50 registrants.

The Jaycees helps young adults build the skills needed to be successful at work through service projects. The Greenville chapter of this international charitable organization raises thousands of dollars annually for Camp Hope, a summer camp for disabled adults, and special events like the Christmas Shopping tour supporting the Boys and Girls Club.

PumpUpTheSite has been organized by OrangeCoat, View Digital Media and Nullvariable Web Consulting.

via: www.PumpUpTheSite.com

The Greenville Area Development Corporation, the county-chartered organization tasked with promoting and enhancing the economic growth of Greenville County, announced the naming of four Upstate leaders to officer positions on the organization’s Board of Directors for 2009-10.

GADC President & CEO Jerry Howard announced the election of Mike Buiter as chairman, Jo Watson Hackl as vice chair, Scott Case as secretary, and Ray Lattimore as treasurer.

“All four of these leaders are knowledgeable about the Greenville community and have historically played important, participative roles in helping to attract quality jobs to Greenville County,” said Howard in making the announcement. “They will make an exceptional leadership team for our community and for this organization.”

Mr. Buiter is a professor in the School of Business at Bob Jones University where he teaches both graduate and undergraduate classes in accounting, accounting theory, business strategy and entrepreneurship. He is the former vice president of finance for Dr. Pepper/Seven-Up Companies, Inc. prior to retiring in 1995, when he was named chief executive officer of BJU Press in Greenville. He has been a member of the board of directors of the Greenville Area Development Corporation since 2005, is a certified public accountant, and serves on the board of The Wilds Christian Camp.

Ms. Hackl is an attorney with the Greenville-based law firm Wyche Burgess Freeman & Parham, P.A., a Trustee of both the Community Foundation of Greenville and The Children’s Museum, and President-Elect of the Greenville Professional Women’s Forum. Long active in civic causes and a member of the United Way Campaign Cabinet, she is a founder of the SPARKS mentoring program and a Liberty Fellow.

Mr. Lattimore is president and chief executive officer of Marketplace Staffing Services. He is a founding member and past chairman of the GADC, active with the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Greenville County, a Liberty Fellow, and a member of the advisory board of BB&T.

Mr. Case is the current Greenville County auditor, a former member of Greenville County Council, and an active supporter of other economic development organizations serving Greenville County, including the Upstate Alliance and Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce.

The new officers succeed outgoing chairman Jay Rogers, outgoing treasurer Susan Hoag, and outgoing secretary Bill Engle. Mr. Buiter previously served as vice chairman of the GADC.

Since its inception in 2001, the Greenville Area Development Corporation has announced support of more than 140 major projects representing more than $1.9 billion in capital investment and creating in excess of 8,960 new jobs. Private sector support of the GADC has also reached an all-time high, with more than 125 investor companies now contributing to the community’s and GADC’s success.

Howard expressed appreciation to the individuals whose terms were expiring for their service on the Board and to the community. “Each of these outgoing officers has played a significant role in helping move forward Greenville’s economic development mission and for that we are immensely grateful,” said Howard.

via: GADC

Derco Aerospace, a Sikorsky Aerospace Services company, and Michelin Aircraft Tire Company signed a new agreement today that will support Derco in distributing Michelin’s military aircraft tire products in multiple countries around the globe. Aircraft platforms supported under the agreement include, but are not limited to, the C-130, L-100, F-16, KC-135, P-3, UH-60 and Mirage. Sikorsky Aerospace Services is the worldwide aftermarket business of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.

Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, SC, Michelin North America employs more than 22,300 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants in 17 locations.

via: Michelin

The Greenville Area Development Corporation and Berliner Seilfabrik have announced the location in Greenville, South Carolina of the organization’s new U.S. sales and distribution operations, executives of the German-owned company has announced.

The company manufactures “living playgrounds”, intricately designed modular playscapes in a variety of unique designs and shapes, and all made from sturdy, galvanized steel wires covered with external rope strands of Polyamid yarns (carpet yarn).  Internationally patented, the Berliner Seilfabrik ropes ensure maximum abrasion-resistance and color fastness for years of hard play. The interior steel wires are compliant to DIN 2078, are galvanized and have a sturdiness of 1770 N/mm.

Located in 48 Brookfield Oaks Suite D, Berliner Seilfabrik will initially staff the sales office with a three-person sales team to cater to the needs of dealers across the United States, and also serve as a distribution point for product arriving through the Port of Charleston, noted David Koehler, president of Berliner Seilfabrik.  The company had previously used a U.S.-based distributor for its products, but decided to part company in 2008 and set up its own sales operations domestically.

“We examined numerous markets around the country, including New York, Chicago and Atlanta, before deciding to establish this sales headquarters here in Greenville,” said Koehler.  “We see a tremendous market opportunity here in the United States for our product line and felt that Greenville’s excellent value and quality of life for our team, its East Coast location, Port of Charleston accessibility and interstate access made it an ideal location for our operations.”

The company’s roots date back to 1865 when Berliner Seilfabrik’s parent company began producing ropes for the elevator industry.  Even today, the quality of Berliner ropes has earned world-wide acclaim as among the strongest in the world, and Berliner ropes are found in elevator equipment around the globe.  Ropes from the parent company support the Liberty Bridge that spans the Reedy River in downtown Greenville.

The company first entered into the development of net structures as climbing equipment in the early 1970s, and have cemented their global reputation as leaders and innovators in rope-play equipment over three decades.   Carefully guarded expertise in the field of rope production and intensive development work adhering to the highest safety standards has resulted in a wide array of play products, offering intriguing and globally-recognized designs for playground landscapes.  Today, Berliner Seilfabrik play products are found across Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, with all products precision-manufactured at the company’s headquarters in Germany.  Among the company’s customers is Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, whose Jungala climbing tunnels and towers feature a Berliner Seilfabrik custom design.  The company became a stand-alone organization when his father led a management buyout from its parent in 1995, Koehler noted.

“Movement and activity is fascinating for children because it is always exciting and fun to jump, turn,  swing or see-saw, so we make movement the core of all our play equipment,” said Lukas Steinke, chief operating officer for Berliner Seilfabrik.  “Our special rope is the main component of all of our equipment and takes on many forms – it can be the rigging of a ship, a predator´s trap, mountains, even a knight´s castle.  The flexibility of our rope engages the child, stimulating valuable play activities like climbing, sliding and swinging, and encouraging development of the child’s balance, reactions, strength and coordination.  It’s fun, it teaches, and it supports cardiovascular activity.”

“Establishing this sales and distribution center in Greenville represents the next step in our vision to fully explore North America as a market for our products,” Koehler noted.  “The strategic expansion into this new space and the opportunity we have to grow our company here is very exciting for us.”

“Berliner Seilfabrik would like to thank the Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC) and the county of Greenville for their support in helping us make this launch a reality,” added Steinke.  “The GADC was particularly helpful in backgrounding us on the community, reviewing facilities, assisting us with visas and introductions to the business community – all of the complexities of the start-up process were made easier, including advising us on resources available to us as we ultimately look to expand our team here.”

“Berliner Seilfabrik’s decision to establish operations here in Greenville County is great news,” added H.G. “Butch” Kirven, chairman of Greenville County Council.  “Our economic development team provided essential help that the company needed to make this possible, and further affirms the many advantages that Greenville County offers growth-minded organizations.”

“We’re pleased that the management of Berliner Seilfabrik has chosen to join the many other organizations with German and European ties here in Greenville County,” said Mike Buiter, Chairman of the Greenville Area Development Corporation Board. “As an international leader in their field with innovative processes, a global customer base and a successful track record, this announcement is another positive note for Greenville County’s growing business community.”

Via GADC

ScanSource Communications, a leading value-added distributor of communications solutions, and Catalyst Telecom, a value-added distributor of voice, video and data convergence solutions, have been recognized by Polycom, Inc., the global leader in telepresence, video and voice communications solutions, for their industry-leading performance. ScanSource Communications has been named Video Distributor of the Year and both ScanSource Communications and Catalyst Telecom have been named Voice Distributor of the Year. The awards were given in conjunction with the Infocomm 2009 conference and expo taking place June 17-19 in Orlando, Fla., and recognize ScanSource Communications and Catalyst Telecom, both ScanSource, Inc. sales units, for outstanding sales performance and excellence in meeting customer solution, service and support needs.

“We are very fortunate to have such a strong partnership with Polycom on both the voice and video sides and look forward to continuing to grow the relationship,” said Buck Baker, president, ScanSource Communications. “This recognition is a testament to the high-quality Polycom solutions we are offering, as well as the hard work of the ScanSource Communications and Catalyst Telecom teams and our valued reseller partners.”

“This is an exciting time for resellers in the communications and collaboration market as today’s solutions can dramatically impact the performance and competitiveness of their customers’ business across industries,” said Mark Roberts, vice president, partner marketing, Polycom. “Polycom is proud to be represented by ScanSource Communications and Catalyst Telecom, which have demonstrated continued excellence in meeting customer needs.”

via: ScanSource

FastTrac NewVenture will meet for 10 sessions in Greenville starting on July 6, 2009. Class will be held at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, 24 Cleveland Street and run from 6:00PM to 9:00PM. The normal cost for the NewVenture course is $895 however through state and corporate funding the cost is reduced to $195.00. Plus, if you pay in full at least 2 weeks in advance you can receive a $50 Early Registration discount! To register contact mdickerson@charlestonchamber.org or call 843-805-3089.

New business provides convenience, control and compliance in eData destruction

The upstate’s growing need for dealing with data that has outlived its usefulness has been answered. Carolina Data Destroyers, LLC has received its Business Filings from the South Carolina’s Secretary of State’s Office and is starting business today.
This new business provides on-site data purging from hard drives (working or broken,) and recording (backup) tape.

Carolina Data Destroyers is prepared to serve organizations of all sizes with fast, efficient and compliant on-site eData clearing and purging services. The company performs the work on-site so customers never loose custody or control of their computer data.

“More and more organizations are learning that deleting, erasing, re-formatting, or even re-partitioning does not eliminate information,” said Barry Bettenhausen, President, Carolina Data Destroyers, LLC. “A number of businesses have had ‘wake-up calls’ from information they assumed was long gone. These experiences and concerns are why we started this business.”
Bettenhausen notes that the risks are real. “Recovering information off a poorly erased computer’s hard disk drive is so easy with retail software that no special skills are required. We alleviate that concern. We come in and completely purge the machine. We also as provide a certificate of data destruction so customers can show they are complying with all applicable Federal, State, or Local regulations.”

Conflict of interest issues are also eliminated with Carolina Data Destroyers’ services. “Even if someone inside the organization has the equipment and knowledge to do a purge correctly, real or perceived conflict of interest issues can arise,” notes Bettenhausen. “As a disinterested third party, we take that issue off the table.”

Regardless of how eData is stored, Carolina Data Destroyers can find and eliminate it. They have the capability to destroy data on working or non-working hard disk drives as well as on magnetic tape.

via: Carolina Data Destroyers