GSA Technology Council

Technology integrator TSAChoice, Inc., with offices in Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC, is proud to announce that 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of Jeff Lowdermilk with the company. Jeff has been with TSAChoice since 1982 and has helped to grow the business to a staff of more than 60 technology professionals, with offices in Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC. Jeff serves as a Principal with the company.

Jeff was introduced to the technology and business worlds when as a teenager he earned a reputation for being the “go-to” guy for installing sophisticated car stereo systems; he soon had friends paying for his services. Another early job was selling educational books in Texas — an invaluable experience in building his own business in a new market, which fostered a foundation of hard work and integrity. Jeff spent six years in the broadcasting industry, building and managing sales teams.

In 1982 Jeff joined the newly formed Telephone Systems of Asheville, a division of MB Haynes Corporation, which quickly became the dominant telephone equipment, data wiring and fiber optics provider in the area. In 1995, TSAChoice’s original management team of Bill Arledge, Jeff Lowdermilk, and Dan Higgins bought the company from MB Haynes and continue to lead the company to this day, organizing it into the region’s largest business technology integrator in Western North Carolina. 2011 marked TSAChoice’s expansion into upstate South Carolina, serving businesses in Greenville, Greer, Spartanburg, Easley, Anderson, Woodruff, and surrounding areas, from its Greenville, SC office.

via TSAChoice

Company to invest $1.5 million and create 7 new jobs.

Technology Solutions of SC, Inc., a managed information technology company serving Upstate customers, will locate a new Tier III data center in Oconee County. The $1.5 million investment is expected to generate 7 new jobs with plans to triple employment in the next five years.

The new facility will offer managed hosting, colocation and disaster recovery supported by highly available power, cooling and internet connectivity.

Richard Ellison, CEO of Technology Solutions, has been doing business in Oconee County for almost two decades. He offered insight into why he chose to remain within the county, “The combination of a business friendly climate and recent addition of high-speed internet access made Oconee a clear choice in which locate our new data center.”

“This is great news for Oconee County, Upstate South Carolina and Technology Solutions,” said Richard K. Blackwell, executive director of the Oconee County Economic Development Commission. “This proves Oconee can compete for all types of economic development projects and this is a real testament to Oconee’s new five-year economic development strategy and the progressive business climate in our area.”

via Oconee County Economic Development Commission

Smith Dray Line (SDL) moving company announces the selection of Immedion data centers as its data center of choice for virtual services and primary data center production. By partnering with Immedion data centers, SDL now has access to better redundancy and they have lowered their overall costs compared to managing their own environment.

“Immedion has been a customer of ours for years,” shares SDL CEO, Sam Turrentine “We’ve been helping clients move their servers into Immedion since they opened their doors in Greenville in 2007. SDL reached a point where we needed to really evaluate outsourcing our data management and Immedion was a natural fit. By choosing to outsource with Immedion, we’ve been able to cut costs as well as improve our overall redundancy, which will in turn help us better serve our clients. Immedion was also incredibly helpful throughout the process and made the transition virtually seamless for us.”

“SDL has been a vendor of ours for a long time” comments Immedion VP of Sales Ravi Sastry. “When they were ready to consider moving their primary production, we were happy to help.”

via Immedion

Worthwhile, a customer-driven digital strategy firm with offices in Greenville, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C., is pleased to announce the hiring of account executive Megan E. Finnern.

As an account executive, Finnern will work to grow relationships so that Worthwhile can serve clients strategically and consistently. She will work out of Worthwhile’s Greenville headquarters. Finnern joins Worthwhile with a background in both digital marketing and communications and in client relations. She is active in Greenville Chamber of Commerce and PULSE, and serves on the social media committee for Greenville Family Partnership.

via Worthwhile

Technology integrator TSAChoice, Inc., with offices in Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC, announces that Voice/IT Field Technician Ben Bruce completed training and exams through TSAChoice’s business partner, Cisco, to earn his Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification.

Ben Bruce received his CCNA certification for Network Specialists, Administrators, and Support Engineers with 1-3 years of network engineering experience, enhancing his ability to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot medium-sized routed and switched networks. Ben has been with TSAChoice’s Greenville office for one year after working as a Mitel Direct certified technician for four years. He has extensive experience working with Voice over Internet Protocol, web, and data networks.

via TSAChoice

DFJB, LLC has acquired GlobalVision, a data management and communications service provider based in Greenville and locally managed. Since 1996 GlobalVision (previously known as ACSinc.net) has been providing top-flight service to business/corporate clients in Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
GlobalVision will soon be announcing a series of strategic initiatives to be introduced under the new management team. Leverage from the financial investment and drawing on the strengths of retained and new employees , GlobalVision will strengthen and grow ISP, Wireless Internet, Cloud, VoIP, Voice Services, Metro E, hosting and MSP services to provide new and expanded solutions for its customers.
Key initiatives underway include:
1. Strengthening core businesses (cloud services, Internet, Data transport, VoIP, collocation)
2. Expansion of virtualization capabilities
3. Addressing business needs in new and emerging markets
4. Creating new businesses and accelerating innovation
5. Realigning the business portfolio and optimizing resources
GlobalVision founder Ron Younts and Director of Sales Eddie Holder will remain at GlobalVision in similar roles. Greg Stoudenmire – Wireless Manager, William Jordan – Project Manager/Network Admin and Matthew Greene Network Manager have expanded roles.
“As the oldest local internet service provider in Greenville in business for more than 16 years, we are naturally excited about adding new services for our customers,” said Younts. “We serve large multi-location customers, and small single location local business, and will be able to offer new services to help them grow their businesses.”

via GlobalVision

Preparations for the first “IT-oLogy Connections 2013 in partnership with Connect South Carolina” conference are underway as event hosts IT-oLogy and Connect South Carolina recently confirmed two dynamic speakers in James Ashley, expert on Microsoft Kinect for Windows; and Steven Naifeh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and modern artist for the May 16 event.

Sessions provided by the speakers include:

• The use of gesture-based control systems for computers using skeletal recognition, facial recognition, and/or voice recognition. This portion of the summit will be presented by Ashley and introduced and sponsored by Microsoft.
• Naifeh’s modern art is based on geometric abstraction and he will show how he uses technology to make the planet more beautiful. Naifeh’s session will mark the opening of his gallery exhibition, Found in Translation: The Art of Steven Naifeh, and will be introduced and sponsored by the Columbia Museum of Art.

“We couldn’t be happier with the lineup that is taking shape for Connections 2013,” said IT-oLogy’s Director of Grow IT Initiatives, Jim Stritzinger. “This event is designed for technology professionals and highlights innovative uses of technology across a variety of industries. Our goal is to have everyone walk away seeing something that they’ve never seen before.”

This event, a collaborative effort between IT-oLogy, an IT talent and workforce development collaborative and South Carolina’s State Broadband Initiative grantee, Connect South Carolina, will share advances in hardware, software, infrastructure, and processes across a variety of industries and highlight efforts to increase broadband access, adoption, and use. Morning segments will feature a variety of guest speakers, including Ashley and Naifeh, and afternoon sessions will dive deeper into best practices, success stories, and product demonstrations.

“IT-oLogy Connections 2013 in partnership with Connect South Carolina” will be held on Thursday, May 16, from 9 am – 5 pm EDT at the IT-oLogy Theater located at 1301 Gervais Street, Suite 101, in Columbia, South Carolina. Register here.

via IT-oLogy

Stratatomic was recently awarded a 2013 Horizon Interactive Award in the Restaurant/Food Industry category for the new website developed for Copper River Grill now available online. The website features a full menu, interactive map, online gift card purchasing, e-club registration, a Twitter feed and social media integration. The website is powered by Stratatomic’s WebAdmin™ technology which enables the gift card and e-club functionality.

Stratatomic is a creative firm specializing in web, multimedia, advertising, and graphic communications. Stratatomic also offers complete solutions for web site hosting, WebAdmin™ site management software and WebStats™ site analysis tools, providing clients with a singular resource for top-to-bottom implementation of their internet marketing strategies.

Stratatomic’s proprietary WebAdmin™ e-commerce and site-management technology recently surpassed $15 million in online sales transactions and order processing. Today, WebAdmin™ enables clients of all sizes to effectively manage their own site content or storefront and is the power behind websites that receive more than 2 million page requests per month and average hundreds of orders per day. Founded in 2000 by Ryan Owens, Stratatomic LLC is a privately held company based in Greenville, SC.

via Stratatomic

ACS, a global supplier which specializes in the integration of engine and vehicle test operations into clients’ production and development facilities, will establish a regional office in Greenville County, generating at least 10 new jobs. The company serves such industry leaders as Cummins, Caterpillar, Daimler, Harley Davidson, GE, John Deere, Navistar and Tognum, and specializes in the comprehensive design, construction, integration, and commissioning of complex industrial, R&D and manufacturing facilities. Headquartered in Madison, Wis. ACS has offices in China and England, in addition to its presence in South Carolina. The company will locate operations in approximately 4,000 square feet at 55 East Camperdown Way in Greenville, upfitting the space to accommodate its engineering, planning, sales, marketing and administrative operations.

“Our goal is to provide a single source for complete project responsibility that customers the world over turn to and count on when undertaking complex projects,” said Lee Cockrum, managing director of ACS Southeast, who will head the new office. “We are a company who values long term relationships and commitment, both to our clients and our communities, and we appreciate the support of the Greenville Area Development Corporation, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, and all who assisted in making this advancement a reality.”

“ACS has developed a strong expertise in engine and vehicle research facilities design and construction,” said Cockrum. “By combining that with our knowledge of industry regulations, testing technology and applications, and the ability to fully integrate facility and test systems, we believe that Greenville’s central location in the Southeastern automotive corridor and its strong base of automotive manufacturers and suppliers will create great synergy and opportunity for our firm.”

Since January 2011, South Carolina has recruited more than $5 billion in capital investment and more than 8,000 jobs in the automotive-related sector.

“ACS Southeast is a wonderful example of a company that deploys world-class technology, performance-based processes and a mix of local and national talent to grow and expand its business, and we welcome them to Greenville County,” said Chris Riley, chairman of the Greenville Area Development Corporation. “Their engineering expertise and track record of community involvement will be a great asset to the Upstate.”

“We are thrilled that ACS has chosen to expand its presence in downtown Greenville,” said City of Greenville Downtown Development Manager Mary Douglas Hirsch. “This decision speaks to our exceptional business climate and growing reputation in the engineering and automotive industries.”

ACS is recruiting both locally and nationally for positions in the areas of facilities project engineering, project management, and controls engineering. Anyone interested in being considered for positions should submit resumes via the company’s career openings page.

via ACS

Perkins Law Firm is pleased to announce the addition of two new team members. Joseph Guy, Ph.D. has joined the firm as patent agent in the Intellectual Property Group, and Yasha Patel has joined the firm as associate attorney in the Litigation and Corporate Groups.

Dr. Guy has authored more than 1000 patent applications over the past 23 years with a focus on pharmaceuticals, materials science, electronic components, software and medical products. He holds a Ph.D. in physical inorganic chemistry with a focus on organometallic complexes.

Ms. Patel received her law degree from Florida A&M University. She will focus her practice on strategic business counseling and litigation.

via Perkins Law Firm