August 5, 2003 (No. 5)

Nashville TECHNOLOGY News and Events

The week ahead in Nashville:

Today, the Vanderbilt University Television News Archive, 35, celebrates its birth by going digital with network-news holdings, thanks to a gift from a private donor; release, here.

Asurion's Vice President-Marketing Michael Powers tells NTC that Asurion has narrowed its search for a Nashville site to "several locations in Davidson county and is very close to finalizing a location."

Mayor Purcell is reportedly reviewing Metro staff proposals re candidate firms to manage Nashville's proposed Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). Similar state SmartWay program is ramping-up, The City Paper, 8/4, here. Related Metro signal optimization RFP 03-04; letters requesting bid consideration due Aug. 19. Related, state, here.

(Aug. 6) Mid-TN InfraGard program: security in information-sharing and bombs, Belmont, details here.

(Aug. 7) NTC Technology Round Table, "Oracle Collaboration Suite," University Club at Vanderbilt University; currently scheduled speakers: depth presentation by Mark Rabne of Oracle, Chris Karl of AdviseX. Reception 5 p.m., dinner 6 p.m., introduce all attendees, 6:45 p.m., presentation 7 p.m. Register, here.

(Aug. 11) Public inspection of bids opens on TN RFP for proposals for wiring, configuration, equipment installation (Avaya Std.), details. (See also, Resources, below.)

News summary:

Vanderbilt Engineering researchers earn $2 million share of USC-led U.S. Navy software initiative strengthening military air operations. USoCal release, here. Earlier VU story, here.

Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers asks dismissal of Internet tax lawsuit against Tennessee retailers, The Tennessean, 1E, 8/5, here.

Nashville Electric Service (NES) VP/CIO Vick Hatridge said NES projects costs of about $200K for expanding use use of PeopleSoft Human Capital Management's "Time and Labor." Hatridge told NTC yesterday the decision was more cost-effective than using existing "Ellipse" ERP vendor Mincom for this purpose. Hatridge also explained the PeopleSoft implementation is by NES' existing outsourcing vendor, Indus International. Indus announced July 31 that it had extended its NES outsourcing contract.

Inflow secures Ascendant Media contract, The City Paper, 8/4, p. 20, Inflow release, click.

NTC and ISSA report that "Overall Security 2003," Tuesday, Aug. 26th, Nashville Convention Center, has already signed-up more sponsors and exibitors than last year, and registration is growing steadily as the early-bird deadline of Aug. 18th approaches. For sponsors, click here. For registration, click here.

Pioneering 'Nashville.com' founder Ben Cunningham sold his ISP operation to Durocom, which sold the Nashville.com domain to Floridian Phil Patete, who is now entertaining offers to buy the name. Patete has an arrangement with Castello Cities Internet Network, Inc., pointing Nashville.com visitors to a Castello city-guide site.

The Tennessean supports Metro "311" exploration, The Tennessean, 8/4, click here.

Corrections Corporation selects Allscripts' med records automation system, 7/24, here.

Community Harbor (CH) went live as enterprise, last night, click here. CH commercial and nonprofit partners include ISDN-Net, Knoxville's Tech2020 and Digital Crossing Networks. CH serves municipalities and coalitions of rural counties. ISDN-Net VP Ken Russell says CH will operate initially within the business incubator at Conduit Corporation, Nashville, and will support development of next-generation Gigabit network infrastructure and content. Future plans include networked educational content and interactive networked gaming centers. CH partners have previously teamed in public-private partnerships including Nashville Regional Exchange Point (NREP) and Digital Crossing.

Cumberland Emerging Technologies, the for-profit joint venture on Nashville's 10th Ave. South that seeks to commercialize university R&D efforts, will probably announce more tenants and more projects by early fall, according to James S. Green, Ph.D. the vice president and General Manager of CET, who is also vice president-development for Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc., which participates in the CET joint venture with Tennessee Technology Development Corporation and Vanderbilt University.

Belmont Bus-school Dean Patrick Raines sees custom MBAs that could include tech studies, The Tennessean, 8/4, here. Raines' prior related efforts, here.

Verizon recruiting at Dancin' in the District, 7/30, City Paper, p. 14, here.

Shop at Home shops for check clearinghouse services, buys Certegy's PayNet, release, here.

Nashville's PureSafety teams with BNA publishing, 7/21 release, here.

Also of interest:

TappedInto co-founder Preston Sullivan is among execs upbeat on local tech economy, Nashville Business Journal, 8/4-11/03, here.

Nashville-based Gartner Inc. IT security pro guarded on outlook: Asked his views this week on the mid-Tennessee climate for start-ups, Gartner research director for information security strategies, Raymond Wagner, Ph.D., noted that our region has a fairly large base of "very complex IT environments in-place or managed locally." Still, Wagner told NTC, with the possible exception of the healthcare sector, the region seems to be spawning primarily small, regionally oriented enterprises. Wagner, who has been engaged in several local startup efforts, added via e-mail, "Local investors have been burned by a large number of failed high-tech ventures since 1999, not to mention the economic downturn, and seem to have retreated to their comfort zones, which don't generally include high-tech. Or, at least IT." Meanwhile, Wagner said, "the current local job market is very difficult. However, Gartner has seen signs of pickup in IT-intensive areas like northern CA and Boston, so maybe we're just lagging the market a bit." Related: Gartner report on export of IT jobs, 7/30: Reuters/CNN, here.

Metro/Nashville Public Schools spotlighted in Chancery SMS case study, here.

Locally, Microphonics Inc. maker of ultrasonic diagnostics for industrial-auto applications; has appointed R. Dean Vanderpool, Chairman; Robert J. Lowers, CEO. (BWire, 8/1)

Tennessee Jobs Cabinet: Employers tell of need for jobs training, keeping current business in state, 7/31, Tennessean, here. Knoxville News-Sentinel, 7/31, here.

Resources

FedEx Institute of Technology, University of Memphis, Vision and Services, click here.

Tennessee Office Information Resources Hardware and Software Contracts, here.
State of Tennessee RFP site (general, includes technology), here.

U. Memphis IT Strategic Plan, 2004, click here.

UT Center for Industrial Services, Tech Transfer, here.

UT-Chattanooga Center for Excellence in Computer Applications, here.

Scheduled:

(Aug. 9) 'Let's Talk Computers' radio topics: DPS Results 7; Actual Windows Mgr., click.

(Aug. 14) Intellectual Property Basics for Business Professionals, sponsored by Boult Cummings Conners Berry, PLC and Williamson Works. Frankin Marriott. To register, click.

(Aug. 14) AITP Chapter Meeting - Sheraton Music City Hotel - Certification Testing, Kevin Williams, Transcender Corp. Contact Mary Simpson, 615-367-8083, msimpson@genesco.com, or click.

(Aug 15) Global Trade Opportunities for TN Business, Opryland, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Opryland Hotel, 7:30a-Noon. Free, but registration strictly required. Click here.

(Aug. 15-17) Chattanooga Software Symposium, JAVA, Chatt. Convention Center, click.

(Aug. 15 Deadline) TN Technology Development Corp. is calling for venture-cap proposals for possible review during 7th Annual TN Venture Forum, Nov. 17-18, Chattanooga. Proposal due by Aug. 15. Presenters will be announced week of 9/29. Visit, here.

(Aug. 20) - TN Biotech Assn - Life Sciences Program speakers include U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, reps from ORNL Tech Transfer, UT Research Foundation. At SAIC, Knoxville, details, here.

(Aug. 22-23) Growing & Managing Biotech Enterprise - Cert. Program, Owen GSM, Vanderbilt, details.

(Aug. 26) 2nd Annual NTC / ISSA 'Overall Security Conference', Nash. Convention Cntr., details click.

(Aug. 26) Women in Technology of Tennessee, Dennis Fennessey, CIO, Deloitte & Touche, details.

(Sept. 2-3) Governor Bredesen's Conference on Economic Development, Nashville Convention Center. More info, here. Note: Use conference ID number: 277UTS

(Sept. 4) NTC Technology Round Table - Carter Andrews, "Little Planet Learning: How an idea went global from Nashville." Details, here.

(Sept. 11) AITP Chapter Meeting - Sheraton Music City Hotel - New Trends in Software Design, Larry Boldt, Borland Software. Contact Mary Simpson, 615-367-8083, msimpson@genesco.com. Details, here.

(Sept. 16-17) Expo '03: Winning with Technology, 8th Annual Technology Conf and Expo, Knoxville, Tech 2020, click here.

(Sept. 29) Six Sigma Leadership Workshop, Owen GSM at Vanderbilt, details here.

(Oct. 1-4) Biomed. Eng. Soc. in Nashville re bioinformatics, bioengineering, details.

(Oct. 2) Tennessee Biotech Assn., Fall Membership meeting, Nashville, details, here.

(Oct. 2) NTC Tech Round Table - Donna Hoffman and Tom Novak, Co-Directors, Sloan Center for Internet Retailing, Vanderbilt, discuss "Managing the Customer Chain: From Theory to Practice." Hoffman, Novak will discuss Center priorities, research findings. Round Table link, here.

(Oct. 5-7) Tennesseee Valley Corridor Annual Summit, "Putting Science & Technology to Work," Chattanooga, click here.

(Oct. 16) AITP Chapter Meeting -Sheraton Music City Hotel - Solving Small Business's IT Problems, Bob Chaput, American Technology Group. Contact Mary Simpson, 615-367-8083, msimpson@genesco.com. Details, here.

(Oct. 29-30) NTC / Chamber - Annual "NETWORK Showcase of Business & Technology": Networking, educational tracks -- more than 100 exhibitors already signed, click.

(Nov. 5-7) Nashville Technology Council, "Management Skills for IT Professionals," Jay Ress of TMA Seminars, TN Economic Development Center, 7:30a-4:30p., click.

(Nov. 6) NTC Technology Round Table, "Sarbanes-Oxley: Risk Assessment and IT responsibility," Steve Tisdell, Principal, Nashville Management Group, register, here.

(Nov. 10-11) Innovation Strategy: Identifying Barriers to Business, Owen GSM, Vanderbilt, here.

(Nov. 10-12) Healthcare Delivery Solutions Congress, co-sponsored by NTC, for details, click.

(Nov. 17-19) Tennessee Venture Forum, by TN Tech. Development Corp., details, here.

(Dec. 3-5) Tennessee Education Technology Conference, details here.

(Dec. 4) NTC Technology Round Table, Richard Rognehaugh, Deputy Commissioner - Office of Information Resources, State of Tennessee, reception and dinner. Related resources, here.

Also of interest:

Reviving the Cray approach in developing supercomputers? New York Times, 8/4, here.

Government, business E-surveillance fuels controversy, locally, nationally, Tennessean, 8/3,here.

Darwin e-Mag 7/03 Tech Trends, here. Poor CRM RoI, here. Wireless overview, click.


For information about Nashville Technology Council programs, services and sponsorships:
Phone: (615) 743-3168
For previous editions of "News of Nashville Technology," click here.











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