August 19, 2003 (No. 7)
Nashville TECHNOLOGY News and
Events
The NTC News Summary is supported by
Edition Sponsor:
Oracle Corporation
NTC Sustaining Sponsor:
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
The week ahead in
Nashville:
Registration ends Thursday (Aug. 21)
for Aug. 26th NTC/ISSA "Overall Security." Keynoter
Harris Miller, President-Information Technology
Association of America (ITAA), will address importance of Information
Security as "everyone's business." (For Miller's earlier
commentary on "the long campaign" for IT security, here.) For
"Overall Security" two-dozen speakers, registration
info, click here.
Tennessee's Technology-education
standards for schools will be a focus, Friday, Aug.
22, when Board of Education looks at standards for
teaching IT infrastructure, computer architecture,
network architecture, engineering-education licensure,
biotechnology. Docs, here. SBE Agenda here.
Tennessee Venture Forum's call for
proposals for its Nov. 17-19 venture-capital forum
has been extended to allow those seeking funding
to submit proposals by Aug. 22, details, here.
News Summary:
Avondale Partners software-company
analyst Sean Jackson sees deeper security troubles
beyond the 'Blaster' worm headlines.
Caterpillar Financial logs record
growth for 2Q -- 6 Sigma cited by Caterpillar
corporate as a key for quality, growth, cost-reduction,
customer satisfaction. 6 Sigma is implemented both in
manufacturing and service units. See Financial division
report, here. See Caterpillar statement including 6
Sigma, here.
Background from UT-Knox group, here. Owen
GSM Vanderbilt Six Sigma course, here.
Fearing Internet scam, local grocer
banning "homemade" coupons from Net, City Paper, Aug.
19, here.
Omnicell buys BCX Technology
(Lebanon) inventory-management software specialist for
hospitals, Aug. 18, here.
Comdata wins reversal of $750K
award to Stein, The City Paper, Aug. 19, here. The Tennessean, here. Nash.
Business Journal, here.
Thomson Multimedia's Technicolor
Division to add 400 jobs in Memphis by February,
Commercial Appeal, Aug. 18, here.
Ozburn-Hessey Logistics' CEO
McWilliams outlines logistics, systems, value-added
and organizational challenges for growing
warehouse-services provider, Tennessean, Aug. 17, here.
Accountant urges clear privacy policy
for corporate websites, Tennessean, Aug. 18, here.
Metro Schools automates tracking of
volunteer hours/value, City Paper, Aug. 18, story
here. MNPS volunteer website in development,
here.
Sen. Alexander announces grant to
Advanced Transportation Technology Institute at
Chattanooga, Aug. 13, here.
Link2Gov reduces workforce in
Nashville, questions raised about development vs
transaction emphases; Metro government continues
Link2Gov work on e-Store, The City Paper, Aug. 14, here.
Verizon's projected growth at
customer-service call center prompts increased
hiring, Tennessean, Aug. 16, here. Inquire re: Verizon jobs, here.
Private Business Inc. discloses
$500K value of its recent sale of InsuranceManager to
InsurManager LLC, Tennessean, 3E, Aug. 16, here.
Watching inmates goes high-tech;
Prisons have new, expensive tech available,
Tennessean, Aug. 13, here. See also NTC Aug. 12 News
summary.
'Blaster' virus has limited impact on
area networks, Tennessean, Aug. 13, here.
Metro Schools to use Southern Visuals
technology for student IDs, City Paper, Aug. 14,
here.
Tennessean ran two related stories, not on
web (pages 1M, 2M, Aug. 13).
Metro Elections website lags in
posting election results, Tennessean, Aug. 13, 1B, here. Tennessean editorial decries web lapses,
Tennessean, 8/14, here.
Discovery Times Channel partners with
Freedom Forum at Vanderbilt for 1st Amendment
programming, The City Paper, Aug. 13, here.
American Learning Solutions targets
hospitals for nurse education, Nash. Bus. Journal,
Aug. 15, p. 1, here. Related (Aug. 4), here.
Quality Practitioners, Inc., moves from
Lincoln, Neb., to Mt. Juliet, provides ISO Quality
& Environmental Lead Auditor ISO training. Nash.
Bus. Journal, p. 7, not on web.
East Tennessee Tech Council resumes
survey of tech industries in region, Knox. News
Sentinel, Aug. 11, click.
Zycron Computer Service Inc. donated two
scholarships to enable execs with African-American-owned
small businesses to enroll in the Nashville Area
Chamber's FastTrac
business education program, Aug. 14, Tennessean,
here.
Digisoft
77 opens Franklin
office to provide Web-based apps and e-commerce
support. Tennessean, Aug. 14 (scroll down), here.
WorldWIT starts Tennessee chapter for women in
business and technology, Tennessean, Aug. 14, here (scroll down). Related, Women in
Technology of TN, here.
Comdata Corp. opens Jacksonville
office for Landstar Systems, Nash. Bus. Journal, Aug.
15, here.
Genesis Inc. (fundraising data
processing, fulfillment) to MetroCenter, Nash. Bus.
Journal, Aug. 15, here.
Local franchisee pushes Tradebank
web-based B2B barter, Nash. Business Journal, Aug.
15,
here.
Transcender released AssociateCert 4.0, new exam
simulation for Cisco's certified network associate
640-801 exam.
Flextronics, abandoning Lebanon
site for Memphis, buys Microcell, CommercialAppeal, Aug.
15, here.
Also of interest:
Prominent Nashville tech analyst Sean
Jackson comments on latest tech security scares:
While tech worms like LovSan and Microsoft Blaster
produce headlines and raise awareness of IT security
issues, the growing interest in investing in IT security
is probably driven more by incidents that go unreported.
Sean Jackson, vice president of Nashville's Avondale Partners
LLC, told NTC Aug. 15: "More
frightening to a lot of people are some of the things
that don't get publicized, maybe a financial institution
or a utility, where criminal activity is going on. These
are the things that spur-on IT security spending even
more than high-profile stories." Jackson explains that
too often corporations put in place a basic firewall,
then continue expanding employee access to Internet
resources, often creating more risk of disruptions --
leading, in turn, to more investment in
intrusion-detection and vulnerability-reduction efforts.
For now, Jackson says, analysts cannot factor IT
security strengths into their ratings of non-tech
corporations, chiefly because there is no single IT
security ratings agency. Jackson says fear of damage to
corporate reputation in the wake of criminal intrusion
is prompting further spending on security -- although
the effectiveness of these efforts is sometimes
diminished by executives' countervailing desire to
maintain corporate secrecy from IT vendors. Jackson was
named by the Wall Street Journal as the nation's top
software analyst, May 12.
Belmont
University has
quietly assembled an executive- and technology-education
infrastructure that might gain influence with the
Aug. 27 arrival of the university's new Business dean,
Patrick Raines (Tennessean story, here). Consultant
Cynthia McLane, principal of McLane & Associates
worked years for Nissan, under an IT contract. In 2001,
she joined Belmont under contract to launch what is now
known as the Technology Learning
Cooperative (TLC) to
give execs "hard" tech skills they don't get in the
"softer" management courses. McLane's unit complements
other units under Belmont's Center for Professional
Development, including Corporate University, the Center
for Entrepreneurship, the Women's Center and Executive
Learning Networks; and, TLC offers tracks in IT
Management, IP Telephony, Microsoft Certified System
Administrator. (Belmont also features a Math &
Computer Science Department.) Consultant/Lecturer Mike
Sisco of MDE Enterprises will launch TLC's IT Management
series, Sept. 9. (Another Belmont-based
program, the Peer Learning
Network, was sponsored by investor
Clayton McWhorter and is open by invitation only.)
Caterpillar Financial and Ingram Barge
have become key "Venture Partner" partners with McLane's
TLC, and other corporations are reportedly keeping a
watch on TLC developments. McLane has scheduled
Inflow Exec Greg McLellan to address a "Lunch
& Learn" luncheon, Sept. 24; and, a rare in-town
seminar on HP Open View operations for Windows,
Sept. 29. Meanwhile, Belmont is also a supportive host
for such IT groups as the local chapter of InfraGard.
Resources:
Tennessee's "New Economy Strategy,"
here.
Northpoint: 20 Success factors found in
study of most successful IT firms under $15 million
in size; and 20 Failure Factors for low-performing IT
companies under $15 million revenue, here.
WorldWITstarts Tennessee chapter for women in
business and technology, Tennessean, 2E, 8/14, here (scroll
down). Related, Women in Technology of Tennessee, here.
Scheduled Events
(Aug. 16) 'Let's Talk Computers'
radio topics, click.
(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. 21) InfraGard chapter meeting,
presentation by Mitch Davis of TSCM/Special
Operations Group on technical surveillance
countermeasures. Details, here.
(Aug. 22-23) Growing & Managing
Biotech Enterprise - Cert. Program,
Owen/Vanderbilt, details.
(Aug. 26) 2nd Annual NTC/ISSA 'Overall
Security 2003 Conference', Nash. Conv. Cntr.,
details click.
(Aug. 26) Women in Technology of
Tennessee, Dennis Fennessey, CIO, Deloitte &
Touche, service-oriented architecture, details,
here.
(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. 9) "TechBiz Liftoff" workshop
for start-up and early-stage technology companies,
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., ETSU Innovation Lab, Johnson
City, TN. Details, here.
(Sept. 10) Nat'l Assoc. State Procurement
Ofcls, Hilton Suites, Nashville, includes
e-procurement, here.
(Sept. 11) AITP - Sheraton Music City -
Trends in Software Design, Larry Boldt, Borland.
Details, here.
(Sept. 16-17) Winning with Technology,
8th Annual Tech'y Conf/Expo, Knox., Tech 2020, click
here.
(Sept. 18) Music City Future 50
Awards, Opryland, register here. 50
List, Tennessean (7/20), here.
(Sept. 29) Six Sigma Leadership
Workshop, Owen GSM at Vanderbilt, details here.
(Sept. 30) WiTT program with BMI AVP
Camellia Petty, on enterprise data management and
business intelligence. 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) TN Valley Corridor Summit,
"Putting Science, Technology to Work,"
Chattanooga, click here.
(Oct. 14) InfraGard mid-TN meeting:
data forensics, presentation by Mark Sletto, special
agent, U.S. Secret Service, here.
(Oct. 14-15) "Mid-market Healthcare
M&A conference," Loews, Oct. 14-15. Visit, here
.
(Oct. 16) AITP -Sheraton Music City -
Solving Small Business's IT Problems. Details,
here.
(Oct. 16, 17) Small Business Innovation
(SBIR) opportunities one-day conferences in Memphis,
then Chattanooga, here.
(Oct. 22) State of TN, Infor. Systems
Conference, Nashville Public Library conf. center,
here.
(Oct. 28) WiTT "CIO Panel" program,
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, 8:30a-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) TN Venture Forum, by TN
Tech. Development Corp., Chattanooga, details, here.
(Nov. 25) WiTT program with Jim Gray,
CIO, and Jennifer Cheek, Mgr.-ISD Shared Services,
O'Charleys. 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.
(Dec. 18) InfraGard mid-TN, chapter
meeting, presentation topic to be announced.
Updates,
here.
For information about Nashville Technology
Council programs, services and sponsorships:
For previous editions of "News of
Nashville Technology," click here. |
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