October 23, 2003 (No. 16)
The NTC News Summary Edition Sponsor
is
NTC Sustaining Sponsor for this Edition is
Other NTC Sustaining Sponsors, here.
The next edition of the news
summary is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct.
28th.
UPFRONT:
MEDIFAX-EDI in the news: MediFax-EDI won Tenn. Dept. of
Children's Services Data Clearinghouse Services Contract
(RFP
359.10-034). Kathy Jones, DCS
director of contracts and grants, said MediFax-EDI had
the only responsive bid, although 12 firms had expressed
intent to bid. Yesterday, also, WebMD announced plans
to buy Medifax-EDI, Oct. 22 statement, click here, select press releases. Tennessean, 1E,
Oct. 23, here. City
Paper, p. 13, Oct. 23, here. Earlier
items, Nash. Bus. Journal, Oct. 22, here.
NashvillePost.com, Oct. 22, here. City
Paper, Oct. 22,here.
Solar cluster 10 times mass of earth
heads our way, could disrupt communications beginning
today, NOAA/NASA sources, NOAA site,
here. Tennessean item, 11A,
Oct. 23, not on web.
Tennessee's trade mission to Japan and
Korea continues, through Oct. 31. Governor Bredesen,
Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell and TN Economic &
Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber are
scheduled to visit with top execs of Bridgestone, Toyota, Toshiba, Fuji
Photo Film and others. See the
state's Oct. 17 release, here. Gov.
Bredesen, Commis. Kisber are scheduled for a news
teleconference, Tuesday (10/28, 8 a.m. CST). Related
Tennessean story, Oct. 20, here.
Grokster CEO Rosso resigned two days after his
combative appearance at Vanderbilt, and now heads
Madrid, Spain-based Optisoft SL (Blubster) file-sharing
service, Reuters via City Paper, p. 13, Oct. 16, not on
web. Reuters, Oct. 14 via Forbes, here. Related, Oct. 15, City Paper, here. Related
items at Music Industry News Network (Mi2N), Oct. 15,
here.
Asurion CEO Bret
Comolli will deliver the NETWORK
2003 keynote; Nashville Technology
Council President David
Condra will convene the Nashville Technology
Council Forum -- and there's much more during NETWORK
Showcase of Business & Technology, Oct. 29-30,
Nashville Convention Center. In addition to Management
and Sales/Marketing ed tracks, NETWORK Technology track
sessions include CIO Challenges; Customer Service
Technologies; Guarding Your Information Assets
(Security); WiFi-Cellular Update. Tech, Management Ed
track details here.
Exhibitor sign-up, click on "Exhibitors" button, here. FAQ for
attendees, here.
Exhibitors list
currently includes nearly 200, including about 70
technology companies. Of special note: The ever-popular
Technology After Hours and Business After Hours
networking and business events are combined during NETWORK, for
a particularly fun evening, After Hours details
here.
HEALTHCARE:
IASIS
Healthcare names
former HCA West Florida exec Lance Smith to CIO
post, supporting hospital operations. The City
Paper, Oct. 22, p. 19, scroll down, here. IASIS also announced appointments of
William Whatley, director-corporate compliance; and Kim
Fox, regional marketing director, City Paper, Oct. 23,
p.19, not on web.
HealthStream creates product to gauge
healthcare facility staff competence, relative to
accreditation standards, Nash. Bus. Journal, Oct. 16,
here. Healthstream release, here.
Healthcare Delivery Solutions Congress
+ Consumer-Directed Health Care Conference/Expo,
Nashville, Nov. 10-12. Tennessean, Oct. 16, p. 3E, here. Information and registration for the
event, here.
Tennessee Biotechnology Association
names new officers, board members, Oct. 15, release
here. Full board list, here.
California Healthcare Foundation
releases reports on Electronic Medical Records,
here, Oct. 21; and, report on Digital
Hospitals, Oct. 17, here.
WEST & EAST
TENN:
Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC, which
employs 750 at Oak Ridge, wins Oak Ridge Natl Lab
cleanup contract, Oct. 21, BusinessWire release,
here.
Tullahoma's Allied Aerospace
Industries will build three experimental NASA
aircraft, Associated Press via Tennessean, Oct. 18, 2E,
here.
Canadian Foundation for Innovation
invests $15M in Oak Ridge project, Associated Press
via Tennessean, 2B, Oct. 19, here.
Knoxville airport authority expects
grant for testing intrusion-detection technology,
Knox. News Sentinel, Oct. 23, here.
Oak Ridge technology corridor marks
20th anniversary: leaders acknowledge shortfalls,
but Corridor lists more than 1,000 tech-oriented firms
in Knoxville area. Knoxville News Sentinel, Oct. 21,
here. Landowners disappointed with Corridor
economic benefit, Knoxville News Sentinel, Oct. 21,
here. Booster
says Oak Ridge corridor has outpaced Research Triangle
in that North Carolina facility's formative years,
Associated Press via The Tennessean, Oct. 21, p.
5B,
here.
Univ. of Memphis Symposium: Ethics of
Electronic Info. in
21st Century, through 10/26, here.
Buckeye Technologies names Matula
EVP/CFO, Commercial Appeal, Oct. 21, here.
Dell's VP Worldwide Operations IT and
Procurement Steven Finnerty among speakers at Nov. 6
conference on aligning IT with business strategy.
Event also features former IBM CIO Dr. Jerry
Luftman. Annual Forum, Memphis Chapter of Society for Information Management.
Event funds a scholarship for future IT managers.
Commercial-Appeal, Oct. 18, here.
Oak Ridge contractor BWXT Y-12
challenges East Tennessee high-school students to design
car for elderly, as part of the National Engineering Design
Challenge (NEC and Verizon
are among national sponsors). The deadline for team
registration is Nov. 7. For more information, contact
Ryan Conatser at (865) 574-6941 or write here. Knox.
News Sentinel, Oct. 22, here.
VENTURE /
ENTERPRISE:
iPayment gains Barrington Research investment
scrutiny, Nash. Bus. Journal, Oct. 22, here.
Symphony and Iasis founder Ken Perry's
Bulldog
IT raises $1.4M from investors
Gerdes Huff, Sandhill and Lucas, Tennessean, Oct. 16,
3E, here.
Symphony Services, IT consultant with Nashville presence,
gets T H Putnam equity investment to fuel growth,
release Sept. 29, here.
BellSouth's revenue leaps on sales of
Internet, wireless, Nash. Bus. Journal, Oct. 22,
here. Reuters (Washington Post) Oct. 22, here. AP via
Tennessean, Oct. 23, 2E, not on
web.
Joe Huddleston now Nashville-based
vp-client services of Liquid
Engine (Sunnyvale, CA),
following closure of his Grant Thornton office here.
Nash. Bus. Journal, p. 5, Oct. 17, here.
Cold Feet
Creative Co-Founder
Clint Smith, 32, says customers for the firm's Emma® e-mail
solution, an open-source
application, have grown from 30 Nashville users in
February to roughly 250 in 30 states and at least six
other nations. Smith says users include managers of
major brands, publishing houses, nonprofits, agencies,
retailers and others. Smith and Co-Founder Will Weaver,
31, cut their Internet/Web teeth at such places as
SmallBusiness.com, CitySearch and Hammock Publishing
after respective college stints at Vanderbilt and
Sewanee. In November 2001, they founded Cold Feet. Smith
explains they were driven to create an email service for
small businesses that would rival what they'd seen used
by some of the nation's largest and most creative
enterprises. While continuing to provide web services,
the duo worked more than a year producing the Emma suite
they designed. Cold Feet's momentum increased in
February, when Weaver and Smith stepped-up marketing of
Emma and added design and customer-support staff. Growth
of the business has been funded through operating
revenues, says Smith. "Really, we have bootstrapped this
thing in every sense of the word," says Smith, who adds
that while there's no plan to seek outside financing at
this time, they're open to opportunities to talk with
the right folks.
SmartDM announces software-development,
database hires, Tennessean, Oct. 19, 5E, scroll
here.
Further coverage: Asurion deal
on Grassmere headquarters, Oct. 14, Nash. Bus.
Journal, here. City Paper, p. 13, Oct. 16, here. Earlier
item, News Summary, Oct. 15, here. Also,
Asurion adds T-Mobile to customer roster, Nash. Bus.
Journal, Oct. 22, here and
Asurion release here.
Former Private Business exec Redman
named Civitas/Cool
Springs' "branch manager" for Internet and telephone
banking services, Nash. Bus. Journal, Oct. 17, p. 4,
here. Kevin Herrington is vp-cto for Civitas.
Earlier NBJ story on Civitas, (6/03), here.
Kyzen
Corp. Co-Founder,
Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Mike Bixenman told
NTC Tuesday (10/21) that the specialty-chemical
manufacturer's cornerstone has been serving the
circuit-board cleaning needs of the electronics
industry, Kyzen's decision to diversify its business led
it to target upstream semiconductors, as well as
metal-finishing and optics sectors, including
opthalmic-lens manufacturers. Diversification
requires knowing those sectors' rapidly changing
production-related cleaning needs, in-depth. Kyzen has
added professionals with expertise to address targeted
sectors. VP/CFO Tom Forsythe says diversification will
probably lead to more jobs in Kyzen's Nashville
headquarters and product-development and lab facilities.
While they're focused on growing their business
internally, Bixenman and Forsythe told NTC they wouldn't
rule out seizing solid opportunities for funding, if
they appear, with an eye toward acquisitions of one or
more competitors. Forsythe says Kyzen (KYZN, OTC:BB) has
"several hundred" clients and Kyzen's growth strategy
seems self-funding. "Kyzen" is derived from
kaizen, the Japanese term for
continuous-improvement processes. Co-Founder and
President Kyle Doyel told The Tennessean that customers'
design, technology and manufacturing-process changes
drive Kyzen to adapt.Tennessean profiles Kyzen,
Oct. 20, p1E, here.
Smyrna's Carlex among suppliers for
Nissan's "Titan" truck, Tennessean, Oct. 21, 1E,
here.
Dell wins services pact with
Boeing, Nash. Bus. Journal, Oct. 20, here. City Paper, p. 13, Oct. 21, not on web.
Tennessean, p. 2E, Oct. 21, not on
web.
Brentwood's New Life Corp. of America
creates distribution center in Texas for disaster
relief, Nash. Bus. Journal, Oct. 17, here.
Tractor Supply creates Braselton, Ga.,
supply center, Nash. Bus. Journal online, Oct. 17,
here.
Vencap investors say we're experiencing
return to normal, but there aren't enough venues for
entrepreneurs and investors to meet, Washington
Post, Oct. 23, here.
Pomeroy IT Solutions (Ky.) sees
revenues exceeding estimates, Oct. 21, release here.
GOVERNMENT:
Tennessee F&A's Office of
Information Resources released RFP 317.03-109 to secure
IT Research & Advisory Services (access to
high-tech analyses, query privileges, etc.) and some
project support, with a 12/3 deadline for proposals. RFP
here.
Tennessee's Education Technical
Assessment Services contract, (RFP) 331-11-012, will
probably be signed by Oct. 29, and the apparent winner
is Knoxville-based Business Information
Group (BIG), according
to state contract-management staff. RFP, here.
TN Economic & Community Development
will hire staff Technology Director, terminate
contract with Technology 2020, Nash. Bus. Journal
online, Oct. 15, here. Tennessean, Oct. 17, 6B, here. See
related item in Oct. 15 News Summary, here.
Metro Nashville Information Services
project-management changes, role of Athena Computer
Learning Center told in Oct. 2003 Corporate
Learning Officer Magazine, via CLOMedia.com, here.
Secrecy around letting RFP for gaming,
including data center and data-recovery backup, stirs
controversy for Tennessee Education Lottery
Corp., Tennessean, Oct. 18, p.
6B, here.
Following apparent inmate credit-card
theft, TN prisoners with history of identity theft won't
be allowed to work in TRICOR
inmate jobs involving data entry, City Paper, Oct.
17, p. 1, here.
With Internet tax moratorium set to
expire, Gov. Bredesen asks Sen. Bill Frist
to help ensure congressional action doesn't limit the
state's right to tax telecom, even as access to
affordable Internet services is improved, City Paper,
Oct. 22, p. 4, here. Related
story, AP via the Tennessean, Oct. 22, p. 6B, not on
web. Meanwhile, Sen. Lamar
Alexander said yesterday he will not
support extending state-taxing authority, Associated
Press via New York Times, Oct. 23, here, and Tennessean, Oct. 23, p. 10A, not on
Tennessean web. The definition of "phone" is critical
issue for states' legislators, Washington Post, Oct. 23,
here.
Transcript of yesterday's (10/22)
Washington Post interview with OMB's e-Gov czar, Karen
Evans, here.
Evans addresses such topics as underfunding of e-Gov
Fund. Related link, here.
Oct. 31 is deadline for Metro
RFP
03-139 for Business continuity and
disaster recovery
services.
EDUCATION & PROF.
DEVELOPMENT:
The Center for IT
Education (CITE) at Nashville
State Community College says in its October
newsletter that it should have a design specification
completed by the end of the year for "an online resource
which would have up-to-date information on IT
educational and training opportunities, provide a
clearinghouse for IT job postings and available
internships, and link IT professionals and graduates
with regional IT positions. In the past year,
discussions of such an exchange explored the
possibilities of becoming a virtual marketplace for IT
workforce development, focusing on future workforce
needs and opportunities as well as the current
environment." For information, user query form.
Vanderbilt, Fisk Interdisciplinary
Program for Research and Education wings nanotech grant,
aims to produce scholars, researchers, workers to meet
the projected nanotech workforce boom; VU also
stands to gains Ph.D. candidates, Nash. Bus. Journal, p.
20, Oct. 17, here. Related story, p. 5, Vanderbilt
Register, Oct. 20, here. Also, p. 3, Green Hills News,
Oct. 9, not on web. Earlier, see News Summary,
Oct. 15, here.
VU Engineering Dean Ken Galloway
named to U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. VU
Chem Engineering Professor Peter Cummings named to
Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee of U.S. Dept.
of Energy. Both items, Oct. 20, p. 2, Vanderbilt
Register.
Univ. Tennessee professor cited in
supercomputing story: VPI Engineering students using
Apple computers assemble one of the world's fastest
supercomputers -- for perhaps a tenth the cost of
fastest computers in Japan or U.S., New York Times, Oct.
21, here.
Online enrolment for college courses
increases steadily, according to local colleges,
Nash. Bus. Journal, p. 21, Oct. 17, here.
Hillsboro Middle School 3rd-grade
students use art in learning about space,
Tennessean, Oct. 20, p. 4B, here.
VU-Meharry-TSU science education
program touches six Metro middle schools, p. 1
Davidson AM, Tennessean, Oct. 22, here.
Dell/VU-sponsored competition is early
challenge for students in new Science Academy within
Father Ryan HS, p. 2 Davidson AM, Tennessean, Oct.
22, not on web.
Resources:
NTC co-sponsors "Management Skills for
IT Professionals" educational event, Nov. 5-7,
registration materials now on web, here.
Business Software Alliance (BSA) survey
shows software piracy, security are executives' top
concerns, Nash. Bus. Journal, Oct. 17, not on web.
BSA release (10/5) and full report, here.
PC Serve Technology Consultants'
project for McKerley & Noonan accounting becomes
Microsoft case
study, Nash. Bus. Journal,
p. 8, Oct. 17, not on web.
Cell-phone number portability long
overdue, The Tennessean (Opinion), 28A, Oct. 19,
here.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 released
yesterday, Oct. 22, New York Times, here.
Technical Societies -- Middle Tennessee chapters of
national technical societies have been invited by
convenor BJ Safdie, owner and principal consultant of
MetaManagement, to become founding cooperative members
of The Middle Tennessee Association of Technical
Societies (MTATS), which Safdie and others in the
community seek to form, in the interst of fostering
cooperation and collaboration among the region's
professional associations. Safdie told NTC (10/21) that
MTATS will encourage member organizations to collaborate
to select, design, schedule and promote joint and
individual technical conferences, symposia and
technology fairs. A key MTATS goal is promoting
professional development and membership in professional
societies. Safdie says MTATS' "full members" will be
non-profit, non-commercial technical societies and
related organizations focused on professional
development. Other organizations (e.g., user groups,
educational institutions, governmental bodies,
non-technical associations, and corporations) may have
"limited, non-voting memberships." For more information,
write Safdie, here.
Tech pundit Gilder feels vindicated in
broadband-penetration predictions, but failure to call
the turn on tech and fiberoptic capacity glut haunts him
still, New York Times, 3:1, Oct. 19, here.
Monitoring Metro and State Requests for
Proposals and Bids
Metro Nashville/Davidson Countygovernment,
here.
State of Tennessee:
Tennessee Lottery, here.
Lottery procurement policies, here.
Capital Projects Management,here.
University of Tennessee:
University of Tennessee purchasing, here. UT
contracts list, here.
TN Board of Regents IT Contracts, here.
Scheduled Events: Asterisk (
* ) denotes new or revised
item.
* (Oct. 26) Standard
Time resumes,
Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, as 3 a.m. CDST
becomes 2 a.m. CST.
(Oct. 28) "Wireless Technology": Trends
& Solutions for Business, by Sumner County
Technology Council, Forward Sumner and area
Chambers. No charge, 4-6 p.m., Hendersonville High
School, register (615) 822-9320 or rsvp@sumnertechnology.org
(Oct. 28) Women in Technology in
Tennessee (WITT) program, details here. Business Continuity Planning:
Corporate Pain or Corporate Gain? Panel: Gary Seay,
CIO, Community Health Systems; Rick Henry, CTO/COO,
Paymaxx; Belinda Watkins, IT VP and CISO, Federal
Express; Mary Beth Wilson, Principal, Business
Resilience and Continuity Services Consulting Practice.
(Oct. 28) PMI Nashville meeting with
Herb Gabora on "No-Bull Project Management,"
details
here.
(Oct. 29-30) NTC / Chamber - Annual
"NETWORK Showcase of Business & Technology."
Networking, exhibitors, educational tracks -- more than
100 exhibitors already signed, click.
(Oct. 30) Nashville Technology Council
Forum, President David Condra, for details,
registration, see item in Upfront section above or write
here.
(Nov. 5) Professional-Technical Career
Fair, Nashville State Community College, details,
here. Current
exhibitors, here.
(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. 6) Annual Forum, Memphis
Chapter of Society for Information Management, 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.
Speakers announced, here.
(Nov. 12-15) American Society of Civil
Engineers, national conference and expo,
Nashville, here.
* (Nov. 13) Bureau of Industry and
Security Outreach and Educational Services Division,
"Essentials of Export Controls,"
BellSouth Tower, 7:30 a.m. registration, program
8:30a.m.-4:30 p.m., details here.
(Nov. 13) HIPAA Impact on IT, Ed
Miller, CTO of Digichart, AITP Nashville, register,
here.
* (Nov. 13) Dr. Duncan T. Moore,
Prof.-Optical Engng., Univ. Rochester, former Assoc.
Director for Technology in The White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy, discusses "Establishing Federal Priorities in
Science and Technology," Jacobs Audit.,
Featheringill Hall, VU School of
Engineering.
(Nov. 17-19) TN Venture Forum, by
TN Tech. Development Corp., Chattanooga, details, here.
(Nov. 19-20) ITEC, Memphis. TN OIR
Deputy Commissioner Richard Rognehaugh and City of
Memphis CIO Darryl Anderson are the keynote speakers,
here.
(Dec. 3-5) Tennessee Education
Technology Conference, details here.
Related, here.
(Dec. 4) Seminar on Liability issues
for engineers, Tennessee Engineering Center,
Adventure Sci. Center, Don Friedman of Crow Friedman
Group, presented by TN Society of Professional
Engineers, et al, write ctoler@tnec.org
for details or call (615) 242-2486
(Dec. 4) NTC Technology Round Table,
"State of Tennessee IT: Strategic Planning, Project
Management, & Cyber Security," Richard Rognehaugh,
Deputy Commissioner - Office of Information Resources,
State of Tennessee, reception and dinner. Related
resources, here.
(Dec. 9) Nashville Technology Council
"Holiday Business Mixer," Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., Two
Doors Down, Demonbreun Street, cash bar. Map, here.
(Dec. 11) AITP Nashville chapter
meeting, Dr. Sonny Reynolds (humor). Register, here.
(Dec. 18) InfraGard mid-TN, chapter
meeting, 2 p.m., presentation 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. |
|
