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Nashville Technology Council
offers an unprecedented array of programs
during the balance of 2006. For details, visit NTC right here.
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CONTENTS
SCHEDULED:
Technology-centered professional, industry
and educational events in middle Tennessee and the
region, here...
IN
THE SPOTLIGHT:
Tom Tarver of LBMC eHealth Solutions is
forming alliances, and moving the ball among
smaller hospitals and physicians' practices.
Read more, here
.
FOCUS:
Joe Cook's Mountain Group Capital is looking for
Tennessee acquisition candidates, where management
wants to stay around, here.
PARTNERS:
New
management, kudos!, vendor alliances, tech
achievements and More...
GOVERNMENT:
Keep up with government agencies,
technology policy, trends, RFPs
and More...
INNOVATIONS:
Tennessee ideas, tech
think-tanks, universities, research and
development...and More...
RESOURCES: New tools, important ideas
and issues changing your profession and
industry...right
here.
CONNECTIONS
The General Assembly's broadband
task force will meet Tuesday, July 18, 10
a.m., Legislative Plaza Room
12.
Only 46 percent of Metro
Schools students in Davidson County have Internet
access for studies, Tennessean, June 17.
(Ed. note: Annually, 50 percent or more of Metro's
student population are eligible for free or
reduced lunches, due to their household's low
income.) Tennessean, June 17. Statewide school
district comparison, PDF. In a handful of
districts, about a third of teachers don't have
Internet access at home.
TRA
Chairman Ron Jones wants the poor to have access
to computers, plans to establish Center
for Equal Technology Access, Tennessean, June 13.
Nortel
appoints Roese chief technology officer,
release June 22.
FCC ruling yesterday
would require VoIP providers to contribute to fund
for users in rural and poor areas, NY
Times, June 22. FCC to revisit media
ownership, AP via Knox. News Sentinel, June
22.
Cellphone users calling 911
in Tennessee often don't provide GPS location,
despite millions collected in user fees,
Times Free Press, June 16.
U.S.
House action on Telecom act could cost Metro
Nashville, NY Times, June 9
(archive). Wash. Post, June 9. Related
NashvillePost.com story, May 5.
BellSouth
connections and petitioners crowd the agenda (pdf) for the June 26
meeting of Tennessee Regulatory
Authority. Allies converge in urging FCC to deny
pending BellSouth-AT&T merger, Louisville Bus.
Journal, June 6.
Counsel
Corporation (Toronto) announced June 15 that C2
Communications (sub. of C2 Global
Technologies) is suing BellSouth and other phone
companies in E. Texas court, alleging VoIP patent
infringement, release here. Wash. Post, June 17.
Under
Sen. Stevens, U.S. Senate advances its version of
Telecom Bill, News.com, June 19. CNET
special coverage section here. Wash. Post, June 13.
Comcast
on June 9 formally introduced ESPN2 HD to the
Nashville market. A Comcast spokesman
subsequently told NashvillePost.com,
"Comcast serves close to 340,000 residences in the
Middle Tennessee area, many of whom receive
HD. In order to receive ESPN2HD a customer
needs to subscribe to at least Comcast's digital
basic package and have an HD receiver. As a
percent of growth, HD is the fastest growing
segment of Comcast's business..."
Mania: A Nortel-Motorola
deal in the making after Siemens-Nokia
transaction? NY Times, June
21.
DC council votes to proceed
with high-speed Wireless Internet project
with Earthlink, Wash. Post, May 12. GAO study broadband
deployment.
HealthStream Inc. named Eddie
Pearson senior vice president, with
responsibility for growing the company's quality
and satisfaction surveying efforts,
NashvillePost.com, June 21. Nash. Bus. Journal, June 21. Responding to a
question yesterday from NashvillePost.com
about accepting the HealthStream post, Pearson
said in part, "Developing and
growing HealthStream's research business is a
unique opportunity... My experiences prior to
HealthStream have almost all involved the delivery
of technology-driven solutions to improve
operations in healthcare organizations, so
HealthStream is a natural fit..."
LBMC eHealth aligns with
athenahealth, Inc. for practice-management
software-as-services, customer service,
release June 20. Nash. Bus.
Journal, June 20. City Paper, June 21. See today's Spotlight
feature on LBMC Health President Tom Tarver,
below.
LBMC Technologies asks
local Health IT execs to provide feedback on
proposed alliance with SAP and InfoSys
Inc., NashvillePost.com, June 15.
Nashville Medical News, one of
this newsletter's sister publications, has a new
website for breaking news and monthly
editions, here.
Center for
Healthcare and Technology at FedEx Institute at U.
Memphis will help providers adapt
technologies, Comm. Appeal, June 8.
Steve
Simpson sees 'organic growth' as future
focus: Spheris Inc.'s recent
acquisitions give the transcription
company speech recognition and XML resources, but
it needs to surmount the shortage of
transcriptionists and narrow a $2.9 million
quarterly loss. Page 22A Nash. Bus. Journal, June
16 supplement, not on web. [Ed.
Note: Spheris has no plans to move personnel
from recently acquired Vianeta Communications
(Milpitas) to Nashville, according to a
spokesperson earlier this week.] Spheris
wins award for medical-transcription development
from Medical Records Institute, p. 16, June 16,
Nash. Bus. Journal, not on web. 1Q06 results here.
Two Franklin women are among
eHealth Advisory Council members, Tennessean, June 8. Related
story, June 1, NashvillePost.com
Rogers joins Healthcare
Management Systems as technical-systems
analyst, City Paper, p. 10, June
13.
Canada- and Brentwood-Based Momentum Healthware said June 8
it will release a touch-screen interface
for EHR, billing data transfer, release June 8.
Three local companies climb higher
in annual "Healthcare Informatics 100"
ranking: Passport Health Communications
vaults from #92 to #67, with revenues up 47
percent; Healthcare Management Systems moves from
66 to 47; and Spheris advances from 28 to
19.
EHR on patient wallet-card
getting test among five providers, payers and
others in East Tennessee, thanks to grant
from Patient Safety Institute, Knox. News
Sentinel, June 21.
First
nationwide Health Information Network Forum is
June 28-29, Washington, D.C.
Sessions will explore functional requirements and
technical architecture of health information
exchange. Draft agenda here.
UnumProvident launches web-based
enrollment platform, June 6, Chattanoogan.com.
CareSpark RHIO in E. TN. figures
out how to get a RHIO paid for, FWC
GovHealthIT, June 12.
Emageon expands IT services
contract with Sisters of Mercy Health
System, Birmingham. Birm. Bus. Journal,
June 19.
PICIS
signs Erlanger and other emergency departments for
information system, release June 12.
VENTURES
Asurion completes acquisition of
San Mateo-based Lumitrend, Nash. Bus.
Journal, June 21. Release June 21.
Acxiom accords former SmartDM
President Jay Graves more clout in Acxiom Direct's
leadership, NashvillePost.com, June
19.
In Memphis, startup Vontoo
Corporation's permission-based, celebrity
voice-mail messaging lets senders blast
audiences, with demographic-specific ads included,
Memphis Daily News, June
20.
Compass Executives LLC, allied with
NMG Advisers Inc., launches with a dozen
senior-executive consultants,
NashvillePost.com, June 20. Nash. Bus. Journal, June 20. Tennessean online, June 20 (print, 3E, June 21).
City Paper, June 21.
Belmont
University sophomore Andy Tabar has launched an
online city guide, Club
Nash.
SmartFurniture
origins described in extensive profile by
Scripps Howard News Service, June 6. Location in Chattanooga
is described as key ingredient in success.
New web-enabled database and
newsletter will help M. Lee Smith Publishers
support employers' efforts to track
changes in state laws, City Paper, June 8.
FaceYourMate.com, a proprietary
online dating site, reflects Nashville's
tech diversity - from the good folks at Physiognomy Interface
Technologies (Pink: PGTG), release June 19. Physiognomy, they say,
is the "art of judging human character from facial
features." Temperament is also analyzed. Don
Tolman is the resident expert, says Physiognomy's
release June 19. Holman is also apparently a
whole-foods guru, here.
Area
entrepreneurs launch Formative Business
Solutions, Internet services and web
e-commerce application, Nash. Bus. Journal, p. 16,
June 16.
RedHerring and Israeli
Venture Assn. announce best Israeli tech
startups, INS, June 18.
Goldleaf Financial Services
expands credit facility, release June 16. Nash.
Bus. Journal, June 16.
Shop At
Home Network LLC begins operations today, to
continue Shop At Home operations
on reduced basis, under leadership of CEO who was
with former SAH. Release June 21. Some
Shop-At-Home employees may keep their jobs, as
Jewelry Television preps to buy assets, NashvillePost.com, June
19. Knoxville-based Jewelry Television may
buy some assets of Shop-At-Home, AP via The State (Cola., SC),
June 8. Tennessean, June 20. Tennessean,
June 22.
Most jobs in Dell expansion
will be on Davidson County campus, rather than at
Lebanon plant, Green Hills News, June 8,
page 1, not online.
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FOCUS:
Mountain Group Capital seeks mid-Tennessee
acquisitions
Huntsville-based JIT Services LLC
and its owner — Nashville-based Mountain
Group Capital (MGC) — are actively exploring an
acquisition of an integrated distribution,
logistics and value-added company in middle
Tennessee.
According to JIT Services founder and board
member Pete Ferrante, the company is also
considering acquisition candidates in Louisville,
Alabama, Texas and in Mexico, where JIT has two
units. In addition to inventory management,
logistics, EDI and other services, the expanding
network of JIT outsourcing centers will shoulder a
wide range of projects, ranging from programming,
printing and light assembly, to packaging or
quality-assurance sorting. JIT recently expanded
operations in Peachtree City, Ga., to be near its
OEM customer, Panasonic.
The JIT
model may eventually be replicated in the
Nashville area. However, MGC Founder
Joseph C. Cook Jr. (at left) recently
told NashvillePost.com that MGC has
reviewed "12 to 15" acquisition candidates in
various sectors in middle Tennessee in the past
couple of years, thus far with no deal. Cook said
he is currently exploring three specific
acquisitions in the state. Ferrante said
MGC/JIT are also exploring JIT-linked acquisitions
in Louisville, Texas and in Mexico, where JIT
currently has two operations.
MGC’s
published investment criteria seem clear
enough — emphasizing transactions in the
$3 million to $15 million range, for Southeastern
companies with revenue $5 million to $30 million.
Cook recently estimated MGC businesses controlled
by Cook and several family members are generating
about $15 million in total annual revenue, with a
combined workforce of more than
200.
Cook told
NashvillePost.com that MGC tends to
shy-away from IT pure-plays and services
businesses, and currently prefers manufacturing,
value-added distribution and medical-device
businesses.
He said
prospects often fade away, when would-be sellers
learn that MGC has some criteria that
don’t fit neatly on a spreadsheet: The fund
tries to buy companies in which the original
owners "willing sellers, who are not trying to get
the highest dollar" from sale of their firm "and
who care about the legacy" they leave to their
community. "They want to continue living in the
same town and walk into the hardware store and not
feel ashamed" about having sold the firm.
Cook’s son, Joe III, a veteran of J. C.
Bradford and R. W. Baird investment
banking, told NashvillePost.com that
deals being brought to Mountain Group by referral
sources are increasingly "a good quality-fit for
us," as referrers get better at screening-out
sellers whose main goal is to "maximize sales
price."
In addition to JIT
Services, MGC’s holdings and affiliates
include: Clinical Products LP
markets Extendbar, a food product that
helps diabetics manage glucose levels, and which
Extendbar manufactures via Nashville's Standard Candy. A third
company, Quality Filtration, began
operations in Nashville less than a year ago, and
now has nine employees. Cook Jr. said recently the
filtration firm is not yet profitable.
MGC was founded in 2000 by Cook Jr., now
64. He remains chairman of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
the San Diego-based company that Cook once led as
CEO during a five-year turnaround effort.
Earlier, he served 28 years with Eli Lilly and
Company. Cook earned his B.S. in Engineering
at the University of Tennessee and he is chairman
of the UT College of Engineering’s advisory
board. ♦
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LMBC eHealth:
Tarver allies with Athenahealth
and eTransX
Tom Tarver likes to have some skin
in the game. So, when he returned
to the Lattimore, Black Morgan & Cain PC &
Affiliates (LBMC) fold in January 2004 after
a five-year absence, he arrived as co-owner of
newly formed LBMC eHealth Solutions
LLC.
With
the backing of LBMC managing principals David
Morgan and Mike Cain, Tarver
(pictured above) returned to LBMC with a
broad mandate to help LBMC use hosted services to
strengthen its presence in eHealth. Tarver
initially took nearly a year to shape a
two-pronged strategy: LBMC eHealth
would offer physicians ASP-model
practice-management solutions, with
intelligent-billing capabilities; and, would offer
hospitals decision-support (DSS) dashboards that
would enable quality- and safety-driven hospital
executives to measure "anything that has metrics."
In a statement released earlier
this week, Tarver said, "Solutions for practice
management can't just consist of
software, they must be complete utilities that
provide software, detailed payer knowledge and
[user interfaces] that a medical practice plugs
into, [then] pays a small fee per use, and
receives tangible results," in the form of
improved revenue-cycle
management.
This spring, Tarver
announced that LBMC eHealth had entered
partnerships with athenahealth, Inc. for
medical-group practice-management solutions; and,
with Nashville-based eTransX Inc. for
executive-dashboard development, the latter being
primarily aimed at smaller
rural hospitals.
The
LBMC-eTransX offering addresses decision support
and benchmarking related to such
variables as payer reimbursements, materiel costs,
and revenue and billing-reject analysis. Many
smaller hospitals need dashboards that can operate
independently of the hospitals' often-antequated
information systems. LBMC eHealth recently
deployed an initial version of LBMC-eTransX
dashboard services to 27
hospitals.
Tarver believes the
LBMC-athenahealth package is
distinguished from those of such
competitors as Emdeon Business Services by its
combination of web-based ASP model; a robust
patient-billing solution, with continually updated
payer knowledge, including payment rules; customer
charges based only on a percentage of cash
collections; plus, options for full outsourcing of
bandwidth (typically via DSL), Exchange-server
hosting, data and customer-service centers, and
other features.
The LBMC eHealth
plan also calls for augmenting provider services
with services provided, as needed, by other LBMC divisions,
including: information security, backup and
recovery; human-resource management; health and
medical benefits and 401Ks; accounting, reporting,
taxes, HIPAA, valuations and due diligence; and,
practice-management audits.
On
Tuesday, Tarver told NashvillePost.com
that his 29-month-old company is now
profitable, employing four full-time
dedicated staff and drawing as needed on staffs of
other LBMC companies. The entire LBMC group
employs 265 persons.
Tarver
shares ownership of the eHealth company
with LBMC Healthcare LLC and LBMC Technologies LLC (related story,
here). He declined to
provide revenue figures, but offered Results Physiotherapy —
formerly, Tracy Caulkins Physiotherapy Centers —
as a current client (based in Nashville, with
Australian ownership).
During
Tuesday's interview, Tarver sounded happy to "get
back into healthcare." For about five
years in the mid-Eighties, Tarver was senior
strategic program manager for some of HCA's
management-information and automation systems for
operating rooms, scheduling, billing, nursing,
patient care and other functions. His
subsequent career also included a decade as
marketing senior director for a salesforce
automation product and program director for global
EDI for Nortel, based in Nashville; next, a term
as GM and corporate CIO for the Nashville and St.
Louis offices of Empower Trainers and Consultants
(Kansas City); then, two years with LBMC
Technologies in web and commerce development; and,
finally, nearly five years as CEO and CTO of
Link2Gov.com, before returning to LBMC. At
Link2Gov, among other duties, Tarver led design
and development of Metro's Nashville.gov site;
Metro Public Health's Bridges-to-Care program, and
e-payment sites for IRS tax payments via
www.Pay1040, among other programs.
Tarver, 52, is a Nashville native
who as a youth occasionally surfed the wakes of
barges on the Cumberland River. Tarver
confesses that on a recent business-and-pleasure
trip to Australia, he was so exhausted by moving
through 14 time-zones and visiting five cities in
11 days, he couldn't venture forth during a day at
Surfers' Paradise, Downunder. Tarver earned his
B.B.A., with emphasis on MIS and
accounting/finance at Belmont University. He
is a Certified Data Professional. He resides in
Hermitage and has an adult son.
(##)
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PARTNERS &
RECOGNITION
Technology-law veteran Doeg
shoulders managing-shareholder role in Nashville
office of Baker Donelson, while
predecessor Papel takes over Doeg's former M&A
practice, NashvillePost.com, June 16. Tennessean, June
17.
Erstwhile SheerGenius
entrepreneur Matt Kenigson has joined corporate
ranks, serving as systems integrator for
Franklin American Mortgage, where CIO duties are
shared by two execs who report to CFO Scott Tansil.
The
IT Services Management Forum
named officers: Terry Blankenship,
president (St. of TN OIR); Alan Cantrell,
secretary (VU); Nowell McKee, chair-membership
(New Horizons Learning Cntr). Tennessean, 5E, June 18. (See scheduled events,
below.) Group meets six times per year.
Blankenship is State OIR's process-driven service
delivery leader, has run ITIL implementation for the
State, and has private-sector experience with
Deloitte, Accenture and GE software development.
He is certified Six Sigma Black
Belt.
CIBER, the Colorado firm
with a substantial Nashville presence since buying
SCB Computer Technology a few years ago,
announced yesterday it has opened another
Bangalore, India software development facility, release June
21.
Guitarist Mark Knopfler, a
Nashville denizen, promotes the AMD Opteron
chip, because of quality he believes it
brings to digital recordings, like his latest with
Emmylou, NY Times, June 19.
Pharos
Capital of Dallas and Nashville named Joel
Goldberg principal; Goldberg has Bradford
M&A experience and is a Vanderbilt econ/math
graduate. Release
June 20.
Computer Networks
Manager Watts at Boult Cummings Conners and Berry
expresses concerns about security of
lawyers using IM, Orlando Sentinel, June 11. She's
introduced Postini to filter for
malware.
ZDNet continued to press
case for Goldleaf Financial misrepresentation of
'phishing' or 'hacking' incident, ZDNet
June 1 here and here, and again June 7; and, Journal Star June,
7 here. Meanwhile, ZDNet also
serves-up Goldleaf whitepaper on preventing
hacking, here. Related, BusinessWeek
online, June 06. (Earlier NP.com
coverage, May 30.)
Would-be Nissan vendors must file
profiles via online form, Nash. Bus.
Journal, June
9.
Profile: Darrell
Freeman's Zycron, with revenues beyond $20
million. Nash. Bus. Journal, p. 13,
June 16. Freeman profile, News
of Nashville Technology (NP), here.
Asurion's CMO Byron Smith (former
Excite@Home.com exec) comments on proliferation of
wireless-enabled media as driver in
Asurion growth, p. 37A, Nash. Bus. Journal, June
16, not on web.
Former Gaylord,
Belo Interactive and Scripps Network executive
Linda Fisk is named to head marketing for
IFILM, an MTV online short-form film site. Release
June 5. Maybe her resume will be here by the
time you read this.
Healthways Inc.
wins ASTD award for challenge-based
training, Healthways release, June 20.
The CyberAngel of Nashville has a
string of laptop-computer recoveries to
tout, release June 19. Related: Spike in
laptop thefts spurs jitters, Wash. Post, June
22.
Thad Hoffman joined Rustici
Software LLC (Cool Springs) as e-learning software
developer. Hoffman's previous experienced
includes Northern Telecom and Gallagher Financial
Systems. Tennessean, 5E, June 11.
Ingram
Micro wins most-important reseller label for third
consecutive year by VARBusiness, June
12. ?.v=55
Christian
Music Trade Association named Ben Cooper systems
manager, Tennessean, 5E, June 18.
Pera of
Adams and Reese (Memphis) is named head of
American Bar Association standing
committee on technology and information systems,
release June
18.
Laurie Crook's Accord Scientific is now
exclusively recruiting for biotechnology
fields, eyeing Memphis demand in
particular, Nash. Bus. Journal, p.5, June 16, not
on web. Related item, Tennessean, 5E, June 18.
EAST-WEST
Brian Spaid, CTO of MediaPulse
Inc. (Knox.), will help judge of the 10th annual
international WebAward competition for
Web site development by the Web Marketing
Association. GKBJ, June 19.
MTSU campus
will get new Science building, as result of State
budgeting, Daily News Journal, June 22.
Univ. of Memphis Cybersecurity
training certified by National Security
Agency, Comm. Appeal, June 22.
Report
finds Memphis area workforce shrinking and
marginally prepared for the knowledge
economy, Comm.
Appeal, June 22. Memphis Bus. Journal,
June 21.
Tennessee said to be
a top technology exporter, Nash. Bus.
Journal, June 12. Memphis Bus. Journal,
June 12. AEA report.
Oak
Ridge City Council votes to approve loan to
Pro2Serve to build facility at Oak Ridge
NL, OakRidger, June
20.
Knoxville-based Netster.com search engine and
portal adds WeatherChannel weather to the
gateway, release June 20. Netster is a
wholly owned sub of Internet REIT (iREIT), privately held, in
Houston.
Cyber Defense Agency, a
consultant with a Knoxville office, provides
security services to the power industry,
among others, and announced June 20 the opening of
a Washington, D.C.-area research and
representation office.
FedEx on
June 13 launched its Critical Inventory Location
supply-chain service. No word on
whether this service was employed in FedEx's Herculean effort to return
penguins and otters to their home at he New
Orleans Audubon Zoo.
Knoxville's Alta Via Consulting announced
its partnership with macs Software NA, Inc.
(Pittsburgh), June 13.
AT&T Blue Room podcasts pushed
Bonnaroo performances to customers, release June 13.
A Tennessee motorist was named a
Vita Wireless Samaritan for using her cell phone
to help a family in distress after a
lawnmower accident, release June
19.
Interactive Solutions' open
house for video conference and streaming draw a
crowd, Comm. Appeal, June
21.
New home for tech companies at
Roane Regional Business and Technology
Park, Knox. News Sentinel, June 21.
Jobs!
Now economic-development campaign is said to
produce larger capital-investment gains than in
Memphis or Nashville, Knox. News
Sentinel, June 21.
Oak
Ridge development agency wonders whether it's time
to cut back on tax incentives for new
jobs, Knox. News Sentinel, June 20.
In
Knoxville, Scripps Networks' HGTV goes
High-Def, teaming with Rivr Media, with
Dish Network satellite TV as first HD taker, Knox.
News Sentinel, June
9. http://knoxnews.com/kns/business/article/0,1406,KNS_376_4760990,00.html
Knoxville's
former Tradewind, now a unit of Siris of
Toronto, is growing business for
RFID-enabled credit cards, used by Regal
Entertainment and others, Knox. News Sentinel, June 4.
The
Krystal Co. (Chattanooga) adopts MapInfo software
to plot new, more profitable outlets,
based on demographic and competition data, Times Free Press, June 10.
News Sentinel editors in Knoxville
applaud Dell Inc. expansion in Nashville,
Knox. News Sentinel, June 10.
Hacker
could have Oak Ridge NL workers' data,
Knox. News Sentinel, June 13.
Ginny
Moore to Operations manager at AIMS
Logistics, Knoxville, Knox. News
Sentinel, June 11.
Louisville's USWireless, which provides
broadband services in TN and elsewhere, speaks of
possible sale, delay in financial
reporting and appointment of new COO and CTO, release June 9.
Innovative Processing Solutions,
in Chattanooga, announced strong rise in
transactions volume, release June
16.
Nashville Area Arts portal is in
its first year of operation, here.
Related story, Nash. Bus. Journal, p. 6, June
16.
Memphis BioWorks CEO Bares
listed among those joining Memphis/Shelby strategy
process to surmount economic and
population trends, Comm. Appeal, June
17.
Older Chattanoogans are
uncomfortable using e-commerce, Times
Free Press, June 18.
Believe
it Or Not: A programmer with a 6-pack:
Knoxville software engineer makes People
magazines hunk list. Knox. News Sentinel, June 18.
UT Med
Center LIFESTAR 'copters now outfitted with
night-vision technology, Knox. News Sentinel, June
12.
GOVERNMENT
Metro's new
five-year contract with Smart & Associates (Phila.)
and Smart's introduction of Ariba
Software (Sunnyvale) for web-based
e-Procurement,which has been a largely manual
operation Metrowide, according to procurement
manager Jeff Gossage (ref: RFP
05-101). While the "savings" do not reflect
the cost of Smart/Ariba and related expenses, it
seems important. The new system will
automate issuance of bid solicitations and help
improve compliance with purchasing policies by
Metro agencies, Gossage said. Bidders other than
Smart included E-Verge, Cyber and Global
e-Procure.
Metro Procurement
Notice: Due to e-procurement changes
(see above), ALL METRO VENDORS must visit
the Metro Purchasing site and
re-register to receive bid invitations and to
submit proposals and bids.
Attorney
David Briley, who was retained for possible
Nashville activity within a budding
nationwide class-action lawsuit against
BellSouth for allegedly improperly providing
customer information to the National Security
Agency (NSA), may move to the sidelines if a
motion by Verizon to consolidate all such lawsuits
in federal district court in the District of
Columbia is honored by a Judicial Panel on
Multidistrict Litigation. The panel was to review
the matter June 19, but no word on outcome, as of
yet. Verizon says requiring the parties to
ligitate all over the nation would jeopardize
national security. Related story Washington Post,
June 8. Related story,
Jurist.com, June 15.
Metro
Government's RFP 06-33 for Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) and expanded 3-1-1
system, resulting from recommendations
three years ago by Gartner, drew submissions from
Fujitsu Consulting, Lagan Technologies,
Third Sky Inc., The Active Network, Hansen, ACS
State and Local Solutions, and Motorola. A panel
reviewing proposals is scheduled to meet June 27.
TN ECD Commissioner Kisber
reportedly believes Nissan move will generate IT
jobs for middle Tennessee, outside
Nissan, Jackson Miss. Clarion-Ledger, June 21.
Diebold
Information and Security Systems was the State's
top pick for the statewide IT tech
services contract, announcement letter June 9 here. RFP 317.03-142. The only other
bidder was Pomeroy
IT.
NashvillePost.com reported
hearing that TBI and FBI are investigating local
political and business leaders, on
suspicion of efforts to coerce business with
minority-owned firms, June 15.
Secret
Service Electronic Crimes Task Force offices are
now in Birmingham and Louisville, and nearly
two-dozen other cities, but none in
Tennessee, Birm. Bus. News, June 9.
Brazil's
Embraer Aircraft Maintenance
Services, Inc. (sub. of Empresa Brasileira de
Aeronautica S.A.) , investment at Metro
Nashville Airport attracts $750K State FastTrack
infrastructure grant. (Ed. Note: Maintenance
facility includes avionics systems support.)
NashvillePost.com, June 19. Nash. Bus. Journal, June 19.
Earlier story, DefenseAerospace.com, Jan.
27/05. City Paper, June 20.
Metro
Parks surveillance cameras aim to catch illicit
sexual activity, Tennessean, June
21.
Anti-prostitution and the
public e-stocks: An East Nashville
grandmother with a cellphone patrolling her street
may be bigger deterrent than Metro website that displays
photos and personal information of suspected
'Johns', Tennessean, p.1, June 22. Arrests keep rising,
civil libertarians wonder about humiliation vs
reform.
Fellowship assists
Davidson County election commission with voter
education about new electronic-voting
machines, Tennessean, June
2.
Gallatin Police adopt Automated
Fingerprinting Identification System,
Tennessean, June
5.
Electronic-voting machines
will be introduced in Memphis in August,
Comm. Appeal, June 8. In Memphis, an online
database checks for "voters" who are actually
deceased, Comm. Appeal, June
13.
Williamson County Schools
abandons print newsletter as too little for too
much and goes with E-mail newsletters, Tennessean, June
6.
Feds increase outsourcing spend
for commercial data-mining services, Wash. Post, June
15.
Franklin Special School
District plans increased spending for software
to 'make technology invisible', Tennessean, June
9.
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INNOVATIONS:
Research, Commercialization and
Universities
Know a budding leader?
Tell them about Generation TN, a conference for
those in their Twenties and Thirties,
July 14-16. Venue: Nashville Downtown Public
Library. Registration deadline is July
7. The Frist Foundation
recently awarded $300,000 in grants to local
nonprofits to integrate technology into their
operations. Foundation President Pete
Bird says in most cases, grantees projected
payback from the technology in less than a year.
Grants recipients, here.
Lottery-generated
HOPE scholarships may enable teachers to return to
school for advanced degrees in Math,
Science, Times Free Press, June
9.
New chief of UT Space Institute
at Tullahoma is optimistic about regaining lost
ground on funding, and regarding role
supporting a Bredesen-championed science and math
academy in the area, Shelbyville Times Gazette, June
14.
Vanderbilt physicist wins
Research Corporation Cottrell scholarship to study
star formation and to attract minority students to
the sciences, Nash. Bus. Journal, June 21.
Vanderbilt's Peabody College Dean
Camilla Benbow is nominated for National Science
Foundation role, VU release June 16. Tennessean,
June 20.
Memphis
Academy of Science and Engineering will expand
curriculum, Comm. Appeal, June 10.
U.
Memphis will offer certification in data analysis
and programming,using SAS software, SAS
release June
16.
Technology camp aims to
inspire broader career ideas among young women in
mid-TN, Tennessean, June 12.
New online summer school is a hit
with Wilson County students, Tennessean, June
7.
Foundation provides $250K for
scholarships for Christian Brothers University
students excelling in science, Comm.
Appeal, June
15.
Students' CAD
architectural-engineering careers project wins
award at Memphis' Downtown Elementary
School, Comm. Appeal, June 15.
Oak
Ridge NL supercomputer will get boost to petaflop
capacity by 2008, amid fierce international
competition; Cray is the strategic
partner, Knox. News Sentinel, June
15. Oak Ridge NL will use WFI
Tactical Survey tool to enable first-responders to
visualize entire campus, release June
13.
Continuation of U.S.
research tax credit may become a victim of
congressional adjournment, despite being
Bush policy priority, Bloomberg, June
19. U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon
(D-6) played pivotal role in House passage of
science, math education and
competitiveness legislation, AIP FYI, June
16.
Tech companies are donating
funds for education for science, math,
engineering, Wash. Post, June
17.
Futurists explore a range of
technology and socioeconomic issues in live chat
and transcripts this week, Washington Post.
Gartner report on 2005 IT
spending, with Health IT spending rated higher
than other segments, June 19, ZDNet.
Robert
Half Technology Tech Hiring Forecast
3Q06, June 14
On June
8, Sprint and Universal Music Group say they sent
live Country performances from Nashville
to Sprint customers' cellphones, with
audio and video, release
here.
Columnist suggests Dell
Inc., Gateway and Quanta in the Nashville area
among the reasons you CAN buy a computer
made in the U.S., PC Magazine, June 9.
World Cup
online offerings may represent a new benchmark for
multifaceted experience, Wash. Post, June
11.
E-Commerce
Reputation-tracking: RapLeaf would ensure
your wheeling-dealing rep follows you through
cyberspace, SiBeat, Mercury News, June 11 and April 24.
Google
building massive computing center in The
Dalles, Ore. New Infoplant
complements perhaps 25 facilities, perhaps
reflecting nearly half-million servers, NY Times,
June 14.
Verizon
to carry PBS' primary and multicast digital
channels, Wash. Post., June 16.
Gates to
cede Microsoft software reins in favor of stronger
role in his Foundation, NY Times, June 16. Wash. Post. June
16.
Meta-Journalism:
AOL's attempt to preserve Netscape brand
leads to a blog-oriented portal strategy,
NY Times, June
15.
Consultant makes case for
using contracted IT staffing, Nash. Bus.
Journal, p. 30, June
16.
Nashville-area software
developers and web developers (lists, not
on web), p. 31, Nash. Bus. Journal, June
16.
Dixie Chicks and MSN have
dispatched the first embedded blogger to travel
with the group and post, Wash. Post, June 19.
Value of
intelligence data-mining still requires
deep-thinking analysts and a lead or
inference, Wash. Post, June
19.
Technology and Law:
E-discovery can involve data, metadata, deleted
data, network data...are you ready?
Attorney Reeves addresses in column, Knox. News
Sentinel, June 18.
Al Gore
Jr., already an advisor to Apple and Google, takes
the spotlight with An Inconvenient
Truth. Tennessean, with sidebars,
June
18.
Wikipedia restricts
editing, NY Times, June
17.
Converting the world to
Webtop applications, from desktop
dependence: Google, Jotspot,
ZohoWriter, Writeboard, Ajaxwrite, 30boxes,
Notebook, Clipmark, Plum, NY Times, June 17.
One
Economy advocacy group plans to launch new Web
portal for the poor, complementing
Beehive.org and firstgov.gov. Wash. Post, June
8.
(June 22-23) eHealth
initiative and VU Center for Better Health conduct
Privacy and Confidentiality
workshop.
* (June 23)
NTC-sanctioned luncheon on Business
Intelligence, Loews Vanderbilt Plaza,
free, details on Information Builders and
Passalong Networks speakers and register
here.
(June 28) Monthly
luncheon, Tech2020, topic RFID update,
presenter Jay Fryman, Executive Director,
IDentiTRAK Technologies, RSVP by June 26. or info,
write
here.
* (July 6) NTC Tech Roundtable
on "Smart Client Technologies," 4 p.m., Montgomery
Bell Academy, details here.
* (July
18) USPTO Conference on Intellectual
Property in the Global Marketplace in Nashville,
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., free, but seating limited. More
info here.
* (July 27) itSM
Forum luncheon, register now, luncheon convenes
11:30 a.m., with Terry Blankenship of State of TN
OIR, discussing "How ITIL and Six Sigma
interrelate. Visit itsmfusa.org or call 615.
850.5901.
(Aug. 3) NTC Tech
Roundtable: Service
Oriented Architecture.
(Sept. 7)
NTC Tech Roundtable: Legal /
Regulatory issues.
* (Sept. 11) Tennessee Board for
Economic Growth, 2 p.m. meeting at TN
Dept. of Economic and Community
Development.
(Sept. 11-12) Gov. Bredesen's
annual Economic Development
Conference.
(Sept.
14) Richard M. Russell, Associate Director for
Technology for the Office of Science &
Technology Policy at the White House, is keynote
for 2nd Navigator Awards.
(Oct.
4) NTC-ISSA InfoSec Information Security
Conference. Details to come.
(Nov. 2)
NTC Tech Roundtable: Business
Intelligence / Data
Warehousing (Oct.
4) NTC-ISSA InfoSec Information Security
Conference. Details to come.
(Nov. 2)
NTC Tech Roundtable: Business
Intelligence / Data Warehousing
*
(Nov. 2-3) Business and Technology Expo and
business matchmaking scheduled in Knoxville,
sponsored by Chamber and Greater Knox. Business
Journal (KNS).
(Nov.
15) NTC Technology Leadership Awards dinner,
Downtown Hilton Nashville, details
TBA.
(Dec.
7) NTC Tech Roundtable - Metro
Nashville Telecommunications Innovation Task Force
update.
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Tom
Tarver
of
LBMC eHealth
|
________
Joe
Cook and Mountain Group Capital's plans,
in FOCUS, this issue.
_______
Jay
Graves of Acxiom Direct (formerly
SmartDM) has broader role. See Ventures, this
issue.
_____________
NTC
Sustaining Sponsors:
Caterpillar
Financial IBM DELL Emdeon HCA
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Published by
NashvillePost.com Industry News Services
Division Milt Capps, INS Editor & Assoc.
Publisher 3401 West End Ave., Suite 685 | Nashville,
TN, 37203 Phone: (615) 250-1540 Email: milt.capps@nashvillepost.com | | |