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.

Tenn. Technological University selected a WebCT Institute, Nash. Bus. Journal, p.15, Aug. 15, not on web.

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.

Bass Pro Shops picks SmartDMfor e-mail marketing programs, Tennessean, Aug. 14, scroll 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:
Milt Capps or Phone: (615) 743-3168
For previous editions of "News of Nashville Technology," click here.

Edition Sponsor

Sustaining Sponsor



email powered by Emma