Pittsburgh Technology Council Newsletter

December 2006

EVENTS

Breakfast Briefing: Mayor Luke Ravenstahl
You’ve seen him on national television, in newspapers and magazines. Now you have the chance to hear from Pittsburgh’s Mayor Luke Ravenstahl in person. Join the young mayor on Monday, December 11, for a Breakfast Briefing where he’ll explain his vision for the city and some of the initiatives he’s implemented during his short time in office, including the Ravenstahl Response Line-311, a central one-call system for all non-emergency city service requests. Event sponsored by Comcast. Morning coffee sponsored by CIBER, Inc.

Intellectual Property Series:
Trademarks and Copyrights as Business Tools
Wednesday, December 6

Entrepreneurial Know-How:
Building the Best Sales Team
Thursday, January 18, 2007

Breakfast Briefing:
Is There a Future for U.S. Manufacturing?
Thursday, January 25

Other Events:

World's Best Technologies Showcase
This premier event held on May 15 - 16, 2007, showcases the largest collection of undiscovered technologies from top universities, labs and research institutions to the world's leading seed investors, venture capitalists and corporate licensing scouts.

NEWS

EnterPrize 2007
The EnterPrize Business Plan Competition supports local technology entrepreneurs and stimulates economic growth in southwestern Pennsylvania. Financial incentives and mentoring encourage entrepreneurs to take the time and energy to shape their innovative, growth-oriented ideas into viable business plans and to launch new businesses.

EnterPrize 2007 begins on Monday, January 17, with the workshop entitled Capitalizing Your Concept. Watch the Council's Web site for information about the 2007 competition. For a complete schedule of events for EnterPrize, download a PDF schedule.

For more information about the competition, contact Melissa Ungar at 412.918.4292.

People Do Matter Nominations
The People Do Matter (PDM) initiative recognizes companies in southwestern Pennsylvania with innovative practices for attracting, retaining and developing talent. Nominations for the 2007 PDM Awards are due by Friday, January 19. By demonstrating that people do matter to your company, you may be recognized as one of the best employers in southwestern Pennsylvania at the awards ceremony on April 11, 2007. For more information, visit the PDM Web site or contact Kate Shaughnessy, Pittsburgh Human Resources Association (PHRA) at 412.261.5537.

In Web World, Rich Now Envy the Superrich

Workplace Stress: A Survival Guide

Blogs And Wikis Move in
as E-Mail Overload Becomes Unbearable

UM System President, Elson Floyd, Questions
Higher Education Report Conclusions

How Podcasting Can Help Your Business

Tapping into the Talent Supply Chain

SPECIAL INTEREST

Pittsburgh User Groups
The IS Peer Network of the Pittsburgh Technology Council has developed partnerships with a variety of technology-focused user groups in the region. These groups provide the forum for exchange of best practices and interaction with like-minded professionals. Frequent meetings and access to online communities also make the user groups valuable for participants.

User groups exist in the following areas: Cocoa, Coding Dojo, Contingency Planning, Data Management, Datawarehousing, eCommerce, eLearning, Enterprise Architecture, Information Systems Security, Java, Knowledge Management, Linux, Mercury, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft .NET, OpenSolaris, Oracle, Oracle Applications, Perl, Project Management, Software Process Improvement, SQL, Systems & Network Administration, Technical Communications and Websphere.

The Council hosts a user group Web page as a resource for IT professionals and to increase awareness of these groups. Visit the user group site for group descriptions and contact information.

If there is a user group you would like to submit for consideration please contact Jared Roberts at 412.918.4243.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Ascent Systems
Ascent Systems has broad experience in application modernization with related services in assessments, system requirements analysis, software design and modeling, application development, systems integration, document management, product lifecycle management, mission-critical Web sites and Web services. In addition, Ascent provides server, hardware and desktop modernization services to take your business to the next level. Ascent Systems: Defining the way "IT" should be! Call us at 412.795.4444 to find out more about our guarantee.

Corporate Membership at Westwood Golf Club
Now your company can enjoy the 18-hole, championship golf course at Westwood Golf Club in West Mifflin. With a corporate membership to Westwood, one annual fee provides your employees and customers with greens fees for any four players daily. For complete details, visit Westwood's Web site or call 412.462.9555.

Steven G. Zylstra
President and CEO
phone: 412.918.4218

FEATURED SPOTLIGHT

Put Your CIO in the History Books
The Pittsburgh CIO of the Year Awards recognize chief information officers or those in equivalent positions for their innovation and creativity in planning and deploying their enterprise systems, future IT goals, management philosophy and service to the industry and community.

Nominations for the 2007 Pittsburgh CIO of the Year Awards must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 15, 2006. No employees of the Pittsburgh Technology Council or Greater Pittsburgh CIO Group may submit nominations.

Nominate your CIO today >

For more information, contact Jared Roberts at 412.918.4243.

TEQ MAGAZINE

Solving the Paradox
The Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone (GO KIZ) was launched nearly two years ago to accelerate economic growth and promote collaboration among colleges, universities, economic developers, government and businesses within the region.

The GO KIZ began operations by commissioning intensive studies with the Milken Institute and Battelle Partners to accurately benchmark our regional business landscape’s assets, challenges and opportunities.

The studies reveal that southwestern Pennsylvania is quite a paradox – our economic performance is middling despite our abundance of world-class assets.