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Some business ideas are more than just successful – they change the way we do things. The digital camera changed how we take pictures; the iPod changed how we listen to music. If your business idea is innovative with a large potential market, and especially if it’s a “game-changer,” the Scott Technology Center in Omaha may be able to help you. The technology center aims to help launch such concepts into the marketplace.

http://www.nebraskaentrepreneur.com/news/scott-technology-center-targets-technical-high-growth-potential-business-ideas/

Silicon Prarie News covers the workshop at Scott Technology Center focusing on Cyber Security

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By Leslie Reed
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN — The University of Nebraska could help high-tech businesses develop a “Silicon Prairie” in the Lincoln and Omaha area, business leaders told the NU Board of Regents today.

NU’s specialty schools, including the Peter Kiewit Institute and the Scott Technology Center in Omaha and the Raikes School of Computer Science and Management in Lincoln, are helping attract international businesses to the region.

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The Scott Technology Center has launched a Springboard Series for the purpose of providing a presentation platform for start-up companies. Springboard enables start-ups to pitch their businesses to an audience comprised of invited high impact individuals that bring mentorship, funding or other support. Silicon Prairie News provided coverage of the Springboard Series.

http://www.siliconprairienews.com/2009/12/first-springboard-lunch-recap/

The Scott Technology Center has partnered with the Innovation Accelerator to develop innovation infrastructure in the local community by engaging an array of innovative companies. The partnership has already provided opportunities to collaborate with innovative companies not resident to the local community. One such company is VSee.com from Palo Alto, California. Scott Technology anticipates VSee.com being utilized in two pilot efforts in Nebraska. The Omaha World Herald provided coverage on the partnership as well as VSee.com Thanksgiving weekend.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20091129/MONEY/711299952

The Global Information Systems Division of Interpublic Group

With nearly 40,000 employees worldwide, Interpublic Group (IPG) is one of the largest global providers of advertising and marketing services for many of the world’s largest advertising clients. As a holding company, IPG has a number of agencies under its umbrella. These agencies create marketing programs through advertising, promotions, media planning and buying, public relations, sports marketing, live events, digital marketing and many other specialized marketing services.  With offices in over 100 countries and 2008 revenues of $ 6.9 billion, IPG is a market leader in the media and communications world.

In today’s technology-driven world, a company like IPG needs reliable IT infrastructure and support to communicate with its clients, and also with each other.  Making this happen is no easy task.  In 2007, IPG realized the need to replace aging IT infrastructure and to consolidate its IT footprint into a cost-effective solution and location.  After a lengthy national search, IPG sighted Omaha, and in particular, the Scott Technology Center (STC) for its IT infrastructure location needs.  In 2008, IPG began to build a three phase build-out of IT infrastructure at the STC, which concluded in 2009.  With the conclusion of this project the STC is now home for a number of IPG IT services.

The largest and most complicated segment of the IPG build-out was the relocation and consolidation of its datacenters to the Scott Data Center.  This project involved relocating hundreds of servers and terabytes of data without any interruption to operations. For instance, IPG’s e-mail system alone moves 1.5 million business related e-mails daily and any outage of this service was unacceptable. Through cutting-edge virtualization, energy friendly system selection, and extensive planning with the STC, IPG consolidated multiple datacenter locations into a reduced footprint at Scott Data Center within a very small timeframe without interruptions to the company’s business operations.

To service this footprint, as well as the rest of the IPG network, IPG established the Global Operations Center, or GOC, at the STC.  This 24/7 operation, manned by IT technicians and security experts, monitors the health of the global network and systems supporting systems via a large control room complete with large projection screens indicating the health of the network.  A key component to the GOC is its intern program. Utilizing the STC’s proximity to the Peter Kiewit Institute, IPG employs a number of students to help with its IT operations.  These students are exposed to the elements involved with running and maintaining a global IT network – a truly rare educational experience.

Beyond the hardware element, there is also the user to think of when discussing IT operations. To support its end users, IPG relocated its employee IT support call center to the STC as well.  A group of 20 employees currently handles the issues that users experience during the day and helps to resolve them in a timely manner.   These staff members are at the front lines of making sure that IPG employees are able to conduct their business and interact effectively with the technology that supports them.

IPG’s commitment to the Scott Technology Center – and the Omaha are – is a result of a long-term relationship with the community and is an excellent example how STC’s facilities and personnel can work to support the IT needs of Fortune 500 companies. By 2010, over 50 IPG personnel will be working out of the STC.

As a true business partner, STC worked with us to design and implement our plans to centralize IT operations in Omaha. They supported IPG through each phase of implementation and now ensure that we have consistently stable production operations.  STC has enabled IPG to continuously achieve its goal to provide reliable, scalable, and sustainable infrastructure services.

-Tom Sivo, Chief Technology Officer

Interpublic Group

One of the world’s largest advertising and public relations companies is consolidating and moving its global information technology base to Omaha from London, Hong Kong, New York City and Chicago.

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American Educational Telecommunications LLC (AET) has opened offices at the Scott Technology Center in Omaha, NE specifically to incubate CenatMed, LLC. CenatMed, LLC is a collaborative effort with the University of Nebraska’s Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI) focused on enhancing medical devices through highly creative adaptation of currently available industrial technology.

The Scott Technology Center offered the perfect environment for this activity, due to their theme of bringing together human capital, business partners, venture capital, and academic organizations for taking innovative companies to higher levels.

In particular, CenatMed, PKI faculty and PKI Students are concentrating the adaptation efforts in the area of medical device innovation, utilizing advanced communication through wireless and optical technology. The recently organized company is being managed by Tino Bellanca with engineering direction from Bing Chen, PhD, Chairman of the department of Computer and Electronic Engineering at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, campus.

By combining the presence of the Scott Technology Center and the resources at the Peter Kiewit Institute, a “state-of-the-art” Information Technology and Engineering institution, both AET and CenatMed enjoy the position of being in the heart of the Midwest’s most advanced facilities. Worldwide attention is being focused on these leading organizations, which provide the resources necessary to make AET and CenatMed projects highly viable.

AET specializes in telemedicine applications and systems, and is on the forefront of providing real time patient encounters, along with real time medical images, from rural areas to specialty medical consultants at regional medical centers. More recently, AET has added special diagnostic instrumentation to its telemedicine systems, and has expanded its medical marketing and sales activities in the Midwest States. AET operates from Omaha with coverage throughout adjoining Midwest states.

Since 1999, AET, LLC, has been engaged in telemedicine and in telehealth programming for consumer and professional use. The company has been active in both domestic US and International markets. The corporate offices are located in Norfolk, NE, together with a sister company, Midwest Health Partners. Both firms were founded, and are under the direction of, Keith W. Vrbicky, MD. In regard to this activity with the Peter Kiewit Institute, Dr. Vrbicky stated “It is most gratifying to have the opportunity to work with a world-class institute (PKI) and strive to technically improve on today’s current medical devices that will ultimately enhance the accessibility and quality of care for patients. We are pleased to be a part of the ever expanding technology focus on the city of Omaha.”

CONTACT: TINO BELLANCA, COO, AET/CENATMED LLC
PHONE: 402.502.6040
tbellanca@aetmedical.net

Global Program Helps Accelerate the Success of Innovative Startups Committed to Microsoft’s Platform Technologies

OMAHA, Neb., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ — DOCenter, Inc. d.b.a. DOCCENTER, an Omaha-based company that helps emerging to midmarket segment businesses efficiently manage and protect their hardcopy and digital assets, today announced that it has been selected to join the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program. Stewarded by the Emerging Business Team (EBT) at Microsoft Corp., the program is designed to connect high-potential startups committed to the Microsoft platform to an extensive support network that provides access to Microsoft people and programs, guidance on future directions, and support to accelerate their success.

“Leveraging both Microsoft technologies and support through such a program is critical to the launch of our flagship product, EDDS Vault, which is a secure, simple, and affordable document delivery and digital asset management SaaS offering,” said Todd Fishback, DOCCENTER president.

Microsoft is committed to serving as a valuable technology and business partner for emerging startups and their investors. Companies are selected to join the program based on their innovation, marketability, growth potential, funding, platform decision and strategic importance to Microsoft. These companies receive customized engagement plans designed to support their software development and increase market visibility. The program is now open to interested startups, which can apply via a profiling process outlined at the Microsoft Startup Zone at http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com.

“Microsoft is pleased to be working with DOCCENTER to deliver a comprehensive solution to customers,” said Lynda Ting, Emerging Business Team Portfolio Manager at Microsoft Corp. “The combination of DOCCENTER and Microsoft products including .NET Framework, Windows Server, and Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems will provide a solution to meet the needs of our mutual customers that is easy to use, set up and manage.”

The Microsoft EBT evaluates hundreds of technology startups each year to identify those with the strongest potential to succeed in the market, shape the industry’s future, and enhance the overall value of Microsoft products and services for customers. The Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program shines the spotlight on some of the most promising startups and provides good examples of how startups can work successfully with Microsoft.

DOCenter, Inc.

Founded in 2000, DOCenter Inc. is an electric content management company based in Omaha, Neb. Also known in the industry as DOCCENTER, the company helps emerging to midmarket-segment businesses efficiently manage and protect their hardcopy and digital assets. The company has strategic alliances with Microsoft, Deltek, CoSentry and Dell. For more information, visit http://www.doccenterinc.com or http://www.eddsvault.com.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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Todd Fishback