UPCOMING ROUND TABLES & EVENTS

Jeff Erle Helms Gehry Partners 
Congratulations to Jeff Erle on being named CEO of Gehry Partners, LLP, a full service firm with broad international experience in academic, commercial, museum, performance and residential projects, including Disney Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum in Spain. Gehry Partners employs a large number of senior architects who have extensive experience in the technical development of building systems and construction documents, and who are highly qualified in the management of complex projects. >>  


Mark Henderson Joins Energy Innovations 
Congratulations to Mark Henderson on being named Executive VP of Energy Innovations, Inc., an Idealab! Company whose mission is to deliver cost-effective, grid-competitive solar electric power. EI is currently developing the world’s first low-cost rooftop photovoltaic solar concentrator system, expected to drive down the cost of solar electricity by half or more. The company raised $25 million in a Series C funding in May, and the World Economic Forum selected it as one of its 36 Technology Pioneers for 2006 – companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies. >> 


Delphi Display:  Co-Launches National Media Network
Delphi Display Systems, where Ken Neeld is CEO, has partnered with Gas Station TV, ABC, Murphy Oil USA, and Gilbarco Veeder-Root to launch an IP-based digital television network which will convert fuel stations nationwide into media centers. GSTV will deliver local news, sports, weather and traffic to refueling motorists on 20" high-definition, daylight viewable LCD monitors -- manufactured by Delphi and embedded into gas dispensers. >>

Cornerstone OnDemand:  Chosen by Top Accounting Firm
Crowe Chizek and Company LLC, one of the top 10 public accounting and consulting firms in the U.S., has selected Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc., where Adam Miller is CEO, for its integrated learning and course authoring capabilities. Cornerstone was chosen for its ability to simplify and integrate learning and compliance management and administration and better support Crowe Chizek's growing organization. >>

IOGEAR:  Wirelessly Transfer Files at Record Speeds
IOGEAR, where Sampson Yang is CEO, has introduced its UWB Hub & Adapter Kit, based on Ultra-Wideband technology, for residential and small/home office users, which eliminates many cables in workplaces and living rooms without compromising file transfer speeds. Users can wirelessly connect their laptops, PCs, printers, scanners, MP3 players, etc., to the Hub up to 30 feet away. >>

Mitratech:  Legal Solution Helps FirstEnergy
Mitratech, where Afshin Behnia is CEO, announced that its TeamConnect Legal Suite has been selected by FirstEnergy to optimize legal operations and support business strategies. >>

Omnitron:  Introduces New Managed Edge Chassis
Omnitron Systems Technology, where Arie Goldberg is CEO, has released its iConverter 1-Module Redundant-Power Chassis, which features a flexible and managed power sourcing scheme based on Power over Ethernet support. It is an ideal solution for mission-critical Enterprise and Metro Ethernet fiber deployments requiring managed media conversion in locations lacking ready access to power sources. >>

QuickStart:  New Courses Address MS SQL Server 2005
QuickStart Intelligence, where Hicham Semaan is CEO, has added seven new courses for IT professionals targeting Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Each course has been customized by QuickStart's world-class team of Microsoft SQL Server instructors to follow a specific learning path for SQL Server 2005 developers and administrators to get the most from this product. >>

Spinitar:  Celebrates 20 Years in Business
Congratulations to Spinitar, where Gary Hallgren is a senior executive, on its 20th anniversary! Recognized nationally as one of the leading systems integrators in the audiovisual industry, Spinitar today provides digital signage, meeting collaboration tools, streaming media solutions and full managed services programs, as well as features numerous manufacturer partners and Fortune 500-level customers. >>

Transcepta:  Teams with Esker to Increase Speed
Transcepta, where Ray Parsons and Mitch Baxter are Co-Founders, has signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Esker, to use Esker DeliveryWare as a core technology component of its hosted, scalable Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment solution designed for businesses of all sizes, especially those with a heavy invoice volume. >>

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Internet Users Increasingly Put Up, Not Just Pull Down
The Web is now shifting to user-generated content, contends Pew Research, based on its report that 35% of U.S. Internet users have created and posted content online -- implying a total of 48 million American adults. Men are still more likely to post content online than women, by a 37% to 32% margin for all Internet users, and an even narrower 43% to 39% gap for broadband users. (eMarketer Daily, 6/5/06)  Meanwhile, a new Harris interactive poll calculated that 77% of U.S. adults are now online -- amounting to 172 million people, up from 74% in 2005, 66% in 2002, 64% in 2001 and 57% in 2000. In 1995, when Harris first began tracking Internet use, only 9% of U.S. adults were online. (eMarketer Daily, 5/30/06)

Software Piracy Cost $34 Billion
Some 35% of the packaged software installed on PCs worldwide in 2005 was illegal, according to the Business Software Alliance, accounting for $34 billion in global losses, an increase of $1.6 billion over 2004. Overall, software piracy rates decreased moderately in slightly more than half of the 97 countries covered in this year's study, and increased in only 19. The countries with the lowest piracy rates were the U.S., New Zealand, Austria and Finland. Those with the highest piracy rates were Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, China and Pakistan, all over 86%. (eMarketer Daily, 5/31/06)

B2B Websites Often Deemed User Unfriendly
People using Business-to-Business web sites accomplish what they set out to do only 58% of the time compared to a 66% success rate on consumer e-commerce sites, according to a Nielsen Norman Group report, which finds the main problem is not enough focus on the customer. Bad site design includes: 
*Incomplete product description, which creates skepticism; 
*Overwhelming and convoluted content, which creates confusion;
*Convoluted navigational structure, which causes prospects to lose patience; 
*Pushy marketing tactics, which cause annoyance and distrust. 
Lack of pricing information was also found to be a major problem -- pricing is the thing that customers say they want the most and get the least. In addition, the almost standard B2B practice of requiring prospects to fill out lengthy registration forms to get access to deeper information is a lead killer. (eMarketer Daily, 6/2/06)

IBM to Invest $6 Billion in India Over 3 Years
IBM has announced plans to invest nearly $6 billion in India over three years, underscoring the country's growing importance as a global hub for IT expertise. IBM plans to expand its services, software, hardware and research businesses in India, where it is already the largest multinational firm with 43,000 staff in 14 cities, up from 4,900 in 2002. In comparison, last year, Microsoft, Intel and Cisco Systems invested a combined $3.9 million in India. Wages in India are still a fifth of salaries paid in many western countries and IBM Chairman and CEO Samuel Palmisano said India would have 21 million college graduates by the end of the decade. India's software services sector is likely to grow by more than 25% for the year to March 2007, on rising demand for outsourcing, according to an industry body. (Reuters, 6/6/06)

MEMBER RESOURCES

Gehry Partners, LLP, where Jeff Erle is CEO, seeks a Director of HR and In-House Counsel: >>

UPCOMING ROUND TABLES & EVENTS

6/9 - West Los Angeles Round Table 
6/14 - Wednesday Orange County Round Table
7/6 - Thursday Orange County Round Table
7/7 - 210 Corridor Round Table