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ABL TECHNOLOGY ONLINE  
FEBRUARY 11, 2010
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 IN THIS ISSUE:

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS - HEADLINES

UPCOMING ROUND TABLES & EVENTS

3/24 - Developing an Effective Board Workshop, Costa Mesa: This interactive discussion program will address the Purposes, Types and Key Drivers for Getting Value from a Board, including Shareholder, Advisory and Special Purpose Boards

Matt Carter Promoted to President of Sprint 4G
Sprint Nextel has named Matt Carter President of its 4G Division, where he will oversee the company's continuing roll-out of fourth-generation broadband wireless services. Most recently, Matt was President of Boost Mobile, part of Sprint's prepaid group. Sprint is the first national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, now available in 27 markets covering 30 million POPs. Sprint 4G delivers download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G. The company expects Sprint 4G to cover 120 million POPs by the end of 2010, including San Francisco, Boston, Houston, New York and Washington, D.C.  Meanwhile, Sprint won the #1 ranking for overall satisfaction for wireless voice service providers and the #1 ranking in overall satisfaction for wireless data service providers in a survey of large business decision makers, according to an independent research firm and Mobile Enterprise Magazine.

Berkus Discusses Challenges of Fund-Raising
Dave Berkus, President of Berkus Technology Ventures, has added new chapters to his blog series on financing: "Raise cash from trusted, close resources first" defines these people as "sophisticated relatives, friends and business associates" and cautions that their investments carry an additional burden for you – "to protect your investors and their investment as if they were your alter egos, offering money as if from your own pocket."  "Money comes smart or dumb. Find smart." explains that money from professional investors usually comes along with good advice and great relationships for corporate growth. "Often, that money is worth more than the cash invested, because the investors, who often become members of the board, bring a wealth of experience, insight, relationships and deeper pockets to the table."

Microsemi Extends Power-Over-Ethernet DIMM Family to Support High-Power Standard
Microsemi Corporation, where Jim Peterson is CEO, has released its PD67100 PoE+ module family, which integrates Microsemi's PD69012 PoE Manager device into an easy-to-integrate dual in-line memory module. These modules enable switch designers to reduce the time and cost required to add IEEE802.3at-2009 PoE+ capability to existing switches, while retaining the flexibility to use the same switch for both low power PoE and non-PoE implementation. They also extend scalability from a new entry point of 8 ports through a full 48 ports, and dissipate 50% less power than their predecessors.

Apriso Chosen by Isuzu for Manufacturing Operations Management
Apriso Corporation, where Chris Brecher is COO & EVP of Worldwide Field Operations, announced that Isuzu has selected and implemented Apriso’s FlexNet to manage production of their KD (knock-down) parts at overseas factories. Isuzu is using FlexNet to automatically obtain distribution status information of KD parts from existing systems. Differences between planned and actual results are analyzed and acted upon immediately, helping to improve operational efficiency, quality and customer satisfaction.

Google Enlisting National Security Agency to Help Combat Cyberattacks
Google is enlisting the National Security Agency -- the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization – to help analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, with an objective to better defend Google and its users from future attack. The alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google's policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans' online communications, said anonymous sources. The deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users' searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.
     The partnership strikes at the core of one of the most sensitive issues for government and private industry in the evolving world of cybersecurity: how to balance privacy and national security interests. Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair recently called the Google attacks a "wake-up call." Cyberspace cannot be protected, he said, without a "collaborative effort that incorporates both the U.S. private sector and our international partners." But achieving collaboration is not easy, in part because private companies do not trust the government to keep their secrets and in part because of concerns that collaboration can lead to continuous government monitoring of private communications. Privacy advocates say information-sharing must be limited and closely overseen. (WashingtonPost.com, 2/3/10)
     Meanwhile, China has closed what it claims to be the largest hacker training website in the country and arrested three of its members, the Wuhan Evening News newspaper reported. The "Black Hawk Safety Net" website taught hacking techniques and provided malicious software downloads for its 12,000 members in exchange for a fee. The popularity of hacking in China, and hackers' use of multiple addresses and servers, in Taiwan and elsewhere, makes it hard to prove how or by whom they are coordinated. (Reuters, 2/7/10)

Annual Spending on Cybersecurity by Electric Utilities Will Triple by 2015
Utility companies will invest more than $21 billion on cybersecurity over the next five years to protect the world's electrical grids, according to a new report from Pike Research. The firm forecasts that annual spending on smart grid cybersecurity will more than triple from $1.2 billion last year to $3.7 billion in 2015. Activities spurring investment include the U.S. Department of Energy's smart grid stimulus programs, standards initiatives of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and other objectives promoted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
     Pike's report identifies five areas of focus for utility companies: policy, planning, and awareness; equipment protection and configuration management; monitoring and incidence response; access, audit, and integrity; and risk management. Utility companies will invest heavily in equipment protection and configuration management, while the biggest investment in smart-grid applications will go to cybersecurity for distribution automation and transmission upgrades. Utilities and infrastructure companies also will invest significantly in implementing advanced metering infrastructure smart meters, Pike said. (InformationWeek.com, 2/5/10)

California Tops Clean Tech Investments, but $$ Were Down
Clean-tech companies raked in just $564.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, a 45% plunge from the previous quarter, according to according to analysis from Ernst & Young, using data from Dow Jones VentureSource. However, the number of deals jumped 21% to 62 total. California dominated, with 32 deals over the course of the quarter, pulling in $333.72 million. In all of 2009, investment in the clean-tech sector hit $2.6 billion with 193 deals, a 50% plunge in dollar amount and a 16% slide in the number of deals compared to 2008.
     The San Francisco Bay Area led the charge, with $1.2 billion in investments throughout the year; $295.6 million during the fourth quarter. Southern California came in next, raising $329.5 million in 2009, with $30.5 million invested in Q4. New England brought in $283.7 million for the entire year, $38 million in Q4.
     Energy efficiency was the top-performing category last year, with 61 deals attracting $593.3 million, roughly a third of the total financing activity in the clean-tech sector. It also pulled in the most venture capitalist investment of the fourth quarter, with $252.8 million across 22 deals, compared to $133.7 million across 14 deals the previous quarter. (latimesblogs, 2/8/10)

Google to Build Super-Fast, Fiber-Optic Network
Google has announced plans to enter the broadband Internet market, claiming it will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today -- over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections, offering service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people. Google already has a Wi-Fi network deployed in Mountain View, CA, where the company is headquartered, and is introducing Wi-Fi in airports and other places. But, Google has released little information about its broadband plans, other than to state its intent: "to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone.” (FOXNews.com, 2/10/10)

Consumers Say Tech Makes Life Better
A majority of consumers think technology has made life better in every area except personal relationships, according to the Philips Center for Health and Well-being. Communication, information and medical treatments topped the areas of their lives that consumers felt were improved by technology. In addition, 64% of respondents said the Internet, in particular, had made life better, but only 26% said the same of social networking services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Consumers’ biggest concern was that technology be built to last, followed by good quality and the best price. Women were more interested than men in tech that could make life easier, save them time and let them express themselves through personalized features. Just under 50% reported that technology was easy to use, and a further 32% felt it had a good mix of advanced features and basic functions. In 2004, only 13% of respondents thought technology was easy to use, indicating a dramatic increase in users’ comfort level. Respondents ages 18 to 24 found technology easiest to deal with, while those ages 55+ were most likely to say it was too complex to operate. Men also reported more ease of use than women. (eMarketer.com, 1/28/10)