Nashville Technology Council

We want to thank everyone for attending the 2011 “Feel The Beat” Awards Gala last night. We hope you all had as much fun as we did! We want to once again congratulate all our Nominees and Winners. Thank you again to all the sponsors and volunteers who helped make this such a wonderful event and memorable evening.

And the winners are…

On Tuesday night, Members of Metro Council voted on incentive plans with the goal of creating jobs. The bills are part of the Dean administration’s economic recovery effort.  It’s exciting to see Metro City Council’s Incentive Plans To Boost Employment at a time when the city is looking to attract new talent. There was also a recent article in the Nashville Post which address the fact that Nashville does not presently have the workers to fill these jobs. With 900 new tech-related jobs being added in the next few years, some wonder where the workers to fill those jobs are going to come from?

As you  know, the NTC just launched NashHire which has been gaining momentum.  We hope this is one way to start getting the word out to a broad audience that “Nashville is Hiring”.

“It’s so exciting to hear about all of the technology jobs moving to Nashville,” said Tori Lennon,  Manager, National Talent Acquisition for Healthways.  “One of the ways to meet this demand will be through stronger partnerships with colleges and universities across the country.  It’s going to be more important than ever for Nashville employers and technology associations to have a presence with these schools.  Nashville has so much to offer and it’s important that we get the word out to students and offer opportunities to complete technology related internships with local companies.  Through internships, companies have the opportunity to begin building a pipeline of future IT talent that will already know the organization and bring immediate value to the job.  It’s also going to be important for companies to champion social networking as a recruiting method.  This is the quickest way to get the word out on both the local and national level about job opportunities in Nashville.”

The Nashville Technology Council hopes the T3 initiative can help build stronger partnerships with colleges and universities. If you would like to get involved with T3, you can learn more about it here. You can also follow “NashHire” on Twitter @NashHire for job updates and info. Help us spread the word that Nashville is Hiring!

After many days and months of work, we are ready to release the 2011 Techville Map.  This year’s map features the same geo-spatial design, however, we have created industry specific lines and colors to highlight the core tech verticals in Nashville.  The background is a sharp black with vibrant colors overlayed to represent the energy of the community.  The map was designed by our very own Jessica Hill.

“It is truly a team project with every member of the team contributing to the success of the project,” said J. Tod Fetherling, President/CEO of the Nashville Technology Council.  “We believe it portrays Nashville as a significant player in technology.”

The Map will be distributed in the Nashville Business Journal tomorrow.

March Madness is the time of year when final buzzers never seem to be heard fast enough; when there is always a Cinderella story; the excitement of winners and disappointment of losers can be heard around the world; and here at the Nashville Technology Council, the 2011 Techville Mayor is revealed.

The 2011 NCAA men’s tournament has been so unpredictable, ESPN has only 2 people of the 5.9 million plus with the correct Final Four teams. Who would have ever thought that 8-seed Butler, 11-seed Virginia Commonwealth, 3-seed Connecticut, and 4-seed Kentucky would be in the Final Four? Well, this blogger believed in her Big Blue team meeting UConn and has KY cutting down the nets in Houston. As far as Techville is concerned, even though Chris Hohl does not have KY as the Champion, right now he is definitely leading the Mayor race.

So, whether your team is staying on the bus to Houston or has packed up and gone home – be sure to return here next Tuesday as the 2011 Techville Mayor will be revealed.

Is your company on the map? Click here to register.

What do March Madness and the Mayor of Techville have in common? You can’t win without the other.  That’s right, this year, the Mayor of Techville will be decided on the hard court.  On Wednesday, March 16, 2011, we will gather at the Flyer Saucer with all of our laptops, iPads, and smart phones to fill out our brackets.  It is winner takes all.  Bragging rights for the next year.  John Anderson of XO has served as Mayor this past year and is running for re-election.  The contest is open to everyone in Techville, so please get ready.  Who will be the Mayor of Techville?

Register Here

We would like to thank Apex Systems for sponsoring this event.

As Mayor of Techville, you will win the following package:

1. Free upgrade on the Techville map
2. Picture on the NTC Website and in the NTC Membership Newsletter

Today we officially announced the finalists for this year’s “Feel the Beat” Technology Awards to be held on October 28th.  We’re excited to host this event for everyone in our greater technology community for the 2nd year in a row.  As you all know, our community has faced many challenges due to the massive devastation that occurred this past May.  Our beloved Schermerhorn Symphony Center sustained incredible damage, causing us to relocate the ceremony this year.  We appreciate their partnership, as well as the partnership of the Renaissance Hotel Nashville fin helping us to  accommodate this year’s ceremony.

We at the Tech Council can’t help but be reflective on the many tribulations and triumphs we faced as a community this past year.   Nashville showed through it’s volunteerism and activism that we are a city of strength as well as continued opportunity. We hope that you all will join us as we honor the many people who made a difference this year in helping Nashville become Techville!

You can read the full list of nominees here. This event is guaranteed to sell out, so be sure to register today!

The Nashville Technology Council just wrapped up its 2009-2010 fiscal year.  July marks a new year for the Tech Council, and we are happy to continue to bring positive change and innovation to Middle Tennessee’s growing technology community.  In the last 12 months, we brought free, accessible wi-fi to downtown Nashville, helped launch the much anticipated Nashville Entrepreneur Center, grew our membership, and helped foster growth and innovation with our member companies and overall technology industry in Middle Tennessee.

Please join us on Thursday, July 22nd from 5pm to 8pm at the Red Rooster to meet new Nashville Technology staff members Katy Kirby and Mollie McCormick and to network and celebrate summer and all of the technology community accomplishments!  To register, visit our Events page and click on “Summer Holiday Party”.  This event is open to both members and non-members.

This week, we welcomed Katy Kirby on board in the newly formed position of Product Director.  She will be in charge of brand and product strategy implementation for the NTC.  You may recognize her as a former employee at Remarkable Wit, LLC and as founding Executive Director of Digital Nashville.  The music industry brought Katy to Nashville, but the technology industry has kept her here!  Her background in strategic marketing in entertainment, consulting in the technology sector and as a community volunteer and advocate will be a great addition to the NTC team.

We are also pleased to announce that Mollie McCormick will be joining us at the end of the month to assist with office, membership and events.  Mollie is a graduate of Belmont University and is coming to the NTC from Vanderbilt University where she worked in the office of Development and Alumni Relations as Activities Coordinator.

The NTC will continue to focus on economic development, professional development, member engagement, and overall success of our member companies in this new year.  We hope to see all of you next week to mark this new beginning!

Nashville Technology Blog (6/4/2010)

Jeff McCorpin, LBMC Technologies, led a spirited and engaging roundtable on Greening Up Your Business.  Panelist included Vic Hatridge from NES and Mike Sole from Trinisys.  Jeff began the conversation in earnest with Vic Hatridge about whether NES wanted us to use more or less energy.  Vic pointed out that power companies have to build infrastructure to handle the peak loads (very hot summer days and very cold winter nights).  ”To meet the needs of consumers, businesses, and NES, we all have to work together and take action.”  Vic Hatridge recommends $150 energy audit for both your home and your business.

Green Resources

Power detective to monitor your power usage

Creativerecycling will take computers and peripherals

U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

Greeniscalling.com to invest in led technologies.

Statistics

Are you recyclying your construction materials at work? Mike Sole noted “25-30% of landfills contain construction materials.”  Probably even more in Nashville today with the Flood of 2010.  Mike Sole also pointed out that an average document is printed 5 times and copied 9 times.  Wow!  Go green round-table starting in 30 minutes.

Gartner is predicting that there will be 4 million virtual machines installed on x86 servers by 2012. Gartner also predicts the number of virtualized PCs to grow from less than 5 million in 2007 to 660 million by 2011. This allows anytime, anywhere access to your virtual desktop and applications and should reduce energy consumption.

The US Green Building Council notes that carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted in a number of ways. It is emitted naturally through the carbon cycle and through human activities like the burning of fossil fuels. We burn these fuels to create energy for our homes and buildings. Energy consumed related to buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.

This is both a corporate and personal responsibility and we all need to focus on helping out the environment.  Plus, it really can be good for the bottom line as well.

Corporate Example – Gartner estimates that over the next 5 years, most enterprise data centers will spend as much on energy (power and cooling) as they do on hardware infrastructure.

Personal Example – Set your outside lights on timers or motion sensors. Reducing usage on a single outdoor floodlight can save you up to $120 a year in energy costs.

The event was held at Junior Achievement in Nashville and was sponsored by LBMC Technologies.

Earl Nightingale once said, “All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.”

Techville.us is a visual landscape of technology in Nashville. It is essentially a plan, with a final destination of making Nashville a recognized leader in technology worldwide. Its purpose is to create a louder voice for technology, not only in the Nashville area, but for those outside of Tennessee to see the breadth and depth of our local community.

In 2009, the printed Techville.us map displayed over 150 technology companies in the Middle Tennessee area, and the online, interactive version exhibited over 350 company locations. This map was distributed in the Nashville Business Journal, to over 6,000 readers, and framed copies were hung in offices all over our city. In addition, it has been used on Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce economic development trips, encouraging technology companies nationwide to relocate their headquarters in Middle Tennessee. We have also utilized the map at career fairs as a resource to recruit and retain technology students here in Nashville.

You would be surprised how many times we heard, “I had no idea there were this many technology companies in Nashville.” This is exactly why it is important for us to continue to tell the Nashville technology story. In 2010, we hope to display even more company names to demonstrate the growth in technology in Nashville. We want you to be a part of this plan, and a representative of this thriving industry. See how you can get involved below:

City Council:

• Company logo in a premium location around the outer edges of Techville 2010 map, both printed and online versions.
• Large company logo listed in the approximate Middle TN location.
• Inclusion in the Nashville Business Journal Techville 2010 Insert (Distribution 8,000+ readers).
• Premium location on the interactive Techville.us 2010 website with company description and ability to list key contact information.
• Receive 10 copies of the 2′x3′ Techville 2010 poster.

Commissioner:

• Large company logo listed in the approximate Middle TN location.
• Inclusion in the Nashville Business Journal Techville 2010 Insert (Distribution 8,000+ readers).
• Inclusion on the interactive Techville.us 2010 website with company description and ability to list key contact information.
• Receive 5 copies of the 2′x3′ Techville 2010 poster.

Requirements:

• All logos must be submitted in a vector art 300 dpi file in one of the following formats: .eps, .ai, .pdf
• Submission deadline is January 31, 2010.

Click here to reserve your space electronically today!

Click Here to download a form, and submit by fax.