Archive for November, 2009

HANOVER – Mark J. Noonan is the latest addition to the board of directors BTE Technologies, provider of software, equipment and services to healthcare providers and the Workers’ Compensation industry.

See BTE release.

ANNAPOLIS JUNCTION – There is a lot of old optimism in the current thinking on Cloud Computing, according to proponents of the concept at the Chesapeake Regional Technology Council’s recent TechFocus seminar.  There used to be a lot of hope for the models for distributed computing and service-oriented architecture, for example, but to a degree they fell short due to their limited elasticity (i.e. too much simultaneous demand) that restricted problem solving.

With Cloud Computing there is platform independence, fast migration of legacy apps, better use of space, and power efficiency because hardware can be turned off when not in use.  Amazon is one example where this works when infrastructure is already in place.  Where it gets fuzzy, said panelist Clark Richey of Mark Logic Corp., is how to monetize cloud computing, its scale, measurement and hidden costs, data sharing and security, and potential outages.  Contributor Daniel Mintz of Computer Sciences Corp. noted that sheer economics leads firms to use outside resources such as a cloud because it takes away fixed costs.  Speaker  Paul Davis of NJVC counseled on the importance of knowing the reasons for a cloud computing initiative, whether it’s energy savings, security, or systems management.  All panelists agreed with moderator John Judge of Carnegie Technology Group that cloud computing is an opportunity, but beware of government input and oversight as the concept evolves.

HANOVER – Conmed Healthcare Management has exercised the first of two three-year renewal options for the Baltimore County Detention Center.  One of the company’s three largest customers for correctional facility health care, Baltimore County will pay almost $6 million a year for in-house and out-of-facility medical care, dental and mental health care services, and pharmaceuticals.

See Conmed release.

Before there was a Veteran’s Day holiday, parades or sales, there was sacrifice.  See the new Facebook page for Arlington Cemetery.  Or go to our group page on LinkedIn and start a discussion.

Now that I have your attention, the real panelists are Jim Bechtel of Intellectual Assets Consulting,  Kristin Herber with law firm Tydings & Rosenberg, Ermis Sfakiyanudis of eTelemetry and Greg Meyer of iJET, with moderator services provided by your faithful ABN scribe.  Topic for the Dec. 8 event of the Chesapeake Regional Technology Council is “Intellectual Property: How to Handle Infringement, Maximize Value.”  Come see what you need to be thinking about.

See CRTC summary.

LINTHICUM – Dialysis Corporation of America hit all its expected numbers in Q3 with a 15 percent increase in revenue to $25.1 million and a boost in operating income to $2 million.  Patient census for the owner and operator of freestanding kidney hemodialysis centers was 2,050.  The company’s two newest centers in Ohio are on track to open within the next few months subject to state licensure.

See Dialysis Corp. release.

GLEN BURNIE – Cyto Pulse Sciences, producer of electric field based, intradermal DNA Vaccine delivery systems, has a green light from Swedish regulators to begin a Phase I/II study of DNA vaccination in patients with colorectal cancer. The trial will investigate the safety of a DNA vaccine delivered by the Derma Vax intradermal electroporation system. (See the link, it’s not a typo.)

See Cyto Pulse release.

COLUMBIA – Systems integrator PEAK Technologies was named as a subcontractor by GTSI Corp., one of the awardees on a $418-plus million contract for Automatic Identification Technology products, services and solutions.

See PEAK release.

ANNAPOLIS – Netcordia is now part of VMware’s 1,200-member Technology Alliance Partner program that helps vendors integrate their products with VMware virtualization software.

See Netcordia release.

COLUMBIA – Message Systems is the management system that will be used by BigTent, a free, group management platform that will accelerate mail processing for thousands of online groups.  BigTent will deploy the Message Systems technology for its ability to deliver emails individually, in digests or via online discussion threads to its parent clubs, schools, nonprofits, alumni organizations, churches and hobbyist groups.

See Message Systems release.