Archive for the ‘North Carolina’ Category
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
 WINSTON-SALEM, NC – As fat summer tomatoes dangle in profusion from vines in gardens and farms across the country, researchers at Wake Forest University are looking for a way to make future harvests hold up better against drought or lack of nutrients.
But the tomatoes these researchers study, with names like Never Ripe and Green Ripe, are mutants that will never achieve that wonderful red that makes a perfect summer meal for many foodies.
That’s because Gloria K. Muday, Ph.D., a biology professor at Wake Forest, isn’t after a better fruit, at least not yet. She’s after a better root system.”If we can encourage tomato plants to form deeper root systems, those plants will be able to take in more water and pick up food more effectively,” Muday said.
And that could mean a more reliable harvest for farmers and backyard gardeners alike.
Key to ripening
The key, Muday said, is the relationship between the hormones auxin, a root growth stimulator, and ethylene, which is critical for the ripening of tomatoes, but which also influences the growth promoting effects of auxin.
Muday and her colleagues have discovered that ethylene also alters the development of root systems in tomatoes.
In research appearing in The Plant Journal, a peer-reviewed publication, Muday found that, in mutant tomatoes, ethylene limited lateral root growth; lateral roots form horizontally off the primary root to better anchor the plant in the soil. However, ethylene appeared to encourage root growth along stems and branches.
Pinpointing why ethylene has this effect can help plant biologists devise a plan for breeding or engineering tomato plants that grow more extensive root systems that can thrive despite dry conditions or lack of nutrients.
For the next step in this line of research, Muday is looking at other substances, including flavonoids, and how they influence hormones that stimulate root growth in tomatoes.
But for these experiments, she can savor the deeper colors of summer-ripe tomatoes, many of them heirloom varieties.
“There are all sorts of heirloom tomatoes – brown, purple, black – and we’re growing them now,” Muday said. “We’ll see how many of these compounds they make and how that effects the root development.”
The research is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Tags: Biotech, mutant tomatoes key to tougher crops, Wake Forest Unversity
Posted in Biotech, Carolinas, North Carolina, University Tech | No Comments »
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
 FORT MYERS, FL – CallMiner, a company selling speech analytics software, has closed on its $4 million round from from Boston-based Sigma Partners, Durham, NC-based Intersouth Partners, and Florida-based Inflexion Partners, and an undisclosed strategic partner. It plans to use the funds for expansion.
Other Investors in the company include Village Ventures, Williamstown, MA; and In-Q-Tel, the U.S. Intelligence venture arm based in Arlington, VA.
We reported that the company had raised a portion of the round in early August.
Founded in 2002, CallMiner sells enterprise speech analytics software.
CallMiner’s President and CEO Terry Leahy said, “CallMiner’s industry leading speech analytics platform – Eureka – continues to gain rapid traction in the marketplace as evidenced by two consecutive years of triple digit marquee customer growth and corresponding revenue growth.”
Its clients include Continental Airline, Daimler Financial Services, and Comcast, among others.
The company raised an C round in an undisclosed amount in March, 2009, a $10 million B round in 2006 and a $2.8 million A round in 2004.
CallMiner presented at Tech Media’s 2010 Southeast Venture Conference.
More and more companies are using call analytics to examine those recorded service calls. Most of the calls we make to companies now let you know you’re being recorded or might be. They often run speech analytics on the recordings.
For TechJournal South’s profile of the company in Feb. 2010 see:
CallMiner digs actionable gold from service calls
Tags: Boston, CallMiner, Durham, Florida, Inflexion Partners, Intersoutch Partners, NC, Sigma Partners, speech analytics
Posted in Carolinas, Florida, IT, Internet/New Media, Money, North Carolina | No Comments »
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
 CHARLOTTE, NC – Welsh Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm, and Peak 10′s executive management have acquired a majority stake in the company. Financial details were not disclosed.
Selling shareholders include majority owner Seaport Capital, a New York-based private equity firm and McCarthy Capital, an Omaha, Neb.-based private equity fund.
Peak 10’s existing management team, led by Co-Founder, President and CEO David Jones will continue to operate the business.
Jones said, “Our partnership with Welsh Carson enables Peak 10 to continue increasing the scale of our business to meet the high demand for data center infrastructure and related managed services. Our strategic focus remains intact but our resources now position us to more rapidly extend our geographic footprint, strengthen our team and further accelerate our managed services and cloud offerings.”
Peak 10 has managed a path of steady and consistent growth achieved through expansion in the greenfield markets of Jacksonville, FL.; Charlotte, NC.; Tampa, FL. and Raleigh, NC, and through acquisitions of established data center companies in Louisville, KY; Nashville, TN.; Richmond, VA and, most recently, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
In 2007 and early 2008, Peak 10 opened greenfield data centers in Atlanta, Ga. and Cincinnati, Ohio respectively. Over the last two years Peak 10 has completed construction of additional facilities in five of its markets to meet customer growth and demand.
The transaction is expected to close in early October.
Tags: Acquisitions, Atlanta, Charlotte, FL, Fort Lauderdale, GA, KY, Louisville, Nahsville, NC, Peak 10, Raleigh, Richmond, TN, VA, Welsh Carson
Posted in Acquisitions, Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Other SE, Potomac, Tennessee, Virginia | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
 CHARLOTTE, NC – A group of Charlotte-area technology executives and entrepreneurs have launched a new organization called The Charlotte Regional Technology Executive Council (CRTEC). The organization will be dedicated to the continuous education for its members, and the economic development of technology companies in the Charlotte region.
The council resources are primarily volunteers comprised of executive level technology leaders in the Charlotte region.
Founding Member and elected President Paul Solitario states, “CRTEC’s vision is to be the premier forum for networking and collaboration between technology executives in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. The organization will provide ongoing candid deliberation on key technology issues facing our executive community, and promote social networking to foster the development of relationships essential to each member’s success.”
CRTEC launched its website this month. Information about membership, upcoming events, and member and Board of Director profiles can be found at Techexeccouncil.
Tags: Charlotte, Charlotte Regional Technology Executive Council, NC, Paul Solitario
Posted in Business Briefs, Carolinas, Economic Development, Events, North Carolina | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
 RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – The economy doesn’t concern shoppers as much as many fear when it comes to their shopping habits and more than half of people in a new Channel Advisor survey say they plan to do Christmas shopping online this year.
We found the results generally reflect some of our own shopping habits and those of people we know. We do a significant part of our own shopping online now, usually preceded by information searches via Google or other search engines. Like many surveyed, we don’t care what retail outlet sells us a product, but rather shop for price and reliable service.
Channel Advisor, which describes itself as a solution provider that enables online retailers to improve efficiency and increase revenue, says significant findings from its 2010 Consumer Shopping Habits Survey show:
- 58 percent of those surveyed plan to purchase their gifts online this year, besting brick-and-mortar stores by nearly 20 points.
- The economy doesn’t seem to be as big of a factor as some may believe for the consumers we surveyed: 41 percent said that their shopping habits were unaffected by the state of the economy, and 43 percent think the economy is bouncing back.
- When browsing for a gift idea, 59 percent of those surveyed started on search engines, followed by marketplaces at 28 percent. Only 10 percent started directly at a retailer’s webstore.
- Consumers are not as retail-name conscious as one may expect: 67 percent said they would purchase an identical product from an unknown store if the store offered a better value.
- When asked what promotion enticed shoppers to purchase, “best price” was most popular, followed closely by “free shipping,” and then “trusted seller status.”
- Reviews are exceedingly important as 92 percent of consumers said they read product reviews. Of that 92 percent, 46 percent were influenced to purchase based upon the reviews, and 43 percent were deterred from purchasing. The other 3 percent said their decision was unaffected by the reviews.
- When asked what makes a webstore trustworthy, consumers overwhelmingly listed the following three answers, in ranking order: security verification, reviews and webstore aesthetic.
ChannelAdvisor surveyed hundreds of consumers across the country for the Consumer Shopping Habits Survey to learn online shopping habits, thoughts on the economy, recognition of and comfort with new technology and much more.
Muti-channel approach still best
However, comparing the changes over the years has yielded interesting results as well. For example, when asked how much they spent online per month, consumers selecting more than $76 (the highest monetary option given) increased by 27 percent from 2009 to 2010.
The main takeaway from the survey that has stayed constant over the years: a multichannel approach is still the best way to reach consumers when and where they are shopping online. Complete survey results are available in the free white paper entitled, “Through the Eyes of the Consumer,” which can be downloaded here: www.channeladvisor.com/consumersurvey. — Allan Maurer
To contact TechJournal South Editor & Writer Allan Maurer: Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.
Tags: Channel Advisor, Consumer Shopping Habits Survey, NC, Research Triangle Park
Posted in Carolinas, IT, Internet/New Media, Marketing, North Carolina, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
 CHARLOTTE, NC – Rigemont Equity Partners, a middle market buyout and growth equity firm, has signed a definitive agreement for a majority investment in Unite Private Networks, a provider of high-bandwidth, fiber-based communications networks. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
UPN specializes in providing high-capacity data communications networks and related services to schools, government, carriers, data centers and enterprise business customers. UPN currently provides service in 12 states, primarily in the Midwest U.S.
Ridgemont is a private equity firm that was formed in August 2010 and specializes in middle market buyout and growth equity investments. The principals of Ridgemont have invested over $3.1 billion in more than 140 companies over the last two decades.
“Our arrangement to partner with the management team at UPN and serve as the equity sponsor of the company is indicative of Ridgemont’s core strategy going forward as an independent firm. UPN operates within one of our historical focus industries and fits the profile of a company with strong opportunities for growth,” said George Morgan, partner at Ridgemont.
“We were impressed with UPN’s consistent and profitable earnings, long-term customer relationships, and dedicated employee base. UPN has developed an efficient platform for growth and we are excited about the potential for the business to continue to expand and serve new markets.”
Tags: acquisition, Charlotte, NC, Ridgemont Equity Partners, Unite Private Networks
Posted in Acquisitions, Carolinas, IT, North Carolina | No Comments »
Monday, August 30th, 2010
 RALEIGH, NC – Red Hat is ready to salute a new chair of its board. The open source software provider has elected General H. Hugh Shelton, (U.S. Army, retired) chair. Shelton was the 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking military officer in the United States armed forces and the principal military adviser to the President of the United States beginning in 1997. He served two terms.
A member of Red Hat’s board since April 2003, General Shelton previously held the position of lead director and currently serves on the Audit and Compensation Committees. He succeeds Mathhew Szulik, former Red Hat CEO.
From January 2002 until April 2006, General Shelton served as president, International Sales, for M.I.C. Industries, an international manufacturing company. He has served on the boards of several public companies including Protective Products of America Inc., Anheuser-Busch Companies, CACI International Inc. and Anteon International Corp.
General Shelton received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award conferred by the United States Congress. Among his other numerous military awards are four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Army Distinguished Service Medals, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor and the Purple Heart. He has been decorated by 16 foreign governments. Civilian awards include the state of North Carolina’s highest award for public service, and the Eisenhower Award from the Business Executives for National Security.
Tags: chair, Gen. H. Hugh Shelton, open source software, Red Hat
Posted in Business Briefs, Carolinas, IT, North Carolina, People | No Comments »
Monday, August 30th, 2010
 DURHAM, NC – iContact, the email marketing firm, has raised $40 million in new backing from JMI Equity.
Ryan Allis, CEO and co-founder of the company, said, “We’ll use the majority of these new funds to make significant investments in sales and marketing, back-end technology, our product features and usability, global expansion, and of course our people that drive all of our success. For us, this is just the beginning of building a company that will be here in North Carolina for decades to come.
The funds will enable us to better fulfill iContact’s vision of building a great global company based in North Carolina for our customers, employees and community.”
The company, which has 65,000 customers, including TechJournal South, plans to occupy new offices in Morrisville in September. It raised $5 million in debt in 2008.
Of this raise, Allis said, “The funds will enable us to better fulfill iContact’s vision of building a great global company based in North Carolina for our customers, employees and community.”
The North Carolina Technology Association named iContact software company of the year in 2009.
JMI’s Brad Woloson and Jit Sinha join iContact’s board.
Allis is active in “social engineering” for community purposes. See: Can a for profit entrepreneur be a social entrepreneur?
Allis also wrote a book about building iContact into a success story. See:
Tags: Durham, email marketing, financing, icontact, JMI Equity, Morrisville, NC, social engineering
Posted in Carolinas, IT, Internet/New Media, Money, North Carolina | No Comments »
Friday, August 27th, 2010
 MORRISVILLE, NC – Red Storm Entertainment has laid off 38 staff members, according to the “Gamer’s Guide” web site Kotaku and other reports.
Launched by Tom Clancy, best selling thriller writer in 1996, the company sold to Ubisoft.
A company spokesman told Kotaku the laid-off staffers will have an opportunity to consider positions in other Ubisoft studios.
The cuts were made as part of a “realignment of production priorities,” the spokesman said.
Tags: layoffs, Morrisville, NC, Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft
Posted in Carolinas, IT, North Carolina, TechJobs | No Comments »
Friday, August 27th, 2010
 ARMONK, NY – IBM says that 45 percent of its business partners are experimenting with a social media business strategy, but three-quarters say they’re not sure how to use them as a business tool, according to a survey of 1,000 IBM worldwide partners.
They also are asking for training on specific social media tools like RSS, Facebook, Twitter, wikis, videos and setting-up networking communities for engaging with other partners and customers.
In response to the 2010 IBM Business Partner Social Media Survey results, IBM today launched a new skills initiative designed to provide its business partners — resellers, distributors, ISVs and system integrators — with education on effective use of social media to support their growth.
For more information on IBM’s resources for its partners see: www.ibm.com/partnerworld/pwhome.nsf/weblook/pat_sw_social_media.html.
Tags: IBM, social media, survey
Posted in Carolinas, Education, IT, Internet/New Media, North Carolina, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
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