From Greg's Head

Next week I will be heading to Istanbul, Turkey for the global Partner Power Conference.

You’ll recall that PKF Texas joined the Partner Power network last year to expand our Microsoft Dynamics NAV services.

Like my trip to London last year, I will be blogging and tweeting my observations from the Conference.

They’ve got a great line up of speakers. I’m looking forward to hearing from Microsoft’s Doug Kennedy, VP, Microsoft Dynamics Partners and Jan Silleman, Microsoft Dynamics NAV Global Produce Management. Also Sonly Music Entertainment, who has been a NAV customer for many years, will present a case study about how they updated their solution to better serve their local offices in 20 countries.

I’ll be in Turkey from the 15th through the 21st, so comment on the blog or tweet @fromgregshead if you have any questions for me while I’m there!
 

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Over the past few weeks, you may have noticed something brewing on our website.  To enhance your visitor experience, we have launched the newly reimagined PKFTexas.com.

From the book of our best practice tips, to local, state and federal tax updates, the new mobile ready site houses valuable resources for our clients, prospects and friends of our firm. The key business tools you have indicated are important are now more prominently spotlighted alongside new pages and features.  Selected highlights include:

PKFTexas.com is Mobile Ready.  All 235 pages of our site can be accessed anytime from anywhere at m.PKFTexas.com. 

Meet our Firm Leadership.  Watch each Director Preview video to get to know our Directors on a more personal level, or connect with them on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to Valuable Communications.

From the Leading Edge Magazine electronic Nxtbook® to the Route to Profits newsletter and connecting to events in the marketplace, you don't want to miss receiving any of our valuable communications

Connect to the Marketplace. The Community Connections section connects you to key events and organizations in Houston like the FastTech 50, BusinessMakers Radio Show and the Greater Houston Partnership.

Share our Site.  The pages of our site can now be shared with your friends and business colleagues over the social web. 

Stop by the International Desk. The one-stop page to connect your business to our global resources.  We do business where you do.

So take some time to browse through our site while you have your morning coffee.  We would love to hear your feedback.

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Last week’s Consumer Electronics Show  in Las Vegas hosted the debut of several cool gadgets. Much like the concept cars at the Detroit Auto Show, they won’t all make it to the mass market, but the fact the technology is there, is pretty cool.

Microsoft kicked off the Show with an announcement of the launch of several touch screen devices that will help drive their Window 7 product. Most notably, they’re using the technology for several of their tablet PC concepts.

LG announced a new flat screen television that is less than 7 millimeters thick! I wouldn’t mind having one of those in my house!

What did you hear about that you would love to get your hands on?

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I’m pleased to announce that PKF Texas’ Consulting Solutions team was recently named to Accounting Today’s 2009 Technology Pacesetters list. 

We are excited and honored to be recognized by Accounting Today as a 2009 Technology Pacesetter. The PKF Texas Consulting Solutions team works hard and focuses on the quality of service for our clients.  

 Through our corporate social responsibility efforts, the Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution software and collaboration with technology incubators, PKF Texas is committed to the technology and emerging markets in Houston and internationally.  We are proud to recognize innovation in Houston through the Fast Tech 50, Houston Technology Center, Rice Alliance and Houston Angel Network. 

The Technology Pacesetters list honors value-added resellers (VARs) that carry accounting software as a central part of their product line. I think it’s important to note that the criteria for this award was not revenue based.  The criteria did include innovation, vendor awards, leadership, and contributions to the field and general reputation.  I’m glad to see that Accounting Today recognizes that numbers shouldn’t be the focus of the award.  If a company takes the steps necessary to succeed in the areas evaluated to become a Pacesetter, the numbers/revenue will follow. 

PKF Texas is a five year Microsoft Certified Gold Partner and is a reseller for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. 

The 2009 list featured 50 companies from across the country. PKF Texas was also named to Accounting Today’s VAR 100 list in April 2009.  The Technology Pacesetters list appears in the November 16 – December 13, 2009 issue of Accounting Today.

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Russ Capper's interview with this year's Fast Tech 50 winner, Michael Kearney, president & CEO of Deep Flex Inc., is now posted to the BusinessMakers Radio Show website. 

Michael discusses how Deep Flex was able to acheive a staggering 3,000% growth and how their type of pipe works for oil companies.

You'll also hear from some familiar voices, Walter Ulrich - CEO of the Houston Technology Center, Bill Arend - Regional Manager for Oracle, Phil Morabito - CEO of Pierpont Communcitations and myself. 

Thank you to everyone who made this year's Fast Tech 50 a huge success!

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Houston has a successful recipe for emerging market and high growth companies.  In our nine years of being the Presenting Sponsor of the Fast Tech 50 we see no drop off in the number of successful companies, and their entrepreneurial spirit.  In fact, a recent national magazine just rated Houston as the fourth best large city in America to “Start a Business”.  So what’s our “recipe for success” you ask?  Well, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a recipe as; “A formula or procedure for doing or attaining something. And it defines success as: “A favorable or desired outcome”. So what makes up our “Success Gumbo?” 

Our emerging market Gumbo has lots of ingredients.  It starts with an attitude and a belief in yourself and your idea.  That baseline, is legacy DNA for Texans or transplanted Texans from as far back as our earliest settlers.  Then it starts with having the right infrastructure and support groups.  That infrastructure includes:  The Houston Technology Center (HTC); The Rice Alliance for Innovation and Technology; and support groups like The Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (RCIC), and the Houston Angel Network (HAN).  All of these are providing forums for entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas and find financial investors and backers.  And the final receipt ingredient includes the various advisors and service providers who work with these young companies to stir and fold these ingredients so that our Gumbo comes together at the right time and the right temperature. 

The Class of 2009 will be one of the youngest we have ever had in our program. In comparing this year’s group of winners, it’s clear that they represent a much younger and still developing group of early stage companies.  They will have an impact on our local and national economy for many years to come, and they will add to the legacy of what makes Houston the top city in the country to start a business.  The threshold to make the list was 20.05% for 2009!  The average growth rate for this year’s group is a staggering 132.7%. 

During this past year we had over 390 companies express an interest in becoming a member of this exclusive club.  The Fast Tech 50 class of 2009 continues Houston’s tradition of technology excellence.  And they also bring to the forefront new and different stories of entrepreneurial success.  This year’s list of honorees includes; 20 first-time honorees, 15 two-time honorees, 7 three-time honorees, 3 four-time honorees, 2 five-time honorees and 3 six-time honoree.  Our five time honorees include:  RigNet, Inc. and ERGOS Technology Partners, Inc. And our six time honorees are: BBS Technologies, DataCert, Inc. and Triad Resources, Inc. What staying power!

During the past year we saw the on-going continuation of many successful technology events throughout the city.  The Houston Technology Center (including the Gulf Coast Innovation Conference & Showcase) and the Rice Alliance (including the highly success Rice Business Plan competition with almost $1million in prizes) held many forums for the start up community.   The Houston based Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (RCIC) continues to do well.  We continue to hear from the State’s oversight group that the plans submitted from the Houston area are some of the most well received.

Qualifications

Let’s review the nomination and listing process.  To qualify for the Fast Tech 50, a company’s headquarters, or a foreign company’s US headquarters must be located in Houston SMSA region.  A minimum of 51% of the company’s consolidated net revenues must be involved in the original manufacture, design or development of technology products or delivery of services.  A nominee must have minimum net revenues of more than $200,000 in both years.  Rankings were determined on the revenue growth percentage from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008.

The nominees were asked to submit the following information:  nomination form; audited, reviewed or compiled financial statements or tax returns for 2007 and 2008; an overview letter; and background information on the company, its products and/or services.  Representatives from PKF Texas validated the information on the nomination form from the information packet.  The percentage of revenue growth was computed by comparing net revenues from 2007 to 2008.  During the past year we received over 360 nominations for the Fast Tech 50.   The organizations that made the top 50 places were then listed. 

Overview of the 2009 Fast Tech 50

Our Fast Tech 50 represents a wide variety of industries.  The industries represented by our award winners, and the number of entries by their area are as follows: Environmental Technology 3, Software 22,  Hardware 1, Hosting Facilities 2, Life Science 4, Technical/Consulting Services 6, eCommerce/Business Portals 3, Energy Technology Products 6, and Communications 3. 

Three of our honorees were started in the 1980s.  Eleven honorees were started in the 1990s.  Finally, thirty six honorees were started since 2000.   This group of honorees is by far, our youngest group of companies ever.  Hang on Houston; we’ve got some growing to do!

The local economic impact made by this year’s Fast Tech 50 is phenomenal!  When reviewing the entire 50 companies, an impressive overview quickly emerges.  These organizations are responsible for creating almost 3,094 jobs and over $600 million in revenues to our local economy.  No one industry dominates the Houston business climate anymore.  Our businesses are as diverse as our people and our cultures.

Nominations will be accepted for next year’s Fast Tech 50 listing by contacting the Houston Business Journal, PKF Texas, or any of the additional sponsors.  Organizations that are nominated will receive additional information and application packets during the spring of 2010. Congratulations to all of our honorees!  We look forward to seeing you in next year’s listing.

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The numbers have been crunched, the envelope has been sealed and the final preparations for the FastTech 50 luncheon are being taken care of as you read this!

If you are in the tech community here in Houston, then you better be at the Hilton Americas Downtown on Wednesday for the 9th Annual Fast Tech 50 Awards.   It’s the can’t miss event of November!
 
This is the ninth year of our participation as the presenting sponsor and it will be the best event yet!  This is the third year we will be awarding one company the Paul Frison Accelerator Award.

If you don't have a seat you will miss out on the premier event for emerging and tech based companies in Houston. To register visit: http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/event/5417 or contact Lee Ann Semmel at lasemmel@bizjournals.com or 713-688-8811.
 
I look forward to seeing many of our friends at the luncheon.  A huge thanks to our sponsor group: the Houston Business Journal, FOX 26, Burnett Staffing, Employer Flexible,  the Houston Technology Center, Oracle, Phillips & Reiter, PLCC,  Pierpont Communications,  and the Rice Alliance.
 
I also want to shout out a personal thank you to my assistant, John Stephenson for doing such a great job behind the scenes working with me to get the rankings established.

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We've got one week to go before the Fast Tech 50 Class of 2009 is revealed.  PKF Texas and I are eager to celebrate the friends of our firm who will be a part of the accomplished FastTech 50 Class of 2009. As founding sponsors of the FastTech 50, entering its 9th year, we would like to invite you to join us by purchasing a ticket or a table. 
 
The 9th Annual FastTech 50 Awards Luncheon will be held:

Wednesday, November 4, 2008
11:30 am-1:30 pm
Hilton Americas Houston Hotel
1600 Lamar

The Houston Business Journal has made it very easy to register by clicking http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/event/5417.  For more information contact Lee Ann Semmel at lasemmel@bizjournals.com or 713-688-8811.
 
This year we will again be recognizing the youngest company on the list with the Paul Frison Accelerator Award.  And will also be recognizing two new Enterprise Champions, business leaders whose exceptional companies demonstrate growth, industry leadership and above-average company culture.  
 
If you are on Twitter, be sure to search #FT50 for the latest Fast Tech 50 news.
 
We hope to see you there!

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PKF Texas and I are eager to celebrate the friends of our firm who will be a part of the accomplished FastTech 50 Class of 2009. As founding sponsors of the FastTech 50, entering its 9th year, we would like to invite you to join us by purchasing a ticket or a table. 
 
The 9th Annual FastTech 50 Awards Luncheon will be held:

Wednesday, November 4, 2008
11:30 am-1:30 pm
Hilton Americas Houston Hotel
1600 Lamar

The Houston Business Journal has made it very easy to register by clicking http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/event/5417.  For more information contact Lee Ann Semmel at lasemmel@bizjournals.com or 713-688-8811.
 
This year we will again be recognizing the youngest company on the list with the Paul Frison Accelerator Award.  And will also be recognizing two new Enterprise Champions, business leaders whose exceptional companies demonstrate growth, industry leadership and above-average company culture.  
 
If you are on Twitter, be sure to search #FT50 for the latest Fast Tech 50 news.
 
We hope to see you there!

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Reviews have generally been favorable for the upcoming release of Windows 7.  It will be formally launched on October 22nd, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

I’ll be curious to see if it is truly better than the much maligned Vista.  From what I’ve heard and read, Microsoft really listened to the end users and took the steps to address their problems.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, said recently, “Windows 7 is the best PC operating system we have ever built.”

I certainly hope he’s right.  Microsoft seems to be making the right decisions this time and will fare much better with this roll out.

Are you as a business owner going to make the switch to Windows 7 immediately or are you going wait for the dust to settle?

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The Houston Business Journal recently ran an article that should come as no surprise to regular blog readers.  The headline was “Houston Named Hot Spot for Tech Jobs.”

As we get closer to the FastTech 50 on November 4th, articles like these serve as a reminder that our tech community is being taken seriously around the country.  No longer are tech start-ups only flocking to Silicon Valley or Austin.  Houston is making its mark and it’s nice to see our tech community finally be getting the recognition it deserves.

With resources like the Houston Technology Center, the Houston Angel Network, the Rice Alliance and the largest medical center in the world at your fingertips, quite frankly, I can’t see any reasons why a company wouldn’t choose Houston. 

If you’re a tech company in Houston, what do you see as the biggest advantage of being located here? What else do you think Houston should be doing to continue building our tech profile in the global economy?
 

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The latest issue of AccountingToday features an article on CPAs tweeting.  The reporter, Liz Gold, included the PKF Texas Practice Growth team’s insight on CPAs tweeting and what we’re doing as a firm. Karen Love, Director and Raissa Evans, Senior Manager, were both quoted in the article.

PKF Texas doesn’t have a designated “firm” Twitter feed, rather team members tweet as individuals.  I’m still tweeting (@fromgregshead), not as often as some, but it’s been a good tool for me to use to interact with various members of my personal and professional networks. 

I’m glad to see other firms exploring their options in the Twitter-verse.  Looks like we’re starting move forward from the stodgy accountant stereotype! There are some good tips and advice in Gold’s article if you’re looking to set up your own or your firm’s Twitter account. The most important (in my eyes anyway) being “It’s important to think about why you would want to use Twitter in the first place.”

What has your company decided to do about Twitter?  How often do you tweet as an individual or a firm?  How many people are you following?

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The annual Inc. 500/5000 list has been posted to Inc.com. 

Congratulations to all the FastTech 50 and Aggie 100 companies who are on this year’s Inc. 500/5000 list. I’m glad to see Inc. likes our choices!

By my quick count, 15 FastTech 50 companies and 4 Aggie 100 companies are on the list this year. 

The Houston area has 14 companies in the top 500 and 104 on the overall list. Texas has a whopping 393 companies on the list! This reinforces how the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Houston and Texas. 

Take the time to look at the Inc. 500 web page, as there is lot of great information, including podcasts, articles and in-depth top 100 lists.

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Here it is July 20, 2009 and I was reflecting back to that historic day of July 20, 1969.  I can remember exactly what I was doing that evening when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.  Watching on my parents small black and white TV that evening, I was struck with amazement as I saw Armstrong take his first steps and issue his immortal words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  That was time when we embraced the challenges we faced and led to so many improvements in our daily lives, words seem inappropriate in placing them in the proper context. 

I have some links here from President Kennedy’s famous speech from Rice University to kick off our space program.  I have never seen the entire speech but I am glad that I watched it today.  His vision and goals for America and the space program have never been equaled since that famous speech. 

I would encourage you to watch the entire speech and think about his words..in particular his support of Houston and the State of Texas as innovative and strong are powerful.  As Texans we need to draw our own internal personal strength from his words and define our goals and challenges because they are difficult.  
 
 

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I’m excited to let you know that John Hoffmeister, former President of Shell Oil and current founder and Chief Executive of Citizens for Affordable Energy, is the keynote speaker for the Technology Champions meeting at the Houston Technology Center on August 7th.

This should be another standing room only event.  It’s not every day one gets the chance to hear from one of the oil industry’s movers and shakers in such an up close and personal environment.  I’ve seen him speak several times, including at one of the World Energy Cities Partnership luncheons a couple years ago. He always has something interesting and insightful to say. 

Houston in an energy city, so I’m curious to get his thoughts on the current state of the energy industry, how it will affect Houston and to hear about his newest venture, the Citizens for Affordable Energy.

If you have any questions about the event, visit the HTC website, www.houstontech.org.
 

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The Greater Houston Area is home to many high technology companies in key sectors including Information Technology, Life Sciences, Energy and NASA-originated technologies. In acknowledgment of the importance to Houston's regional economy of having thriving technology companies, PKF Texas and the Houston Business Journal along with Burnett Staffing Specialists, Fox 26 News, the Houston Technology Center, Philips & Reiter,  Pierpoint Communications, and the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship announce the ninth annual FastTech 50 awards. The growth of these 50 companies from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008, has propelled the Bayou City's overall economy and led to the creation of many new jobs.

The 2009 FastTech 50 awards will be given to the 50 high tech companies, which have experienced the greatest percentage revenue growth in 2008. The top executives of the FastTech 50 will be honored at the official awards luncheon in November 2009, where we expect over 700 people to attend. Winners will be announced in the FastTech 50 Special Section of the Houston Business Journal.

To qualify:

• 2007 & 2008 net revenue must exceed $200,000

• At least 51% of the consolidated revenue must involve the original manufacture, design or development of technology products or services

• Your business must be headquartered in the Houston ten county region including: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery Waller, Austin, and San Jacinto.

All nominations are subject to review by the FastTech 50 committee.

The nominations are now open.  Click here to download the nomination form. The award ceremony will be held at the Hilton Americas Houston Hotel on November 4, 2009. 

If you have any questions regarding the FastTech 50 program or survey, please contact John Stephenson directly at 713.860.1428 or email or Lee Ann Semmel by phone at 713.960.5916 or e-mail. If you would like to advertise in the FastTech 50 Special Section of the Houston Business Journal, please contact Cheryl Wentz at 713.688.8811.

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Last week, I had the opportunity to introduce Jason Pontin, Editor-in-Chief of Technology Review magazine and technologyreview.com, at the MIT Enterprise Forum April Flagship event.

Jason gave a great presentation on the Top Emerging Technologies of 2009. They are:

• Intelligent Software Assistant
• $100 Genome
• Racetrack Memory
• Biological Machines
• Paper Diagnostics
• Liquid Battery
• Traveling-Wave Reactor
• Nanopiezoelectronics
• HashCache
• Software-Defined Networking 

These companies are all doing really cool things.  For example, Paper Diagnostics created by George Whitesides, has developed cheap diagnostic tests made from paper.  This technology can be used to screen people in developing nations for a host of diseases, effectively and inexpensively.  The $100 Genome uses a nano chip to unravel DNA, untangling long strands of DNA molecules much quicker than standard techniques.  Bionanomatrix, the company developing the technology, is currently working on a process for sequencing the DNA.

We’re now linking to Jason’s blog, The New Commonplace in our blog roll, be sure to check it out when you're reading the PKF Texas - The Entrepreneur's Playbook every Friday!

I also want to share a few of my thoughts that I included in my remarks before introducing Jason.  I believe the idea of community is very important to the success of the emerging market and technology sector based here in Houston. 

The human spirit needs a sense of belonging to achieve its highest scale of success.  While Houston has a long tradition of success in innovation and technology development, most folks outside of our fair city don’t necessarily share that knowledge of our legacy.  And yes, while many people on the planet know of the Johnson Space Center, few understand the business and financial impact of that research center on a local and global basis.  Another equally important research center is the Texas Medical Center.  Between these entities, and many global oil and gas research and development centers our “community” has already established a track record for success.

We developed the Fast Tech 50 Awards program in connection with many of our friends and family in the Houston community.  During the past 8 years the Fast Tech 50 program has highlighted and showcased some outstanding examples of human spirit and achievement.  More importantly, we see tangible results that prove Houston is the place to be if you are entrepreneur.

I am struck with a sense of pride and accomplishment pertaining to the region’s tenacity and desire to take an idea and make it a reality, which quite frankly in other parts of the country would never see the light of day.  It’s a commitment to community-not the transaction that is the recipe for success.  When we lose sight of that, we lose our bearing or compass point.
 

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MessageLabs, a web security company, now part of Symantec [link] recently released a good whitepaper looking at the Top 5 Security Tips for 2009.  

The whitepaper primarily targets IT professionals, however, it’s worth applying the information to your home or business computer.  One note, to access the paper you have to fill out an online form before you can download it for free.

With known threats like the Conficker C worm that is supposed to cause problems on April first, it is a timely reminder to back up your computer on a regular basis, be mindful of the websites you visit, and to stay alert to potential threats to your systems.

Taking proactive steps to protect your computer and network, should be a central part of your business continuity planning.  Back in 2006, Sheldon Eveloff, a now retired partner from Amper, Politziner & Mattia, wrote a guest spotlight for us discussing this very topic. 

What steps does your company take to ensure network and data security?  How have you been able to combat threats to your system?  What advice do you have pass along to those looking to secure their systems?
 

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Read a great blog entry on InformationWeek.com over the weekend by Ed Hansberry posing the question are you a voice or data person.  He categorizes the two as this:

“Some people are voice centric and it just so happens that they also can get e-mails on their phone. Others are data centric. The primary reason they have a phone is that is just the device by which it's easiest to access data from the Internet. The fact that they can actually talk to someone with the device is just another feature.”

This is an interesting question that would not have even been asked 10 or even five years ago. 

Hansberry is a data person.  The jury is still out for me, though I’m leaning toward being a data person.  For professional communication, my Tilt works great, email, internet, etc.  But for personal communication I still need the phone function to stay in touch with my family.

comScore, Inc., a company that measures ways in which we use the Internet, recently issued a report that said the number of people using their mobile device to access news and information on the Internet more than doubled from January 2008 to January 2009.  This statistic is not surprising.  With the glut of smartphones on the market, I’ll be curious to see the figures next year.

Have we reached the ceiling for connectivity?  Probably not.  The engineers at Microsoft, Google and Apple will continue to keep us connected in ways that we didn’t even know we needed.

So are you a voice person or a data person?
 

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Jason Pontin, editor of Technology Review magazine and technologyreview.com will be speaking at the Federal Reserve here in Houston on April 22nd.  The MIT Enterprise Forum has scheduled him as the keynote speaker for their April MIT Flagship event.

Pontin will present “2009TR10” – Revolutionary technologies which will impact the future of Alternative Fuels, Global Healthcare, High Technology and Nanotechnology.

If you don’t know about the MIT Enterprise forum, their mission is to foster successful growth of innovative technology oriented enterprises in the South Texas area by providing access to MIT resources and through services and programs that inform, educate and support these business endeavors. 

I’m looking forward to hearing what Pontin has to say.  The cover of this month’s Technology Review addresses the Top Emerging Technologies of 2009.  There’s some cool stuff they’ve identified, like the $100 Genome and Software-Defined Networking.  It’s worth noting that when browsing through technologyreview.com, there are a number of articles discussing technology companies doing business in Houston.

Glad to see Houston is continuing to be on the radar of tech publications around the country.  With the 9th anniversary of the FastTech 50 and the 10th anniversary of the Houston Technology Center right around the corner, we’ve come a long way in establishing Houston as a technology center in the U.S.

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The Houston Technology Center is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. There will be a celebration gala, “A Celebration of Entrepreneurs,” held on Thursday, May 14th at the InterContinental Hotel. Below is the description of the event.

“Spotlighting our Honoree, Robert C. McNair, Founder and CEO of the Houston Texans, as well as 60 of Houston's landmark entrepreneurs, this year's event will be a red carpet gala to remember. We are extremely pleased to have Javier & Lucinda Loya, Dan & Allison Parsley, and Steve & Leticia Trauber as co-chairs for the event. Joining them, as honorary co-chairs, are Michael Holthouse, Anne Mendelsohn, John Mendelsohn, Walter E. Johnson, L.E. Simmons and Matthew R. Simmons. The evening will also feature the presentation of 5 outstanding achievement awards.”

PKF Texas was one of the first sponsors of the HTC 10 years ago. Like the FastTech 50, it’s been great to see how the HTC has grown. In the past 10 years the HTC has provided feedback to well over 1,000 companies and coached more than 200 companies, helping them raise in excess of $500 million and create over 3,000 jobs.

They are supported by more than 300 corporations and organizations, Houston's leading academic institutions, Greater Houston Partnership, Texas Medical Center, NASA-Johnson Space Center and the City of Houston, HTC has become Houston’s center of technology entrepreneurship by assisting companies within several key sectors: Energy, Technology, Life Sciences, Nanotechnology, and NASA/Aerospace technologies.

Congratulations HTC!

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I want to thank Opportunity Houston for their excellent article about the FastTech 50 in the January/February 2009 issue of the Opportunity Houston magazine. You can check out the article here.

I am proud PKF Texas co-founded and continues to be associated with such a successful program. The growth we’ve seen, both in size of the event and threshold for entry, is phenomenal. I’m eager to see what happens this year.

Houston is still one of the best places to do business in the country. There are many opportunities here to jump on; you just have to take that leap. To quote from the article, “The Houston region has long been acknowledged as a place of ‘can-do’ attitudes and the idea climate for launching new enterprises.” I couldn’t agree more.

We’ll open the nomination process for the 2009 FastTech 50 class in June, so watch this space for more information.

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I’ve been fairly consistent in my praise of Google’s many innovations, but I just have to question their Street View and Latitude programs.

The Street View feature of Google maps allows the user to see an address as it looks from the street.  I don’t see the point of having residential neighborhoods as a part of the Street View function.  A couple from Pittsburgh actually sued Google over photographs of their house and several other buildings on their property.  This article from Brian Cooper on IT Business Net discusses the lawsuit and Google’s response. 

What it boils down to is if you don’t want your house shown as part of the Street View you have to click the Report A Concern when viewing the picture of your house.  You can then indicate you have privacy concerns.

Last week, Google launched new software, Google Latitude which allows users to share their location with others using their cell phones as the locator.  You have to sign up for this service, but I can still see issues with it.  How important is for someone to know exactly where you are at a given time?    I just don’t see the need for this type of application.  Though Google addresses some of the privacy concerns it still feels too Big Brother-ish.

What do you think about these types of applications?  Are we simply moving to a society where privacy isn’t paramount?  Will you be removing your house from Google’s Street View?
 

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I attended the standing room only Technology Champions meeting at the Houston Technology Center last week and thought it was an excellent event.

The keynote was Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale.  He was as energetic as one would expect from his Gallery Furniture television and radio commercials.  He had a very positive attitude about the economic uncertainty.  He reminded everyone that tough times don’t last, but tough people do.  Even with the state of the economy right now, it’s not as bad as it was in 1983.  One of the most important pieces of advice he gave was that entrepreneurs should try not to use debt to finance growth.  You’ll come out ahead in the long run.

Other items of note from the meeting include an update from Michael Holthouse about Lemonade Day.  The 2008 event saw over 1.2 million glasses of lemonade served, over $1 million raised and about $250,000 was donated back to several Houston charities.

John Beddow gave an update about Celebrate! Enterprise, which this year is being held from May 20-22, 2009.  Look for more information from me in the coming weeks as PKF Texas is very involved.
 

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I mentioned it briefly in the PKF Texas – The Entrepreneur’s Playbook™ last week, but it seems like everywhere I turn, there’s another story about cloud computing.  It’s not a new concept, but with companies like Google, Amazon and Salesforce.com leading the charge, it’s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

Below are several articles I’ve read recently from Inc.com and InformationWeek that debate the pros and cons of cloud computing.

• Keep Your Head in the Cloud
• Technology: When the Forecast Calls for Clouds
• 10 Cloud Computing Predictions
• Remaking Microsoft: Go All-In In the cloud

I really like the 10 Cloud Computing Predictions article.  It provides insight into where cloud computing is going, and what you should keep an eye out for if you’re looking to make the jump.  The biggest concern all of the articles point out is data security.  That’s something that IT departments need to look at closely when choosing a cloud service provider.  Are there enough checks and safe guards in place to ensure your data is not compromised.

Does your business use cloud computing?  How have you protected your data?  Do you have any best practices for those looking to use cloud computing?

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I read a great blog article yesterday, “2010 Too Late for Windows 7 to Save Microsoft,” from Paul McDougall over at InformationWeek.

In the PKF Texas – The Entrepreneur’s Playbook™ airing this week, I discuss tech predictions for 2009, one of which is the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 7 and Apple’s OS X Snow Leopard.

McDougall is right on in his assessment that, “Microsoft needs to ship Windows 7 as soon as possible.”

With the misfire of Windows Vista and the ensuing backlash both verbal and financial, it just goes to show that the world’s best doesn’t always get it right.  There’s hope for Microsoft this time to get it right.  They can’t afford to continue losing market share to Apple on the “home front” or Google with their net-based apps. 

What do you think Microsoft needs to do to right itself in the eyes of the consumer?

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I’ve been reading a lot of reviews lately about the recently released 4th generation (4g) iPod nano.  With holiday shopping in full gear, I wanted to share what I’ve read with all of you.  Now that users have had plenty of time to try it out, (it was released in September) the “real” reviews have begun to roll in.

The reviews are definitely mixed.  Most people really like the return to the shape of the 2nd generation iPod, the shake to shuffle feature and the choice of color.

One of the most common complaints was that users couldn’t turn off the Cover Flow feature, which when the nano was turned on its side the user could browse through the songs by the album cover art.  This has apparently been corrected by a software update that Apple released in early November.

Other frustrations included the lack of compatibility with existing iPod accessories, shortened battery life, and problems with the sensitivity of the accelerometer.  The accelerometer is the part of the nano that allows the screen to flip when it’s tilted.  Until now the only Apple products using the accelerometer were the iPhone and the iTouch. 

What have your experiences been with the 4g nano?  What features do you like?  Which features have been problematic? Do you plan to buy one for yourself or as a gift?
 

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Several PKF Texans attended the Gulf Coast Innovation Conference, hosted by the Houston Technology Center, yesterday. This was the first year for this conference, and it was a very well attended event.

Approximately 32 companies, with specialties in life science, energy, nano tech and IT, made individual presentations. In addition, there were two panel presentations and a keynote speech from Leo Linbeck. All of the company presentations were quite impressive. I've said it before and I’ll say it again, the amount of entrepreneurial talent in Houston is astounding. We are lucky to live in a city that supports such a diverse group of innovators.

The panels and Linbeck all had great things to say. The several of our team members commented to me that Linbeck’s speech was the highlight of the conference. He was very candid about the current economic situation and how it will impact entrepreneurs. While the news wasn’t all upbeat, he did say that even in rougher economic times, entrepreneurs should keep going, and that it’s actually not a horrible time to start a business.   There is a lot of opportunity if you seek it out.

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Have you registered for the Gulf Coast Innovation Conference yet? The conference will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel, next Tuesday, November 18^th. This is going to be the innovative conference of the year in Houston.

Hosted by the Houston Technology Center, PKF Texas is proud to be a sponsor. This year’s keynote speaker is Leo Linbeck III, President and CEP of Aquinas Companies, LLC. He will present “Entrepreneurship Life Cycle, Early Stage to Seed Capital and the Implications of Current Economic Trends.” I think that given our current economic climate, this is a must see presentation for any entrepreneur. 

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Sue Moore at 713-658-1750 or smoore@houstontech.org.

If you attend the conference, let me know what you were able to take away that will be useful for your business. 

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Congratulations to all of the FastTech 50 winners! 

This year’s Number 1 ranked Fast Tech 50 honoree is Globalogix .  You will find a profile on this company later inside this special section of the Houston Business Journal.  They grew a remarkable 1,343% during the past year!  Congratulations to James Hamilton and his team.  It’s a great story of entrepreneur collaboration.  The single largest revenue contributor from the Fast Tech 50 to our local economy is The Planet at $122 million.  As we noted earlier, the cutoff this year to make the Fast Tech 50 was approximately 37.4% year over year growth.

Here is the official 2008 FastTech 50 list by Alphabetical Name:

Access Sciences Corporation
Additech, Inc.
Agoric Source, LLC
Alert Logic Inc.
Apollo Sales & Marketing Group
B Resource
BBS Technologies
Bluegate Corporation
CONTENTACTIVE, LLC
Customer Velocity
Eagle Information Mapping
eCardio Diagnostics, LLC
Enaxis Consulting, L.P.
Energy Solutions Inc.
EpiladyUSA, Inc.
ERGOS Technology Partners, Inc.
Fairway Medical Technologies, Inc.
GlobaLogix
HighRadius
HostGator.com
I.T. Works
iKAN Software
Ingenious, Inc.
Institute of Information Technology, Inc.
Kerdock Consulting, LLC
Lensec
LHR Technologies
M3 Technology, Inc.
Medical Metrics, Inc.
Merrick Systems
MicroSeismic, Inc.
ObjectWin Technology, Inc.
omNovia Technologies, Inc.
OpenSpirit Corporation
Paymetric, Inc.
Petris
Pop Labs
PreCash, Inc.
RigNet, Inc.
Search Technology, LLC
Secure Cash Network, Inc.
SolArc, Inc.
Spring Medical Systems, Inc.
Spur Interactive (Formerly Spur Digital LP)
Techcess Group
The Planet
Transtar POS
US LED, Ltd.
Whitefence
X-ISS (eXcellence in IS Solutions, Inc.)

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As we prepare our program for the eighth year of the Fast Tech 50 Awards Luncheon, I am struck with a sense of pride and accomplishment pertaining to the region’s tenacity and desire to take an idea and make it a reality, which quite frankly in other parts of the country would never see the light of day.  It’s been six weeks since we all felt the impact of Hurricane Ike in the Houston region.   And while many parts of our region are still recovering from Ike, the entrepreneurial leaders and emerging companies are still humming along.   Our community came together in ways that are reminiscent of time gone by.  Neighbors came together, offered help and took an interest in the welfare of each other so that all could make it through those tough days after the storm passed.  That same spirit is found within the emerging market community as well. With entrepreneurial leaders from all backgrounds, service providers, and investment communities offering their assistance, the emerging companies of Houston are finally getting the national respect long deserved. 

The Class of 2008 will be one of the youngest we have ever had in our program. In comparing this year’s group of winners, it’s clear that they represent a much younger and still developing group of early stage companies.  They will have an impact on our local and national economy for many years to come, and they will add to the legacy of what makes Houston the top city in the country to start a business.  The youth of many of our new emerging companies is evident with the threshold to make the list rising to the second highest ever at 37.4% for 2008!  The average growth rate for this year’s group is a staggering 133%.  You always know that you have arrived on the scene when several “national entrepreneurial magazines” are now mentioning many of our Fast Tech 50 companies as organizations to invest in, or watch.  Thanks for the publicity guys, but the Houston Business Journal and our Fast Tech 50 program, already scooped you!  We’ve been blowing the horn of these entrepreneurs for over 8 years!

During this past year we had over 360 companies express an interest in becoming a member of this exclusive club.  The Fast Tech 50 class of 2008 continues Houston’s tradition of technology excellence.  And they also bring to the forefront new and different stories of entrepreneurial success.  This year’s list of honorees includes; 21 first-time honorees, 14 two-time honorees, 4 three-time honorees, 5 four-time honorees, 5 five-time honorees and 1 six-time honoree.  Our five time honorees include:  BBS Technologies, Inc., Bluegate Corporation, I.T. Works, Paymetric, Inc., and PreCash Inc. And our only six time honoree this year is Merrick Systems, Inc.  What staying power!

During the past year we saw many successful technology events throughout the city.  The Houston Technology Center and the Rice Alliance (including the highly success Rice Business Plan competition) held many forums for the start up community.   The Houston based Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (RCIC) is doing very well in its third year.  We continue to hear from the State’s oversight group that the plans submitted from the Houston area are some of the most well received.

Qualifications

Let’s review the nomination and listing process.  To qualify for the Fast Tech 50, a company’s headquarters, or a foreign company’s US headquarters must be located in Houston SMSA region.  A minimum of 51% of the company’s consolidated net revenues must be involved in the original manufacture, design or development of technology products or delivery of services.  A nominee must have minimum net revenues of more than $200,000 in both years.  Rankings were determined on the revenue growth percentage from fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2007.

The nominees were asked to submit the following information:  nomination form; audited, reviewed or compiled financial statements or tax returns for 2006 and 2007; an overview letter; and background information on the company, its products and/or services.  Representatives from PKF Texas validated the information on the nomination form from the information packet.  The percentage of revenue growth was computed by comparing net revenues from 2006 to 2007.  During the past year we received over 360 nominations for the Fast Tech 50.   The organizations that made the top 50 places were then listed. 

Overview of the 2008 Fast Tech 50

Our Fast Tech 50 represents a wide variety of industries.  The industries represented by our award winners, and the number of entries by their area are as follows: Medical Devices 3, Software 24,  Hardware 5, Technical/Consulting Services 5, eCommerce/Business Portals 6, Energy Technology Products 5, and Communications 2. 

One honoree was started in the 1970s.  Two of our honorees were started in the 1980s.  Fourteen honorees were started in the 1990s.  Finally, thirty three honorees were started since 2000.   This group of honorees is by far, our youngest group of companies ever.  Hang on Houston; we’ve got some growing to do!

The local economic impact made by this year’s Fast Tech 50 is phenomenal!  When reviewing the entire 50 companies, an impressive overview quickly emerges.  These organizations are responsible for creating almost 3,270 jobs and over $629 million in revenues to our local economy.  No one industry dominates the Houston business climate anymore.  Our businesses are as diverse as our people and our cultures.

Nominations will be accepted for next year’s Fast Tech 50 listing by contacting the Houston Business Journal, PKF Texas, or any of the additional sponsors.  Organizations that are nominated will receive additional information and application packets during the spring of 2009. Congratulations to all of our honorees!  We look forward to seeing you in next year’s listing.

I have long known that Houston is the best place to start a business, but the facts speak for themselves.  Houston, we believe in you! And thanks, for being what you are: The Home of Entrepreneurism.

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The numbers have been crunched, the envelope has been sealed and the final preparations for the FastTech 50 luncheon are being taken care of as you read this!

If you are in the tech community here in Houston, then you better be at the InterContinental Hotel in the Galleria on Friday for the 8th Annual Fast Tech 50 Awards.   It’s the can’t miss event of November!
 
This is the eight year of our participation as the presenting sponsor and it will be the best event yet!  This is the second year we will be awarding one company the Paul Frison Accelerator Award. 

If you don't have a seat you will miss out on the premier event for emerging and tech based companies in Houston. To register visit:http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/event/4270 or contact Lee Ann Semmel at lasemmel@bizjournals.com or 713-688-8811.
 
I look forward to seeing many of our friends at the luncheon.  A huge thanks to our sponsor group the Houston Business Journal, FOX 26, Capital One Bank, the Houston Technology Center, Oracle Software, Pierpont Communications,  Griffin Partners, the Rice Alliance, and Phillips & Reiter, PLCC.
 
I also want to shout out a personal thank you to my assistant, John Stephenson for doing such a great job behind the scenes working with me to get the rankings established.

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The FastTech 50 is rapidly approaching. Please join the Houston Business Journal, PKF Texas, Capital One Bank, Oracle, Pierpont Communications, Phillips & Reiter PLLC, The Griffin Partners: 1301 Fannin, The Houston Technology Center, Rice Alliance and Fox 26 News at the eighth annual Fast Tech 50 Awards Ceremony. This high-energy event is a must to attend especially if you want to meet the top executives of the hottest technology companies in Houston.

The Fast Tech 50 Awards are presented to the 50 fastest growing Houston area based high-tech businesses ranked by percentage of revenue growth in 2007. These top level CEOs of the Fast Tech 50 will be honored at this exciting luncheon on Friday, November 7, 2008.

The winners are also announced in the Fast Tech 50 Special Section of the Houston Business Journal that will be published on Friday, November 7th and handed out at the event.

Do not miss your chance to network with over 600 businessmen and women as well as congratulate the Fast Tech 50 of 2008. Deadline for reservations is Friday, October 31, 2008.

When? Friday, November 7, 2008 11:30am - 1:00pm
Where? InterContinental Houston Hotel 2222 West Loop South, Houston, TX 77027

Click here to register online

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The National Space and Technology Association (NSTA) is hosting the first annual State-of-the-City report featuring Mayor Bill White as the keynote speaker. 

The luncheon will be held on September 15^th at the Houston J.W. Marriott. Mayor White will be speaking about a number of City of Houston IT initiatives implemented during his administration. A brief question and answer session will be held after his presentation.

With the leadership of Houston’s goal to make Houston a destination workplace, I’ll be interested to hear what he has to say and will report back to you in September. The Mayor is an important figure to become involved with the future of technology aligning with Houston’s future.

For more information about the event, visit the NSTA website at www.nstaworld.org.

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Things are rolling forward with the FastTech 50 nominations. Like the Aggie 100 this year we received a record number of submissions. 

We also had a record number of companies fill out the Enterprise Champion questionnaire. The Enterprise Champion leadership award is given to the business leaders whose exceptional companies demonstrate growth, industry leadership and above average company culture.

Thanks to all those who submitted a nomination packet. We have begun to analyze the data, and I’m impressed with the growth the companies have seen. I’m eager to see the final list. Good luck to everyone!

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I want to give a shout out to Marc Nathan, Director of Entrepreneur Development, Information Technology for the Houston Technology Center, Kelsey Ruger, VP Technology and Operations for Pop Labs and Josh Tabin, founder/President of Mosaic CFO and Startup Houston. They gave a presentation on social media to our firm at our PKF University.

Raissa Evans, Sr. Manager in our Practice Growth department said, “The presentation this morning was particularly effective in that it was tailored specifically to our industry, and gave both the theoretical and then the tactical insights to how accountants can use social media.”

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!

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We’ve received a record number of Aggie 100 nominations this year. We’re currently analyzing the date as I write. While I can’t say much, I can tell you that this year’s group is full of great companies. I can’t wait for you to find out who they are at the award banquet this fall.

Speaking of award banquets this fall,  I want to get one last reminder in about the FastTech 50. The nominations are due Thursday, July 31^st. You can log on to the Houston Business Journal site or PKF Texas’ FastTech 50 site to download the nomination form. You don’t want to be left off this year’s list, so don’t delay!

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The new iPhone came out last Friday to mixed reviews from Tech Guys and everyday users alike. The main criticism? The glitch that won’t allow you to complete the set-up in store.

I have yet to jump on the iPhone train. I still like my AT&T Tilt. When I was deciding between the two, the guy at the AT&T store told me, “The iPhone is a cool toy and the Tilt is for business functionality.” I use mine for business functionality, though I can’t deny there is a certain cool factor to owning the iPhone.

What do you think? If you had the first generation iPhone, did you trade it in for the new 3G version, or did you just download the updated software? If you are a new iPhone user why did you jump in now and not a year ago?

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We welcome another new FastTech 50 sponsor, Capital One Bank.  We’re glad to have you on board!

We recently took a photo of all of the sponsors to be incorporated into a FastTech 50 ad that will appear in the Houston Business Journal. I’ll post the picture as soon as we receive it. 

The nomination forms are now available at www.pkftexas.com/FT50. Contact John Stephenson at jstephenson@pkftexas.com or Lee Ann Semmel at lasemmel@bizjournals.com with questions or for more information. 

Don’t forget, this year’s award ceremony will be held on November 7^th at the InterContinental Hotel in the Galleria area. Last year’s event broke attendance records, and I’m anticipating the same this year. 

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The days of being totally disconnected when you’re on the plane are quickly coming to an end. American Airlines and Virgin America will be offering internet via a Wi-Fi connection on select flights later this year.

There will of course be a fee involved. $12.95 for flights three hours or longer and $9.95 for trips that are shorter.

Walter S. Mossberg, a journalist from the Wall Street Journal, recently wrote about it in his column Personal Technology. He tried a variety of devices, downloads and watched streaming video. Overall he appeared satisfied with the results.

I have mixed emotions about this service. There’s something nice about getting on a three hour flight and knowing no one can reach you. On the other hand, being able to get actual work done and send it off while you’re on the plane would be nice. 

What do you think? Would you pay to use the internet on the airplane? Are we close to opening Pandora’s box and being able to use our cell phones in the air?

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I received the below email yesterday. (Edited for space)

Dear Greg Price,

Our editors recently reviewed your blog and have given it an 8.0 score out of (10) in the Business category of Blogged.com. This is quite an achievement!

http://www.blogged.com/directory/business

We evaluated your blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style. After carefully reviewing each of these criteria, your site was given its 8.0 score.

Please accept my congratulations on a blog well-done!!

Sincerely,
Amy Liu
Marketing Department
www.blogged.com

That’s great news to hear! If you’d like to see the blog on blogged.com, click here. I’ve said this before, but if it weren’t for you all, my readers, the blog wouldn’t be as successful as it is. So a big thank you to you!

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Back in May, I blogged about the Microsoft/Yahoo! merger falling apart. Now, according to reports, Yahoo! is seeking a partnership with Google. Well…at least to handle some of its advertising sales.

Announced last Thursday, the deal is a 10 year, non-exclusive partnership that gives Yahoo! the ability to use Google’s search and contextual advertising technology.

The deal still has to face the Department of Justice to determine if it breaches anti-trust regulations. 

I’ve got to admit, I’m skeptical about this latest move and I’m curious to see the reaction from Yahoo!’s shareholders. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some sort of corporate coup in the future. There’ve been rumblings about it for a month or two now, since the Microsoft deal fell through.

Though folding into Microsoft might not have been ideal, I’m not sure how partnering with Google will be beneficial in the long term. In the short term I see the influx of cash as a positive, but can’t see much beyond that.

Tameka Kee, from Online Media Daily, wrote a great piece about it including Yahoo! president Sue Decker’s official statement.

Would you partner with one of your direct competitors? What do you think about this latest move from Yahoo!? 

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I had a conversation the other day with some PKF Texas colleagues the other day and wanted to pose a question to my readers:

What are the gadgets/devices that you use with your cell phone to improve its usability?

For example, I’ve been hearing about the Jawbone a lot recently. Supposedly it’s one of the best Bluetooth headsets on the market. Do any of you use it? Is it worth the price?

I recently ran across www.tiltdepot.com, it has all sorts of accessories designed specifically for my phone, the AT&T Tilt. I wish I’d found it before I dropped my phone last weekend and scratched it up! 

Have you found that devices designed specifically for your phone work better than those designed to be used for “all” types of phones?

What one gadget for your phone can you not live without?

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FORTUNE Small Business online has posted an extensive recap of the Rice Business Plan Competition. 

There is a synopsis page for each team in the competition. You can watch videos of top elevator pitches, participate in a forum dedicated to the competition, and take a quiz to see if your company has what it takes to enter these types of competitions.

Like I said back in April, the plans are getting better and better each year. The difference between numbers one and seven in the final flight is getting smaller and the difference between numbers one, two and three in each flight is very small as well.

Take a look at the website and let me know what you think was the best concept. Did you like qcue, the winner, the best? Whose pitch did you like best?

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I was flipping through the June issue of Inc. Magazine over Memorial Day weekend, the cover story caught my eye. It’s about the most innovative small company in America, Threadless, an online t-shirt company.

I’ll have to admit I’m a bit perplexed and surprised this is the most innovative small company in America. I’m not saying they haven’t been successful or don’t deserve all the accolades, they’ve received. They do, Threadless sold roughly $30 million in t-shirts last year, sales in 2006 hit $18 million with profits of nearly $6 million. For a company that started in 2000, those are great numbers.

I can’t help but wonder though, what am I missing? The article makes the point that Threadless has almost wholly and effectively used social media and Web 2.0 vision to their advantage, soliciting t-shirt designs from the visitors of the website, who then vote on their favorites to be produced and sold.

Can the Next Gen readers educate me? What makes this company so innovative? What differentiates it from others like cafepress.com?

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I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the newest sponsor of the FastTech 50, Phillips & Reiter. They will be an excellent addition to the FastTech 50 family!

The 2008 nomination forms will be available soon, so watch this space. I’ll let you know when they are posted.

Mark your calendars, this year’s award ceremony will be held on November 7^th at the InterContinental Hotel in the Galleria area. 

Contact John Stephenson at jstephenson@pkftexas.com or Lee Ann Semmel at lasemmel@bizjournals.com with questions or for more information. 

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Next Tuesday, May 27^th, I am going to the TECH luncheon at the Houston Technology Center (HTC) where Thomas B. Pickens III, CEO and Chairman of the Board of SPACEHAB, will be the keynote speaker. 

SPACEHAB is a pretty cool company, headquartered in Webster, TX, they preview commercial space services.   I’m eager to hear what Pickens has to say. He is a serial entrepreneur and has contributed much to the emerging technology community in Houston. 

TECH (Technology Executive Club of Houston) is the CEO Roundtable luncheon group that meets monthly at the HTC. Limited to 100 individuals, this group provides its members with outstanding programs each month like this one with Mr. Pickens.

If you are a CEO of a technology company in Houston, and would like to join me, I have a couple of extra tickets. Shoot me an email to gregshead@pkftexas.com, and let me know you are interested in attending this meeting or a future one. 

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I was recently asked, how can Houston continue to attract top tech companies and talent to the city. Interesting question. I see two things that have to happen.

First, we need to continue the branding and awareness of the Houston tech community to those outside of the Houston and Texas regions.  I know it sounds old fashioned, but folks outside of the Texas region still consider Houston a two dimensional city.  Energy and Space Exploration.  While both of those are very important to Houston, the growth in the high tech, health care research and delivery, educational research, telecommunications and manufacturing will continue to outpace our baseline industries. 

We see it every day, but those not as familiar to our community do not.  That’s one of the reasons why PKF Texas created the Fast Tech 50 Awards program and brought that to the Houston Business Journal.  We wanted to start the ball rolling on branding and awareness of the city as a source of great success in the tech sector.  We are fully committed to making this sector a success for our city.  One of the areas that the Houston Technology Center, HBJ, and our firm supports is the Rice Business Plan Competition.  Its success and the information the participants receive during the competition has reached around the world.  We had several plans from outside the U.S. this year.  The Rice event has turned out to be so successful that Fortune Small Business decided to drop their own competition and endorse the Rice event.  Also, working with the Greater Houston Partnership, Walter Ulrich, our President of the HTC was able to get Houston’s visibility changed with some national rankings recently with a national publication as well. 

Second, we have to create jobs and fight for talented tech personnel to relocate to our city.  This is no longer a fight for economic survival on a local, or regional basis.  I recently had the opportunity to review some economic strategic planning from another region and they indicated they were fighting for business from communities their size in the domestic U.S.  They couldn’t be further from the truth to be successful.  In my opinion, we are fighting to secure talent to our community locally, from the global community.  I can assure you Houston through organizations like the Greater Houston Partnership, and the HTC see things on a global basis and we want to compete globally for all kinds of business opportunities.  Given our baseline business in Energy, this gives us a leg up on the acceptance of Houston as a global city and not just a city in Texas.  Our cost of living and the baseline for salaries for tech personnel are very favorable to both companies and individuals alike.  And our existing talent pool is just outstanding, some of the success stories we have in the tech sector would rival any region in the US and beyond. 

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I see several trends evolving within the accounting profession.  First is the final stages of paperless automation within the back office and field work.  This started several years ago, but the vendors have finally caught up to the demands of the profession.  That includes paperless filing, document management and practice workflow solutions within the office, paperless audits and tax returns, and paperless activities within the back office. 

Second is the increasing demand of mobile computing.  Now mobile computing goes to the virtual office, but it’s much, much more than that.  It’s the finalization of reaching this version of the “wired” or “fully connected” professional within firms.  Our clients increasingly expect us to be available at a moment’s notice to meet their needs.  Only through Windows Mobile solutions are we going to be fully connected.

Third is good IT governance and practices especially with regard to security management, confidentiality of client data, business continuity and disaster recovery.

And lastly, business intelligencewith the applications and technologies used for gathering, providing access and visibility to, and analyzing data to help business owners and manager make informed business decisions.  Our Dynamics NAV practice is getting additional requests for solutions in this area.

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Over the weekend Microsoft dropped its bid to take over Yahoo!. This is an interesting development in what initially appeared to be an inevitable take-over.

This brings up a few questions:

• Who can compete with Google?
• What does this mean for Microsoft in terms of the next step to compete in Web 2.0?
• Where does Yahoo! go from here? They’ve been playing second fiddle to Google for quite some time.

CNN/Fortune has an interesting article that speculates about the above questions.

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It’s not often you get a chance to hear one of the country’s foremost experts in information technology. Earlier this week we (myself and several colleagues at PKF Texas) were treated to one of the best, “A Conversation with Michael Dell”, founder, Chairman and CEO of Dell – and a native son of Houston.

On April 30^th, Dell was the guest speaker on a panel for the Houston Forum. Also on the panel, Walter Ulrich, CEO of the Houston Technology Center, Leonard Rejcek, President and CEO of Manhattan Construction Co., moderated the session.

Dell took questions from Walter, Leonard, and the audience. 

Some of the most interesting points I took from the presentation include:

• 1 billion people are currently on the internet
• 500,000 new users log on every day
• Use of the internet is expected to double in the next five years creating opportunities for
  • Mobile
  • Online
  • Bandwidth

He also commented on his company, Dell, giving valuable insight into one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs:

• 10 years ago Dell’s revenues were $6 billion and they are currently at $61 billion
• In the past year (before he took over again as CEO) they experienced an annual growth rate of -11% and this year they are currently at a +21% growth rate
• Dell stresses keeping things simple for his people and customers alike
• He encourages conversation with your customers
• Dell (the company) recently launched www.dell.com/earth to address the company’s green initiatives
• Dell’s key target markets are outside the U.S. He refers to them as BRIC +10. BRIC stands for Brazil, Russia, India and China. The +10 is several other countries where the technology sector is booming or has the potential to grow exponentially in the next few years.

A few other thoughts I noted about the technology growth:

• China currently has several of the worlds most visited websites
• Due to the fact that the internet does not have borders, social networks, collaboration are pushing content all over the world.

Great stuff, and I was glad I was able to hear him speak. If you get the chance to see one of his presentations, I would highly recommend it.

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It’s finally here. This week I’m heading to San Antonio for the Envision08 conference. As of right now I’m planning on updating you during the conference, sort of a modified version of my Rice Business Plan Competition live blogging. I’m not quite sure when I’ll be able to make updates, so keep checking back.

The panel that I’m on, The Top Ten Accounting Mistakes, is scheduled for Friday at 10 AM April 25, 2008.

This is going to be a great conference. I’m looking forward to the attendee interaction between the sessions and at the scheduled networking events. Also, I’m curious to hear what Guy Kawasaki has to say. I'll let you know.

A big thanks goes to Richard Scruggs, Director and Lenae Huebner, Asst. Executive Director at the CNVE for all their hard work putting this conference together. See you in San Antonio!

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With tax day behind us, we can now begin think about things other than the IRS, bean counters and filing deadlines. As you know I am a big fan of Inc. Magazine. I want to let you know about their newest comprehensive technology website for entrepreneurs called Inc Technology.

A spin off site from Inc.com, it has the latest technology trends affecting your business, expert IT advice and commentary, as well as strategies for deploying and choosing technology products and services.

There are articles and forums for just about every technology topic you can think of. Let me know what you think of the site. Is it useful for your business? Are there topics you would like to see me talk about or record for a PKF Texas – The Entrepreneur’s Playbook?

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(L to R) AMA Houston Tech SIG coordinator Rob Roberts, Michael Berry, Katie Laird and Greg Price after the blogging for business panel on April 2, 2008.

This morning I was one of three panelists at the AMA Houston Technology SIG’s event, “Blog Forward: The Rapid Evolution of Blogging as a Marketing Tool.” A big thank you to Rob Roberts and the AMA for asking me to present, it was a great crowd.

Katie Laird from Schipul and Michael Berry from Clear Channel Houston joined me on the panel. The links to their blogs are below. Katie contributes to six!

• Katie’s blog – www.happykatie.com
• Michael’s blog on the News Radio 740 site

It was interesting to get their perspectives on blogging, as their blogs have a different focus than fromgregshead.com.

To those who attended, thanks for your questions and thoughts. I enjoyed our interaction. Feel free to comment here on the blog, or email me with any questions you may have about fromgregshead.com or blogging in general.

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It’s finally here! The Rice Business Plan Competition kicks off on Thursday. Like last year I’ll be live blogging from the competition. Thirty-six teams from top MBA programs from across the country and globe have been selected to compete.

This year I’m a judge for flight 3. Below are the teams that will compete in my flight:

HeartSounds, Inc. - University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
AutoTB - University of Cambrdige, UK
DiagNano - Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA
GlucoFast  - Lancaster University, UK
IMMUTEL - University of Aarhus, Denmark
Traycer Diagnostic Sys. - Ohio State University

Good luck to all the teams and stay tuned for my thoughts and observations from inside the judging room!

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Envision08 speaker Guy Kawasaki recently interviewed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the MIX08 conference. MIX is an annual event that brings together professionals in the consumer Web space - Web developers, designers, business and digital marketing professionals - to explore new ways to build next-generation Web experiences using Microsoft technologies, and create digital customer connections that drive business results.

The video of the interview and Q&A session is about an hour long, but you can read the transcript if you don’t want to watch the whole thing.

They discuss a wide variety of topics including social networking, the changes coming after Bill Gates fully transitions to working full-time at his foundation and Microsoft’s potential takeover of Yahoo!. It’s really interesting stuff, especially considering Kawasaki’s history with Apple. Ballmer definitely has set the course for moving forward. It’s going to be fun to watch what Microsoft does in the coming years.

On a related side note, I am going to be on a panel at Envision08. I’ll be one of three panelists talking about the top ten accounting mistakes that businesses make. I'm looking forward to it. 

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This week Houston was named the #4 Up-And-Coming Tech City by Forbes Magazine. Here’s what Forbes had to say about Houston:

“Houston hasn't exactly earned a reputation as a city teeming with techies. But that's changing. "Fifteen years ago, we had all the assets, but we weren't really developing them," says Walter Ulrich, chief executive of the Houston Technology Center, the state's largest technology incubator. "So all the leaders of Houston got together and recognized that the city needed to diversify its economy. There's been this tremendous transition."

Houston's strategy: Smash different discoveries together. To wit: Houston's itRobotics, founded in 2002, has developed new cost-cutting robots that inspect a variety of boilers and energy pipelines for structural flaws.

Other Houston start-ups are commercializing technologies originally developed at local research institutions. Nanospectra Biosciences, a local drug delivery company, is working on a nano-scale particle (pioneered at Rice University) that destroys cancerous tumors. The particles are injected in the bloodstream and accumulate inside cancerous tumors. When the tumor is exposed to a laser, the particles absorb the near-infrared light and convert it into thermal energy, destroying the tumor.”

An interesting back story on how the article came together: the reporter, William Pentland, contacted Christina Garza, media relations manager at the Greater Houston Partnership about the story. Christina referred him to Walter Ulrich, president and CEO of the Houston Technology Center [link]. Walter provided the background for the story and as you can see was quoted. It’s great to see the collaboration between the GHP and HTC lead to such a prominent feature. 

One more local connection to note is Rice University. The two companies mentioned, itRobotics and Nanospectra Biosciences were both founded based on innovations at Rice and are licensed through the Rice Office of Technology Transfer.

Kudos to Houston for providing the environment where technology start-ups can flourish. The main reason we created the Fast Tech 50 program was to change the mindset of those outside of Houston about our advancement in tech savvy.

The 2007 Fast Tech 50 companies are responsible for creating almost 3,250 jobs and over $387 million in revenues to the local economy. Houston is about more than just oil and the space program (which are pretty good in their own right!). No one industry dominates the Houston business climate anymore. The city's businesses are as diverse as its people and cultures.

Congratulations to the GHP, HTC and Rice, it’s great to see your efforts in the tech community being recognized on a national level.

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Shortly after I was named the Chairman for the Houston Technology Center Advisory board, I was interviewed by the Houston Business Journal. The article appeared in the February 15^th issue.

During the interview I discussed my thoughts about the future of the HTC which I would also like to share with you.

The change going forward is that the maturity of the organization is coming into play. For the first few years, HTC worked on establishment, credibility and more importantly survivability.

Now we're going beyond that and want to go into the next phase of evolution and that's how to establish a more permanent funding mechanism. It's time to have a more longer term view of what the major initiatives we want to accomplish are and the funding mechanisms we want in place, whether they be donations, investments or contributions.

We're trying to create a process by which a successful client company can financially help the HTC by providing a percentage of ownership in return for the mentoring and counseling provided by the HTC. We've had some preliminary talks and some concepts have been discussed. There's nothing official, but there is general agreement that HTC should try to have some ownership level. More study and discussion is necessary, but we are moving closer.

Houston continues to have a lot of idea generation. We're on top of our game in terms of promotion of new ideas. HTC is very excited about the prospects and what the future will hold in all our fields.

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I had the opportunity to visit with Randy Woelfel, Managing Director of Energy and Maryanne Barker, Associate Director of Development both of the Houston Technology Center and I was very impressed with their report on the upcoming Energy Technology Venture Conference this coming March 6 and 7.  They have several companies presenting the ideas and opportunities that are very exciting.  If you are in the investment space for energy technologies you need to be at this conference. 

The conference will bring together 30 of the most promising emerging energy technology companies with an audience of venture capitalists, private equity, angel and corporate investors and related financial professionals. Energy companies seeking new solutions will have an opportunity to identify technologies of interest and meet the people who developed them. This exciting two-day celebration of innovation offers the best networking and learning opportunities for business, energy and financial professionals. 

John Hofmeister, President of Shell Oil Company will be the keynote speaker. Gary C. Evans, Chairman & CEO of GreenHunter Energy Inc. will present the opening address.

There is also going to be a great VC panel discussing Bringing Technology and Finance Together to Ensure Global Energy Supply. The participants are listed below

• Moderator: Lane Sloan - Director, University of Houston Strategic Energy Alliance - Special Assistant to Provost
• C. Michael Ming - President, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA)
• Fred Charlton - Managing Director, Simmons Company International
• Cheryl Smith Bryan, Managing Director, Boyden Global Executive Search
• Helge Tveit - Partner and President, Houston Office, Energy Ventures
• Marianne Wu - Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures

If you’re interested in attending this great event, you must register here by Monday, March 3 at 3:00pm. It is $450 per person to attend. If you have any questions, contact Natalie Padilla at (713) 658-1750 or NPadilla@houstontech.org. I hope to see you there!

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Crackberries strike again! Monday’s three hour BlackBerry blackout serves as a reminder to keep our addiction in check. Like last April’s outage Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry, was slow to diagnose and address the issue. As of yesterday afternoon, they were still trying to determine the cause.

This outage continues to solidify my choice to use my Cingular smart phone instead of the Crackberry. I’ve already read about several customers who plan to ditch their Crackberries for smart phones that don’t rely on RIM’s network. Once again, who knows how much this outage cost its customers in business. Two major outages within ten months of each other indicates to me there are problems that need to be addressed. 

Was this second blackout in less than a year enough for you to decide to make the switch? Do you think RIM has addressed their issues properly? Did the outage push you into Crackberry rehab?

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Stephen Nunes, the Controller from Merrick Systems (www.merricksystems.com) and I were recently talking about various technology trends and new items and the capabilities of the Nintendo Wii came up. It really isn’t just a gaming system. Stephen wrote a helpful document describing how to connect a Wii to use it as a multimedia center. With the success of the Wii during the recent holiday season, I thought this might be helpful to those of you who received one. Merrick Systems is a software and technology solutions provider for the upstream market located here in Houston.

If you have a Wii connected to your main television, it can be more than a gaming unit. You can also use it as a multimedia box to browse the internet on your television (go to Youtube to watch videos)  and to stream pictures, videos and music from your PC to  your TV.

Here’s how:

1. if you have a wireless network in your home, start by connecting the Wii to the network
   1. At the main Wii Menu, go into the settings menu and follow the network settings from there. Connecting a Wii is very similar to connecting any other wireless device to your home network.

2. Download the Opera browser for Wii to the unit. Do this by going from the main Wii menu to the Wii Store. You will need to spend $10.00 to buy “Wii Credit” on the site, but again, the menus will guide you through how to do that. Once you have the required credit, you can choose to buy the browser from the Wii store and it will download to your unit and update it’s operating system.

3. At this point, the internet browser will appear as a menu choice in the main Wii menu. You can now use it to browse almost all web sites by typing in the web addresses on the on-screen keyboard using the Wii Controller. You can save frequently visited sites as favorites for one-click retrieval.

4. To stream media from your PC, you now need to go to Orb.com, set up a free account, and download and install their client software to your PC. During that installation process, you point the program to the folders where your media files are. I have all my music, pictures and video stored on an external hard drive so it is separate from my other data. You can then go back to the Wii, an browse to your account on Orb. After signing in, you will see the folder with your music**, pictures etc and you will be able to double click on them to start them up. The flash media player within the Wii Opera browser should then allow you to view pictures and play music** and video.

5. Note that you can even play music from your Itunes libraries, but all media has to be unprotected (non-DRM in the case of music) format to play. Thus music you added to your library from CD’s should play, but music purchased from the Itunes store will not.

6. **Security note - Since I’m paranoid about hackers, viruses etc, I only start the Orb client on my PC when I want to stream multimedia through the Wii. Otherwise, I make sure that the orb client has been exited and is not running on my PC. As part of setup, I choose not to have it automatically start up when windows does.

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This week's guest spotlight is from Walter Ulrich, President and CEO of the Houston Technology Center. 

Houston, Texas, January 7, 2008 – Mark my words, “2008 will be remembered as the inflection point for transforming the Greater Houston Region from the 20^th century leader in oil and gas to a 21^st century globally recognized high technology hub.”

How about “Happy New Year” first???  If you are in this region like me, you had better have gotten over celebrating the New Year by January 2^nd and on your way to making a difference today and every day in 2008.

What is going on here?  Houston faces a great opportunity and a great challenge!

The challenge is that Houston must generate 600,000 new jobs over the next ten years.  If we do nothing, only 450,000 jobs will be created in Houston: The Oil & Gas equivalent of Detroit!

But a lot is being done.  The Greater Houston Partnership is raising $30 million to $40 million to bring in those incremental 150,000 jobs.

So problem solved?  Not so fast!  We attack the symptoms – job counts and wage rates – but that does not solve the underlying problems.

The Opportunity è the right kinds of jobs.  While we need more oil workers, logistics businesses, retailers, manufacturers and call centers, those kinds of jobs alone will not provide long-term, sustainable economic growth.  High technology employment is the flywheel that builds robust, growing economies.  The entrepreneurial spirit, which Houston has in its very DNA, will favor those who seize the opportunity and meet the challenges head on.

This cannot be accomplished using traditional economic development methods.  And competition, nationally and globally, is fierce, so we must create high technology jobs now.  THIS YEAR!

The stakes are HIGH!  Failure is not an option.  Did I say opportunity???  Under these circumstances, this is NOT an opportunity!  It is an outright OBLIGATION to transform this community and we must do it now.  THIS YEAR!

Houston: one of the richest troves of innovation in the world – thousands of entrepreneurs, tens of thousands of researchers and scientists, great institutions, lots of intellectual property and a regional economic base that rivals some of the largest countries in the world… oil and gas capitol… mega medical centers… $4 billion IT economy…  pioneers in Nanotechnology at Rice University… and NASA’s largest R&D facility.

And yet, “we don’t get no respect.”  If you believe the pundits, Houston is seen as one or two dimensional only with the real innovation elsewhere.

So why is that?  We have not demonstrated long-term sustainable high tech results.   We have the economic capacity; we have built the infrastructure in the last ten years.  We have to deliver the goods.  Now.  THIS YEAR!

The Houston Technology Center is ready to lead.  It is the largest non-profit community-based organization in the region focused exclusively on fostering innovation and driving emerging technology success:  Emerging energy and clean energy technologies, bio/life sciences, IT and web 2.0, 3.0 and beyond, nanotechnology and NASA-related aerospace.

Our full time technology development managers work side-by-side with over 70 emerging technology companies helping them to identify gaps, find customers, raise money, grow and prosper and thrive.  We partner with over a dozen other organizations and work closely with major Universities, economic development organizations, municipalities and the State of Texas.

Our objective is simple: Houston will be a globally recognized technology hub on a par with the most highly lauded technology centers of the last decade.

AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Go to our website, www.houstontech.org.  Attend the free orientation if you don’t know us.  If you do know us, then join us.  The HTC could not accomplish its mission without the support of the community and we need your help.

If you are a technologist or an entrepreneur, you share with us the challenge, the opportunity and the obligation.  Get engaged, give us your support and actively participate (and financial contributions are always welcome).  Greg, his shiny head and PKF Texas get it è they are actively involved and set a great example.  Make a difference!  Get involved!  RIGHT NOW!

www.HoustonTech.org

_____

About our guest contributor – Walter Ulrich is President and CEO of the Houston Technology Center, Chairman of the Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization and active in many community organizations.  Appointed by Governor Perry, he recently completed a two year term as one of the founding members of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund Committee.  He has been CEO of several technology companies, a management consultant to major corporations, an expert witness on technology issues, and was responsible for the first commercially successful email service in the 1970’s.  A former Marine and graduate with a bachelors and master degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, he lives with his wife in Pearland.

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The dates for the Rice Alliance Business Plan Competition have been announced! As many of you know I am one of the judges for the competition and have live blogged from the event the past two years. Below is the email I received providing all the details for the 2008 competition. Note the intent to compete deadline is Friday February 1, 2008.

2008 Rice Business Plan Competition  
Thursday – Saturday, April 3-5, 2008
Rice University, McNair Hall, Jones Graduate School of Management – Houston, Texas

The Rice Business Plan Competition is one of the largest and richest intercollegiate new venture competitions in the world.  Thirty-six of the top MBA and Graduate Schools from around the world will compete for over $345,000 in prizes at Rice University in Houston.  The event is judged by over 150 venture capitalists, angel investors, entrepreneurs, and leaders from the technology entrepreneurship community.    

The competition is open to all graduate level teams from any university.  Both U.S. and international teams can apply to compete.  EVERY team that is accepted is guaranteed to win a cash prize.  All applicants will receive a copy of Business Plan Pro - Premier Edition software.

If you know of a graduate team or university that should compete, please encourage them to apply.  ALL university teams that submit an intent to compete will receive a free copy of Business Plan Pro - Premier Edition software from Palo Alto Software.  More information click here.

    - Intent to Compete Deadline:  Friday, February 1, 2008
    - Executive Summary is Friday, February 22, 2008, 5:00 PM (Houston Time)

Competition Prizes -Over $345,000 in total prizes

• $175,00 Grand Prize – including $100,000 equity investment + $20,000 cash + $55,000 in services
• Over $240,000 in total cash prizes, plus over $100,000 in services awarded
• EVERY team accepted into the Rice competition is guaranteed to win at least e cash prize

Special Cash Prize Categories include:

• $20,000 – Dow Sustainability Award – sustainability & clean technology cash award
• Life Sciences Cash Award
• Energy Cash Award
• Information Technology Cash Award
• Intellectual Property Cash Award
• Hispanic Business Plan Cash Award

Other Benefits include:

• Multiple opportunities to receive individual feedback & mentoring
• Largest, most-experienced judging panel
• Over 150 VC’s, early-stage investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders
  • More leaders from the entrepreneurship community than any other competition
• Multiple Presentation Opportunities
  • All teams are guaranteed to have at least four presentation opportunities
• Best facilities and hosting of any competition
  • World-class Jones Graduate School of Management building at Rice
  • Over 100 Rice student volunteers will act as hosts and guides
• Low-cost travel, centrally located
  • Houston is serves as hubs for Continental & Southwest Airlines with 2 major airports
  • Discounted hotel rates & all meals provided for competitors  

Who Is Eligible

• Full- or part-time graduate students: includes MBA, Masters, PhD, and MD candidates from all disciplines
• Teams with 2-5 team members  (at least 1 team member must be a graduate student)
• Ventures must be "for profit" entities seeking outside equity capital
• Teams must be university-affiliated and have endorsement of a faculty member
• Ventures must have no revenues or outside equity capital PRIOR to the start of current academic year

We received 100+ testimonials from Competitors at the 2007 RBPC, including:

“Based on our experience and that of other teams from our school at other competitions, Rice is clearly positioning itself as the premium competition.”

“We will strongly encourage our school to send teams in the future. We had an outstanding experience.”

“It is the most complete and well organized competition I have attended.”

“It was by far the best competition we had been to.”

“It was just a wonderful experience! Very well organized, the materials were professionally done,” 

“The exposure to contacts was AMAZING, the feedback was very valuable, and the facilities are beautiful.”

“One of the highest caliber competitions within the country!”

“Overall organization was superb, best I have experienced.”

“Really an amazing event at all levels. Congratulations!!”

We believe the RBPC provides an unparalleled experience for participants by providing a diverse program over three days, with significant time allotted for feedback and interaction with the judging panel. 

For information about the Competition, sponsorship opportunities, or awards banquet information, please contact Philana Diaz, the Competition Director, at: rbpc@rice.edu or 713-348-3190.
  
Online information: www.alliance.rice.edu/rbpc

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I’ve got several newsy items for you today.

Voting for Houston’s Greatest People’s Choice Award closes on Monday November 26^th. If you haven’t done so visit the website, www.houstonsgreatest.net and vote!  The award ceremony is on November 28^th. I’ll let you know who the People’s Choice winners when we find out.

The blog was mentions in an article on Microsoft’s People Ready website. The article has a lot of great ideas about how professional service firms can use the web to their advantage.

My team and I attended the Microsoft Directions 2007 Conference November 8-11^th. I’ll have news and thoughts for you next week.

The FastTech 50 event was a great success! Thanks to all who attended.

Finally, have a happy Thanksgiving!

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Congratulations to all of the FastTech 50 winners!  Here is the official 2007 FastTech 50 list:

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As we prepare our program for the seventh year of the Fast Tech 50 Awards Luncheon, I again have a chance to reflect and comment on an outstanding group of entrepreneurs and business leaders that make the Houston Metropolitan area one of the best places to live and work in the country. The Class of 2007 will be known as “The Youngsters”. In comparing this year’s group of winners, it’s clear that they represent a much younger and still developing group of early stage companies. They will have an impact on our local and national economy for many years to come, and they will add to the legacy of what makes Houston the top city in the country to start a business. The youth of many of our new emerging companies is evident with the threshold to make the list holding steady at 29% for 2007! The average growth rate for this year’s group is a staggering 149%. You always know that you have arrived on the scene when several “national entrepreneurial magazines” are now mentioning many of our Fast Tech 50 companies as organizations to invest in, or watch. Thanks for the publicity guys, but the Houston Business Journal and our Fast Tech 50 program, already scooped you! We’ve been blowing the horn of these entrepreneurs for over 7 years!

During this past year we had 354 companies express an interest in becoming a member of this exclusive club. The Fast Tech 50 class of 2007 continues Houston’s tradition of technology excellence. And they also bring to the forefront new and different stories of entrepreneurial success. This year’s list of honorees includes; 19 first-time honorees, 15 two-time honorees, 6 three-time honorees, 6 four-time, and 4 five-time honoree. Our five time honorees include: Knowledge Systems, Merrick Systems, Salvage Sale, and Triad Resources. What staying power!

During the past year we saw many successful technology events throughout the city. The Houston Technology Center, the Rice Alliance (including the highly success Rice Business Plan competition), held many forums for the start up community.   The Houston based Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (RCIC) is doing very well in its second year. We continue to hear from the State’s oversight group is that the plans submitted from the Houston area are some of the most well received.

Qualifications

Let’s review the nomination and listing process. To qualify for the Fast Tech 50, a company’s headquarters, or a foreign company’s US headquarters must be located in Houston SMSA region. A minimum of 51% of the company’s consolidated net revenues must be involved in the original manufacture, design or development of technology products or delivery of services. A nominee must have minimum net revenues of more than $200,000 in both years. Rankings were determined on the revenue growth percentage from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2006.

The nominees were asked to submit the following information: nomination form; audited, reviewed or compiled financial statements or tax returns for 2005 and 2006; an overview letter; and background information on the company, its products and/or services. Representatives from PKF Texas validated the information on the nomination form from the information packet. The percentage of revenue growth was computed by comparing net revenues from 2005 to 2006. During the past year we received 354 nominations for the Fast Tech 50.   The organizations that made the top 50 places were then listed. 

Overview of the 2007 Fast Tech 50

Our Fast Tech 50 represents a wide variety of industries. The industries represented by our award winners, and the number of entries by their area are as follows: Medical Devices 3, Software 25, Hardware 1, Technical/Consulting Services 8, eCommerce/Business Portals 8, Technology Products 3, and Communications 2. 

One honoree was started in the 1970s. Six of our honorees were started in the 1980s. Fourteen honorees were started in the 1990s. Finally, twenty nine honorees were started since 2000.   This group of honorees is by far, our youngest group of companies ever. Hang on Houston; we’ve got some growing to do!

This year’s Number 1 ranked Fast Tech 50 honoree is Vuico, LLC. You will find a profile on this company later inside this special section of the Houston Business Journal. They grew a remarkable 267% during the past year! Congratulations to Vui Lee and his team. It’s a great story of entrepreneur collaboration. In addition, three companies started in 2004 made the Fast Tech 50 2007 Top 10. They are: eCardio Diagnostics, Quantum Solutions for Business, and Techcess Group. Talk about fast starts! The single largest revenue contributor from the Fast Tech 50 to our local economy is PreCash at $30.1 million. As we noted earlier, the cutoff this year to make the Fast Tech 50 was approximately 29% year over year growth.  

The local economic impact made by this year’s Fast Tech 50 is phenomenal! When reviewing the entire 50 companies, an impressive overview quickly emerges. These organizations are responsible for creating almost 3,250 jobs and over $387 million in revenues to our local economy. No one industry dominates the Houston business climate anymore. Our businesses are as diverse as our people and our cultures.

Nominations will be accepted for next year’s Fast Tech 50 listing by contacting the Houston Business Journal, PKF Texas, or any of the additional sponsors. Organizations that are nominated will receive additional information and application packets during the spring of 2008. Congratulations to all of our honorees! We look forward to seeing you in next year’s listing.

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The numbers have been crunched, the envelope has been sealed and the final preparations for the FastTech 50 luncheon are being taken care of as you read this!

If you are in the tech community here in Houston, then you better be at the Hilton Americas Hotel downtown on Friday for the 7^th Annual FastTech 50 Awards.  It’s the can’t miss event of November!

This is the seventh year of our participation as the presenting sponsor and it will be the best event yet!  This is the first year we will be awarding one company the Paul Frison Accelerator Award. 

If you don't have a seat you will miss out on the premier event for emerging and tech based companies in Houston. To register visit http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/event/3613 or contact Lee Ann Semmel at lasemmel@bizjournals.com or 713-688-8811.

I look forward to seeing many of our friends at the luncheon.  A huge thanks to our sponsor group the Houston Business Journal, FOX 26, Frost Bank, the Houston Technology Center, Oracle Software, Pierpont Communications, the Rice Alliance, and Winstead.

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Happy Halloween!

My colleague and resident millennial advisor to the blog, Jen Lemanski, asked me to read this article from Advertising Age about an interesting contest from MTV. 

It’s nice to see companies such as MTV supporting and encouraging this entrepreneurial generation. With everyone searching for the next Web 2.0 phenomenon, MTV and Cisco’s Digital Incubator contest puts their money where their mouths are, by awarding start-up capital to the niche websites targeting college students. 

The best thing they did was to examine the business models and unique impressions of each website to determine a winner. Hopefully the winners, Matthew Fargo and Ben Luduc-Mills will be able to translate the money they won into further success.

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As I announced back in August  the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) is coming to Houston. Microsoft has finally announced the dates, July 7-10, 2008.

This is what Microsoft has to say about Houston:

“The fourth-largest city in the United States, Houston has emerged as the Gulf Coast’s cultural capital. A major U.S. hub for international business and trade, Houston boasts industry leadership in energy, information technology, medicine, and even space exploration. The city is hip. Diverse. And offers a world-class art scene and the kind of cuisine foodies crave.”

I whole-heartedly agree with the above. By choosing Houston for such an important conference, Microsoft is demonstrating exactly what Joel Kotkin was talking about in his Opportunity Urbanism report. 

Houston is an opportunity city and it’s great that large corporations are recognizing they can find business success here.

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With all of the exciting things going on in Houston, I haven’t let you know about the article in which we were featured quite prominently. It ran in the Oct. 5^th issue of the Houston Business Journal. The article was about accounting firms and how they are reaching out to the next generation with “hip” marketing. 

Greg Barr, the reporter, mentions the blog as one of the tools we use to speak to the next generation. Looking at our Webtrends, we’ve had quite a few visitors referred from that article. Welcome to fromgregshead.com!

If you haven’t had the chance, take a look at our new career site, www.pkftexas.com/careers. I’ve learned quite a bit about team members who I don’t have the opportunity to work with on a daily basis. 

What are your firms doing to reach out to the next generation? How much are you promoting your firm and city’s culture rather than just the job role?

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Once again the blog has been nominated for Best Corporate Blog for the Bloggers Choice Awards!

We’re currently in 10^th place, but I know we can do better! Here’s what my loyal blog readers need to do:

• Go to www.bloggerschoiceawards.com. 
• Click on ‘Best Corporate Blog’ and look for fromgregshead.com. It will move up as more people vote. 
• Click on the ‘vote’ button – they’ll ask you to create an account for voting purposes because you can only once per blog, per category.

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Quick update for those who were nominated or submitted themselves for the FastTech 50. Yesterday we signed all of the notification letters and we will be mailing them later this week.

In addition to the making the list of 50 and our Enterprise Champion Award winners, we have a new category. This year we are introducing the Paul Frison Accelerator Award. This award will be given to the company who is the youngest, and highest ranked company on the Fast Tech 50 list. Paul has a long history of success and commitment to the emerging market space here in Houston. And he was a part of the initial group of supporters when we created the FastTech 50 program. We are pleased to honor his contributions by creating this award in his name. 

This year’s group of nominees was outstanding and I’m looking forward to the award luncheon on November 16^th at the Hilton Americas. If you are interested in getting a table for that event registration will begin soon. I’ll keep you updated and see you there!

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Exciting news! Houston has been selected at the host city for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in 2008!

The Houston Chronicle alluded to it in an article on August 3^rd and I received confirmation yesterday from our Microsoft Partner Account Manager, that WPC will be here in early July 2008.

This is a huge event, the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau is expecting 50,000 rooms to be booked during the conference. This is a great opportunity for Houston to show off what a great city it is. Looks like we’re moving up in the world!

Stay tuned for updates as they become available!

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Attention Houston Tech companies! We’ve received so much interest in the FastTech 50 this year that we’ve extended the deadline to Wednesday, August 15^th. This means you have two extra weeks to get your nomination in. 

Click here for more nomination details:

http://consult.pkftexas.com/fasttech50/

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As many of you know PKF Texas was a founding sponsor of the FastTech 50. The nomination period for the 2007 FastTech 50 is now open. 

To qualify for the FastTech 50, your company's headquarters must be located in the Houston SMSA ten county area which includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto or Waller counties. A minimum of 51% of your consolidated revenue must be involved in the original manufacture, design or development of technical products or services. Your company must also have net revenue of more than $200,000 for both 2005 and 2006. All nominations are subject to review by the FastTech 50 board.

To nominate your company visit http://consult.pkftexas.com/fasttech50/. The deadline for submissions is July 27, 2007.

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So the iPhone is coming out in a couple weeks. Now that we’re closer to the reality of actually owning one, are you going to spend the $500 to be the first to have one?

I’m still not sure that I want to replace my pocket pc and my iPod with one phone. But given how quickly iPods caught on, is this a viable alternative? And will they take over the market as quickly as the iPod did?

If you do get an iPhone, let me know. I’d like to hear how people like it and if it’s worth the money to switch. 

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Check out this article one of my colleagues passed it on to me and I couldn’t help but comment on it.

Apparently, 409 people clicked on a Google Adwords ad that offered to infect their virus-free PCs. 

Really? 409 people?

Turns out it was an experiment by a guy at an IT company in Europe. 

I have to question the 409 people who clicked on the ad. Did they really not read the ad? Apparently not. Luckily nothing happened to their computers, but can you imagine if something had? 

I think this is a lesson to all to make sure that you fully read online ads on if you’re going to click on them. 

How often do you click on Google Adwords ads, or any other ad online for that matter?

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One of our readers alerted us that the blog has been used as part of a spam ripoff.  I have contacted our hosting site, Lexblog, and they are currently working on the problem.

The web address being used in the scam is "fromgreghead.com".  Note the lack of an “s”.

I’ll keep you updated as  the investigation progresses. 

I take this kind of intrusion very seriously and have sought a swift resolution.  Please know that your privacy is of the utmost importance to me and the others who work behind the scenes on the blog.  Here are the links to our privacy policy and disclaimer.  Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

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More news to report. PKF Texas was named to Accounting Technology’s annual VAR 100 list. The list represents the top 100 Value-added Resellers (VAR) in the country. 

We are proud to be included on this year’s VAR 100 list. Our consulting practice continues to grow and we’re heading in a great direction.

Companies that were picked for inclusion in the VAR 100 list were selected based their status on Dec. 31, 2006. Resellers were considered for selection provided that they sold mid-level accounting software packages. PKF Texas is a reseller for Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

The annual VAR 100 list appeared in the April issue of Accounting Technology.

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My colleague, Jen Lemanski, in the Practice Growth department, sent me an email this morning about the Texas Public Relations Association (TPRA) awards banquet Saturday night, at which we won a Bronze Best of Texas Award.  Since I am at Convergence, I couldn't attend the banquet.  She and Raissa Evans, the Marketing Manager, attended on my behalf.  Here’s what she had to say:

Greg,
Hope you’re having a good time at Convergence.  San Diego would be great right now!  The awards ceremony went well.  In our category (website) we were up against Half Price Books, Shell Oil, The Woodlands, the City of McKinney and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.  The order was as follows:

Silver – Half Price Books –  www.deletecensorship.org
Bronze – PKF Texas – www.fromgregshead.com
Bronze – The Woodlands –  www.thewoodlands.com
Merit – Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau – www.visithoustontexas.com
Merit – Shell Oil Company – www.shell.com/us/energizeyourfuture/
Merit – City of McKinney – www.mckinneytexas.org

They don’t award a gold level, so we were the 2nd tier!

Jen

Once again, I would like to say thank you to everyone who reads and comments on the blog, our guest columnists, and everyone who works behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly.  The blog wouldn’t win any of these awards if it wasn’t for all of you, so congratulations! 

I am off to my next session.
 
Before that I am going to meet with Dennis Smith, one of my fellow NAV partners from Dallas.
He has a prospect that its interested in NAV and I am going to answer any questions the prospect has about the product.
 
BTW.....the weather is sunny, 75 and beautiful.  And if I didn't tell you sunny and beautiful.

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Happy New Year to all my readers! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season.

While catching up on some reading over the holidays, Business 2.0’s “15 Surprises Ahead in 2007” piqued my interest. Chris Taylor’s list includes such innovations as India and China’s race to the moon, Big City WiFi (something I’ve discussed in previous posts) and wireless USB “cables”.

The concept of wireless USB is particularly appealing on a practical level. Can you imagine your computer and desk free of cords?

No longer will you have to deal with the rat’s nest of cords connecting your computer to your printer, mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc. The mind reels just thinking about all the extra desk space. And think of all the time saved not having to think about which cord connects where. 

This is definitely something I’m looking forward to this year.

As business people and entrepreneurs, we celebrate and encourage innovation. What have you heard or read about that you’re looking forward to this year? If you could develop something to make your life easier and less cluttered what would it be?

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I received an email the other day from the Houston Technology Center. For a limited time, the HTC is offering special move-in incentives for new tenants.

I’ve written several times about how the HTC is a great location for emerging technology businesses to base their Houston office. They provide everything entrepreneurs need to run a successful business. Click here and here to see my previous posts about everything they have to offer. 

Since they are offering the move-in incentive for a short time, contact Sheila Whanger at 832-476-9284 for more details as soon as possible.  

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One final word on the FastTech 50 event for 2006.

Robert Cresanti, the Under Secretary for Technology at the US Department of Commerce, was the surprise guest speaker. He commented about how impressed he is that Houston has an event the size and scope of the FastTech 50. He also said that Houston and Texas have done a great job in providing the right entrepreneurial environment that allows technology companies to sustain such growth.

One of the great success stories to come from the FastTech 50 winners is the success of Tanox, a three time FastTech 50 winner. Tanox, co-founded by Nancy Chang, was recently acquired by biotech giant Genentech for $919 million. The details of the acquisition can be found in this Houston Chronicle article. The fact that such a large and influential company took notice of the great things going on in the Houston technology community is phenomenal. 

I’m excited to see how the FastTech 50 has evolved and how proud companies are to be included on the list. Network International, a two time FastTech50 winner, quoted me in their recent press release about their inclusion on this year’s list. Click here to see the release. 

Robert Cresanti’s comments struck a chord with me and it’s good to know that Washington is taking notice of our city and the opportunities we offer to companies to be a player on the global technology stage. 

A note of thanks to Brad Burke over at the Rice Alliance for getting the luncheon on the Secretary's schedule.  The Rice Alliance is a sponsor of the FastTech 50 and we appreciate their long time support.

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As we prepare our program for the sixth year of the Fast Tech 50 Awards Luncheon, I again have a chance to reflect and comment on an outstanding group of entrepreneurs and business leaders that make Houston one of the best places to live and work in the country. The maturity of many of our new emerging companies is evident with the threshold to make the list increasing to over 35% for 2006! The average growth rate for this year’s group is a staggering 134%. It seems everywhere you look there are new entrepreneurs emerging on the scene in Houston. Our city has its legacy, and its future, riding on the success of its entrepreneurs. Everywhere you turn all the appropriate parties are on the same page in this critical area. In my opinion, it’s a return to a time when NASA was first starting here in Houston and all parties were working together to get it right. All branches of government as well as the private sector are on the same page, and doing what’s right for our great city.

During this past year we had 341 companies express an interest in becoming a member of this exclusive club. The Fast Tech 50 class of 2006 continues Houston’s tradition of technology excellence. And they also bring to the forefront new and different stories of entrepreneurial success. This year’s list of honorees includes; 25 first-time honorees, 9 two-time honorees, 11 three-time honorees, 4 four-time, and 1 six-time honoree. Our lone six time honoree is: Cardtronics.  

We also had some unique honorees this year, our first group of combination honorees. We have both a father-son and husband-wife combination. Talk about success in your family! Our father-son honorees include: Ron Farmer (father) of US LED Ltd. (a first time honoree) and BJ Farmer (son) of CITOC (a four time honoree). Our husband wife combination includes: Michael Chang of Directron (a two time honoree) and Vicky Change of Prime Systems (a first time honoree).

During the past year we saw many successful technology events throughout the city. The Houston Technology Center, the Rice Alliance (including the highly success Rice Business Plan competition), held many forums for the start up community.   The Houston based Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (RCIC) is off and running. Recent feedback from the State’s oversight group is that the plans submitted from the Houston area are some of the most well received.

Qualifications

Let’s review the nomination and listing process. To qualify for the Fast Tech 50, a company’s headquarters, or a foreign company’s US headquarters must be located in Houston SMSA region. A minimum of 51% of the company’s consolidated net revenues must be involved in the original manufacture, design or development of technology products or delivery of services. A nominee must have minimum net revenues of more than $200,000 in both years. Rankings were determined on the revenue growth percentage from fiscal 2004 to fiscal 2005.

The nominees were asked to submit the following information: nomination form; audited, reviewed or compiled financial statements or tax returns for 2004 and 2005; an overview letter; and background information on the company, its products and/or services. Representatives from PKF Texas validated the information on the nomination form from the information packet. The percentage of revenue growth was computed by comparing net revenues from 2004 to 2005. During the past year we received 341 nominations for the Fast Tech 50.   The organizations that made the top 50 places were then listed. 

Overview of the 2006 Fast Tech 50

Our Fast Tech 50 represents a wide variety of industries. The industries represented by our award winners, and the number of entries by their area are as follows: Bio/Life Sciences 1, Medical Devices 2, Software 28, Medical IT 2, Hardware 4, Technical/Consulting Services 5, eCommerce/Business Portals 3, and Communications 5. 

Two honorees were started in the 1970s. Four of our honorees were started in the 1980s. Twenty-one honorees were started in the 1990s. Finally, twenty three honorees were started since 2000.   This group of honorees is by far, our youngest group of companies ever. Hang on Houston.

This year’s Number 1 ranked Fast Tech 50 honoree  is Tyrell, Inc. You will find a profile on this company later inside this special section of the Houston Business Journal. They grew a remarkable 1,764% during the past year! Congratulations to Wally Klemp and his team. It’s a great story of entrepreneur collaboration. Talk about fast starts! In addition, two companies started in 2004 made the Fast Tech 50 list right away. They are: Quantum Solutions for Business and Continental Vista Broadcasting Group, Inc. The single largest revenue contributor from the Fast Tech 50 to our local economy is COMSYS at $662 million. This was by far the most difficult year to make the Fast Tech 50 with the cutoff being approximately 35.3% growth. This is up from the record of 11% in the prior year. 

The local economic impact made by this year’s Fast Tech 50 is phenomenal! When reviewing the entire 50 companies, an impressive overview quickly emerges. These organizations are responsible for creating almost 9,060 jobs and over $1.4 billion in revenues to our local economy. No one industry dominates the Houston business climate anymore. Our businesses are as diverse as our people and our cultures.

Nominations will be accepted for next year’s Fast Tech 50 listing by contacting the Houston Business Journal, PKF Texas, or any of the additional sponsors. Organizations that are nominated will receive additional information and application packets during the spring of 2007. Congratulations to all of our honorees! We look forward to seeing you in next year’s listing.

Houston is indeed the final destination for entrepreneurs.

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I’ve detailed several human capital best practice tips for the Entrepreneur’s Playbook here in my blog. The topic of the shortage of talent in the marketplace is being discussed in boardrooms across the country. 

I received an e-newsletter the other day detailing some interesting human capital software.

The ProfileXT software, from The Leadership Edge, Inc., is an assessment tool developed to “put the right person in the right job, reducing employee turn over.”

How does this software play into the human capital discussion? If the software can place the right employees with the right job the employees will be more productive and less likely to leave. This is all well and good, but what about the person-to-person aspect? 

Are computers better at determining whether a potential employee is a good fit for a company or not? Shouldn’t we trust the interview process? 

One interesting thing to note, the newsletter called the loss of a talented employee “brain drain.” They define it as:

“…each time one of your key employees resigns, you risk the loss of customers or even the loss of proprietary information to your competition…”

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Just when I think technology can’t get any more cartoon-like, the proverbial “they” come out with something new, once only imagined in a 1940’s sci-fi or detective cartoon. 

Fossil and Sony-Ericsson have developed a line of watches, using Bluetooth technology, that allows you to read your caller id when your cell phone rings. 

The image of Dick Tracey talking to the Chief on his watch phone comes to mind.

Fortunately, (or unfortunately depending on your point of view) you can’t actually answer your phone from the watch, you can only send the call to voicemail. 

This is a good thing I think. Imagine sitting in a meeting and all of a sudden someone says, “Excuse me for a moment, I have to answer an important call on my watch.” At least a Blackberry is relegated to a pocket or your belt. It’s obvious when someone is checking their Blackberry. With a watch you’d never know if they are receiving a phone call or if they are just checking the time. 

Would you rather be chained to your Blackberry or your watch? Would people even use the watches? They seem like a novelty to me that will be trendy for a few months until the next latest and greatest gadget reaches the market. 

Click here to read the original article in The Houston Chronicle.

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What is your opinion on the use of widgets?

From Weatherbug to the new Sports Illustrated widget, mySI, which downloads sports scores and photos directly to your desktop, they seem to be cropping up all over cyberspace.

There are literally hundreds of these add-ons we can install and use on our computers to make our lives “easier.” Most are free and can be used by anyone. With so many to choose from can you have too many? Most likely yes. When do they stop being useful and merely become an annoyance?

My kids have widgets on their Myspace pages. Music, photos, countdowns, the list goes on. These widgets help them to “personalize” their small slice of cyberspace. 

Do the widgets you have make your life easier? Is it worth it to have content “conveniently” delivered directly to your desktop, or are we making ourselves too accessible to potential hackers?

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In the September issue of Business 2.0, there is an article called, “The 20 Smartest Companies to Start Now.” One particular idea caught my eye. Labeled as, “The Ultimate iDrive,” it is an in-dash computer with a keyboard built into the steering wheel and a full screen heads-up display projected on the windshield.

Definitely an interesting concept. Imagine on your morning drive to work being able to check and write e-mails without removing your hands from the steering wheel. The screen would appear to float 15 feet in front of the vehicle, so your eyes can easily focus between the screen and the traffic ahead.

This type of technology was apparently developed 30 years ago for fighter pilots so they didn’t have to take their eyes off the sky.   

There are obvious safety issues, namely, if we can’t handle talking on the phone in the car, how will we handle writing 15 e-mails on the morning drive? 

What would be really useful is if you could float the screen to the backseat, so the kids could be engaged on the drive to and from school. Though I can hear it now, “Dad, I didn’t finish my history paper last night. Can we take your car? Mom’s doesn’t have the computer.”

Do we need this added level of accessibility in our cars? Probably not. Is it fun to think of the possibilities this technology can provide us? Definitely. 

What issues do you see with this kind of technology? Do you think this will help or hinder our connectivity? We’re closer to the era of the Jetsons than we think.

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I read an interesting article last week in the Houston Chronicle about what happens to information stored on your phone after you “delete” it. 

Apparently, despite following the instructions in your phone’s manual, if you delete content from your phone it may not really be gone. 

The next person to use your phone (if you sell it or return it to your carrier to be refurbished) would be able to, if they had the desire and know how, to retrieve any information you thought was deleted.

The alarming thing is, this also applies to computers. Think of all the personal information stored on just your home computers. Bank account information, passwords, social security information, the list is endless. 

My wife and daughter recently sent their old phones back to Cingular to be refurbished and resold. After reading this article, I’m not so sure that was a good idea. 

There are several firms who can, for a fee of course, truly erase and reset your phone or computer so it is empty for the next user. While that seems to be worth the time and money, I kind of like the author’s suggestion of running over my old phone with a truck.

What do you do with your old phones and computers? Is it worth the price to have your phone completely erased, or would you just run over it with a truck?

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You would have to be living under a rock not to have heard about Dell’s recall of its laptop batteries. I did a quick Google News search and hundreds of stories popped up – literally extolling and scolding Dell for this problem that, in actuality, is a Sony problem – not Dell.

The pundits are already out. ABC news recently ran a story, “Has Dell Lost its Way?” in which the writer says:

‘Dell as poster child did a remarkably good job of getting in front of the problem, with open talk about where and how they think the Lithium Ion batteries failed and a Web site that made it dead simple to figure out if you had a conflagration-prone battery.”

“Yet questions persist. Why did Dell tell the media last month that the Japanese businessman's exploding Dell laptop was an isolated incident? Why did it take two solid years of laptop sales for Dell to identify the problem and do something about it?”

Regardless who takes the blame, I think Dell has a unique opportunity to improve its reputation. The ABC news story begins to talk about how Dell did a good job of facing the problem head-on, but what Dell can do with the immense task of receiving the goods, replacing batteries and shipping them back out, a timely basis, can be a huge PR fete for them.

I think this speaks to customer service in a different way than we usually see it – in that Dell can atone for its mistakes, but also can seize the opportunity to come out shining. I know Dell’s dollar per share price dropped dramatically at the end of last week, but we know these things are cyclical.

Dell can improve its image, don’t you think?

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I’ve already commented several times on our addiction to technology, and, yet, here comes another twist. Just yesterday, a journalist friend of mine directed me to an article making its way across the Web that deals with the psychological interpretation of inbox clutter.

Jeffrey Zaslow of The Wall Street Journal wrote an article, “Inbox Offers up Glimpse of You,” and, although it appeared in The Journal, you do need an online subscription to access it. Instead, it is syndicated in various publications, including Southern California’s Press-Enterprise.

Ok – so just what does a crowded inbox suggest about you and your psyche? Turns out a cluttered inbox means you have “excess baggage.” To quote psychologist Dave Greenfield, founder of the Center for Internet Behavior (and check out Mr. Greenfield – his site is full of what he refers to as “Virtual Addiction”:

“If you keep your inbox full rather than empty, it may mean you keep your life cluttered in other ways … do you cling to the past? Do you have a lot of unfinished business in your life?”

On the other hand, if you “obsessively clean out your inbox every 10 minutes, you may be so quick to move on that you miss opportunities and ignore nuances. Or your compulsion for order may be sapping your energy from other endeavors, such as your family.”

Where are these people? Are you one of these people?

I’d like to meet just one who is so obsessive about a crowded workspace that he or she earnestly attends to the online inbox all the time! Either these people don’t have enough to do, or they only get one e-mail every hour.

I’d also like to see a study done on those who call to see if I received their e-mail – you know the ones … they expect an answer right away – like within moments of sending their note.

How do balance your inbox clutter? Do you really think your cluttered e-mail inbox is representative of clutter in other parts of your life?

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Following up on my posting last week urging us not to forget that we’re all not connected and my efforts to solicit feedback, one reader, Tracey Segarra of Citrin Cooperman, an accounting and consulting firm based in New York, suggested a site for review – Geekcorps.

Interesting stuff. Geekcorps is an international nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote the interchange of information through technology. Geekcorps is part of the International Executive Service Corps.

Sounds like an ambitious effort – and it is! However, the site is worth checking out.

Take a look at Geekcorps’ Success Stories and the Economic Sector Development featured in Our Programs. There’s also a signup for a free E-newsletter.

Thanks Tracey. If others have suggestions, send them to me and we’ll post them in a future blog.

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I know we take technology for granted. We plug in, log on and expect it to always work – and be available at the same time.

Did you ever stop to think that not everyone has DSL, cable modem or even dial-up?

I opened up my new Inc. Magazine and found an interesting article, “Pioneering the Web’s Last Frontier: A Plan to get Rural Businesses Online” (the magazine is so new that the article isn’t even online yet – as soon as it is, I’ll provide the link). The article is about Brandon Spear, senior vp of operations for Quadrem, based in Plano, Texas. Quadrem is an online marketplace for buyers and suppliers of products and services used in the mining industry.

I think he, too, took the Internet for granted when he traveled to South Africa:

“Spear expected rural suppliers to be behind in terms of technology, but he didn’t realize that, in many cases, phone and fax machines were their only means of communication.”

It’s a rhetorical thought – of course – to imagine that the entire world is connected. Hey, the cable and wireless ads tout this, so don’t we all believe it?

As business leaders, we can make an impact by encouraging telecommunications providers to finally increase their infrastructures so that countries like those in Africa can get connected. If we’re supposed to be living in the global economy, then let’s start acting like it.

As business professionals, how do you think we can make more an impact? I’d like to hear your comments.

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I found an interesting item when I scanned the headlines in the business section of The Dallas Morning News. Seems that the Federal Trade Commission placed Houston ahead of Dallas in 2005 for the number of people in each metro area who filed complaints about identity theft.

However, according to a new study by Sperling’s Best Places, the Houston area ranks behind Dallas/Fort Worth based on various factors to determine the “riskiest” cities for ID Theft. Sperling considers 80 factors in four categories to determine the outcome. The four categories include the impact of technology, lifestyle risks, transaction habits and at-risk behavior.

Sounds kind of scientific, but whatever the outcome, the Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land area was ranked 22^nd out of the 50 metro areas. San Antonio was ranked 35^th, while Dallas came in at #13.

While experts can look at any factors they want to when figuring out what makes us tick and what constitutes “risky” behavior, I’ll say once again that we need to be more careful with our personal information, even if it means perhaps buying less stuff on the Internet and offering sensitive data to perfect strangers who seem legitimate.

Houston: Let’s try to curb our risk and rank even lower next year.

What do you think? Send me a comment.

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With headlines dominating the news on security and identity theft related to data residing on stolen laptops, companies across the globe are looking for ways to ensure their data is safe and secure.

A recent article in Baseline Magazine summarized this very well in its 5 Steps to Prevent Data Loss:

1.      Guard against human error. Use security technologies, such as data encryption, as a safety net for honest mistakes.

2.      When in doubt, encrypt. All laptop hard drives should be encrypted.

3.      Monitor outgoing messages. Use software to block e-mail messages or file transfers with confidential data.

4.      Ensure security is easy to use. Otherwise, employees will find ways to get around it.

5.      Audit security practices regularly. Experts say such reviews should happen at least monthly.

I’ll ask you the same question Baseline asked: What's the best way to reduce the risk of data leaks, short of taking laptops away from users? Send me a note with your thoughts.

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Just last week, I received an open letter from Bill Gates giving his picture of the future of communications and how we will interact with each other on a daily basis. Given the fact that MS Windows is running on over 90% of the desktops worldwide I felt this is important information to pass on, as well as understand where Mr. Gates is wanting to take us.

It doesn't matter whether you are the chairman of the world's largest software company, a salesperson at a medium-sized manufacturer or the receptionist at a small startup, there's one workplace scenario we are all familiar with. It starts when you need to reach a colleague quickly. First you look up their phone extension and give them a call, only to be directed to their voicemail. After you leave a message, you find their mobile phone number and leave a second message. Next, you send an email. If you happen to be in a meeting when your colleague gets your messages and tries to reach you, the process repeats itself, but from the other direction.

A decade's worth of software innovation has transformed the workplace and empowered information workers to do their jobs with greater speed, effectiveness and intelligence. But communicating with colleagues and sharing information is still far too complicated. Because you are a subscriber to the Microsoft Executive Email program, I wanted to share my thoughts with you about new "unified communications" innovations that will dramatically streamline the way we communicate at work and stay in touch with friends and family at home.

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The number of security breaches and stolen identities gets longer and longer all the time. Let's put it this way: You know the list is long when Web sites start to chronicle and categorize the number of incidents. Just ask the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse - they've put together a list of all incidents since the ChoicePoint incident of February 2005.

Who are we going to blame? The quick response is to blame the hackers who infiltrate our systems, but at second thought, I'd like to put partial blame on the backs of big business and government who have not spent enough time or resources on ensuring their systems are secure, or paid enough attention to their employees - a prime source of what we call the "inside job."

The breach on May 22 involving the Department of Veterans Affairs concerns some 26.5 million veterans whose IDs were put in jeopardy after an employee's laptop was stolen. The employee took the laptop home (unauthorized) and when the person's home was burgled, the laptop and its hard drive with the Veterans Affairs' records, was stolen.

I'm going to repeat that number: 26.5 million! However, a number is just a number. Compare that to the American Red Cross's breach of 1 million (check the Privacy Clearinghouse list again - it's toward the bottom on May 24). Although not nearly as large, the effect is still immense.

We can point fingers all day. At the end of the day, we need to be more responsible to our companies and ourselves to make sure we're doing everything we can to protect and ensure accuracy.

Who do you think should be held responsible for security and privacy breaches?

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Foresight is keener than hindsight ... at least with the city of Houston!

A few months ago when I began writing this blog, I urged the city of Houston and the surrounding area to make the technology investment that would enable true WiFi - wireless access in public parks and other areas where Houstonians do business.

Now - some three months later - the Houston Chronicle reports that Mayor White is finally addressing this situation. In an article called "When the Mayor Types, People Listen," the mayor was quoted:

"We are a massive technology user," White said of Houston, "but a lot of people don't think of us that way." With a wireless network in place, Houston would take in big step in enhancing its image as a tech-savvy town, he said.

The mayor conducted a press conference outside while using a wireless network in order to demonstrate WiFi potential. In an amusing side note, hackers were breaking into the city's network preventing the mayor from getting online right away.

Of course, the cost is enormous. The Chronicle reports it will cost $30 million to $50 million when the project would be completed — sometime in 2007 or 2008. It will stretch 600 square miles.

I have a simple question for Mayor White and the city: Why does it take so long to have a simple idea considered and adopted that I put out there back when we launched the blog?

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A recent article in Inc. magazine caught my eye, especially because it deals with privacy.

Jeff Bedard, CEO of Crown Laboratories, saw a 30 percent increase in his company's healthcare bill during the past year. Reflecting on what could occur to turn around this trend, he came up with a new wellness program designed to reward employees for better health:

"Each worker is required to get an annual on-site health assessment. Based on a number of indicators--including blood pressure, weight, physical activity, and cholesterol levels--the individuals are given a "wellness number" of up to 24. Those who improve their scores by at least three points a year, or maintain a score of 20 or more, will get a $500 bonus and extra days off."

Smoking is another one of his pet peeves, to the extent that he wants employees to begin paying for their own premiums if they do not stop smoking:

"Smoking is now officially against Crown policy--even during off-hours--and nicotine levels are measured in the health assessment. Smokers have until January 2007 to kick the habit. If they don't, they'll have to start paying their own health insurance premiums."

I value my privacy as much as anyone, and yet I also think it's interesting to make people accountable for their health. How accountable and how far can we go? The Inc. article lacked depth in that area, but how do you feel? Let's begin a dialog on this very important issue. Send me an e-mail or submit a Comment and we'll post it.

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As a follow up to my posting on Monday about XBRL, it's coincidental that Rivet Software just announced that its Beta versions of Dragon Tag 2006 and Dragon View 2006 are now available for use.

What will this do for you? Make XBRL - a very complex process - a lot easier.

These two new versions of Rivet's XBRL personal productivity applications contain new features and enhancements that continue to provide support for XBRL, making it easy for companies and regulators to adopt the worldwide standard for financial reporting.

Sounds good to me. Seems this also makes it easier to explain XBRL to customers and clients.

According to Rivet: Dragon Tag 2006 and Dragon View 2006 continue Rivet's focus on providing easy-to-use and affordable XBRL applications to accounting and finance professionals that mask the underlying complexity sometimes associated with XBRL adoption."

The new releases of Dragon Tag and Dragon View include the following new features:

*Multiple core/base XBRL taxonomies within a single company extension taxonomy for marking up both financial and non-financial information
*Automatic ratio calculation based upon information contained within XBRL financials
*Extended support for marking up more complex business report information requiring advanced XBRL taxonomy concepts (nested tuples, enumerations, choice elements, etc.)
*Ability to copy company extension taxonomies prior to making new/additional changes when marking up successive business reports
*Ability to export XBRL taxonomies, financials and calculated ratios into an already existing Microsoft Excel workbook
*Enhanced validation and review of markup information prior to creating XBRL financials

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A more technical topic for today's blog: XBRL.

If you work in the accounting and finance areas of your company today, you owe it to yourself to read about XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language). This information-sharing standard has been around for about five years, but has been slow to gain momentum in the Untied States.

Around the world, XBRL is growing fast and it will be only a short time before we finally catch up with the rest of the world.

A recent article on AccountingWEB talks about the SEC's efforts to push our XBRL. Take a moment to read this informational link. It will be worth your time and enhance your knowledge base.

For the super geeks, check out XBRL.org.

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I just across a new statistic from Infonetics Research, and if it is to be believed, then Houston, we have a serious problem.

For most of us, this problem is largely unpreventable.

According to a new study called "The Costs of Downtime: North American Medium Businesses 2006," mid-size businesses lose an average of 1 percent of their annual revenue, or $867,000, to "downtime."

Businesses with between 101 and 1,000 employees experience an average of nearly 140 hours of downtime every year, with 56 percent of that caused by pure outages.

The report says that "applications" are the biggest source of downtime, accounting for roughly 25 percent of the lost revenue, or $213,000 annually, with outages accounting for about two-thirds of that and degradations the other third. Service provider outages are also a significant source of downtime - something out of the control of the companies experiencing the downtime.

Infonetics studied seven sources of downtime: network products, security products, cables/connectors, servers, applications, service providers and e-commerce; and the four common causes: hardware problems, software problems, human error, and service provider error.

Now that I've scared you and myself, I'm not sure what could be done about it other than maintaining updated business continuation plans and backing up your systems on a continuous, regular basis.

You might even keep the golf clubs in the trunk just in case your power is out and it's a nice day outside.

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Ok - maybe not 101 ways, but I've been thinking that ID Theft isn't going away any time soon. If you have become a "victim" of ID Theft, you have my condolences.

Seems you can't turn on any of the evening talk shows without an everyday person like you and me talking about how his or her identity was stolen - not because the person was negligent or careless with the information (after all, when was the last time YOU left your credit card in plain sight for a stranger's quick glance?) - but usually unbeknownst to the person until it was too late.

We know ID Theft wreaks havoc on your credit report, but did you know you could spend months and years repairing the damage done by someone using your Social Security Number without your knowledge?

Here are two very useful resources from the Federal Trade Commission for prevention and detection:
*"Remedying the Effects of Identity Theft"
*"What To Do If Your Personal Information Has Been Compromised"

In future blogs, I'll offer more resources and observations about the role of accounting and ID Theft/security fraud.

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I just heard from a co-worker that the day they issue her a Blackberry, she's going to quit.

Really? Is this the case?

In a recent article, the Orange Future Enterprise Coalition made public its distaste for "everything-Blackberry" by urging the corporate marketplace to "turn them off" and learn more about virtual networking.

What do you think? Are you addicted to the Blackberry? Should we turn them off? Send in your comments.

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I wrote in a previous blog about the need for Houston to move into the 21st Century with city-wide WiFi access.

I'd like to think city officials are reading my blog - and were convinced it's time to act on this. At any rate, a story in the Houston Chronicle recently confirmed that the city is seeking proposals for WiFi.

The story also said the city will work on agreements with jurisdictions outside its boundaries (Harris and nearby counties and cities) to further extend the network to the entire gulf coast area.

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Understanding how technology affects the delivery of accounting and consulting services is not only good for firms; it's good for clients too.

A more informed and educated client or customer = a higher value placed on the services it receives from professional services organizations, including accounting firms.

The American Institute recently released its list of Top 10 Technologies for 2006 - and to no one's great surprise, Information Security was once again #1 - for the fourth consecutive year!

Why such continued interest in security? As the always-on wired world continues to grow and become more a part of our daily lives, security and confidentiality become exposed much more often.

However, this vulnerable state also creates opportunities for those who seek to exploit these new venues by creating significant revenue opportunities. I know of at least a dozen folks who experienced some form of identity theft or piracy of information.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg …. Take a look at the rest of the Top 10 list:

1.Information Security
2.Assurance & Compliance Applications
3.Disaster & Business Continuity Planning
4.IT Governance
5.Privacy Management
6.Digital Identity and Authentication Technologies
7.Wireless Technologies
8.Application and Data Integration
9.Paperless Digital Technologies
10.Spyware Detection and Removal

Through the year, I'll continue to bring you more information on the Top 10, and in fact, stay tuned for Wednesday's blog when I cover Disaster Recovery and Data Integration.

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To upgrade or not to upgrade … a question clients, customers and even my co-workers ask me on a very frequent basis.

In its February issue, Inc. magazine examines the pros and cons of what it refers to as "upgrade madness:"

"The price tag for licensing a new version of a software product isn't the only cost to consider. A midsize company upgrading its financial or customer relationship management software might have to slog through a year's worth of information technology headaches to get the job done."

"Among the hassles: the bugs that invariably appear; the loss of all the customization performed on the old version; and the incompatibilities between the software and other types of software you might be running."

Good points, but I think the KEY point is to upgrade on a case by case basis. Not everyone needs to upgrade every time a new release comes out.

However, you NEVER want to drop maintenance because of the downside. It's really going to cost you time and money down the road if you ever do upgrade to new features. And in the case of Microsoft's business applications, a common code base is coming sometime in the next 2-3 years. Users will want the option of looking at the new code base when it makes sense.

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I'm on my soapbox again about Houston and Harris County's lack of Wi-Fi hotspots.

According to JiWire, not only did the number of worldwide Wi-Fi Hotspots surpass the 50,000 milestone in 2005 (with hotels and other location types that cater to the business traveler as the largest contributors), but the number increased by 100 percent!

This is more than a fad or trend … it's the way of doing business. With the technological innovations so prevalent in Houston, why can't we match and even beat the number of Wi-Fi hotspots in other cities?

Where are Houston's hotspots? Respond to the blog with your comments and share your thoughts.

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How do you define "success" in your organization?

An interesting new white paper, "10 Keys for Project Success" from Retail Process Engineering crossed my desk the other day - and made me pause a moment. When was the last time you even thought about how to make a project more successful - especially in technology-related activities?

We're all so busy building our business and meeting our deadlines that it's hard to stop and justify measuring the process, much less figuring out ways to make it better. However, two of the paper's suggestions caught my attention:

1.Prepare for the Inevitable - you've got to plan ahead and anticipate the blips that make up our daily lives. After all, when was the last time you started your day with a pre-defined agenda and actually accomplished everything on the page without interruption, diversion or a complete departure from the list?

2.Gain User Acceptance With Change Management - boy is this ever true! The paper says, "The project team needs to move users from one comfort zone to another," and I totally agree. When your organization changed its systems to improve your processes, did you actually stop to think about the users of your systems and software versus the bottom line? Too often, we're caught up trying to bring more efficient ways to manage our productivity, but more often than not, we forget that we have to influence the "people" perhaps more than any other factor.

Let me know what you think about these 10 keys, and what your own solutions might be … I'll post them in a future blog.

Note: You need to register as a user for Technology Evaluation.com to view the document. Once you register, search for the white paper.

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How many of us are working remotely? We're away from the office, yet we're finding ways to increase efficiencies by accessing networks and staying current with our workloads.

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