Configuresoft Supports Compliance Efforts for Convergys

ECM Chosen by Leading Relationship Management Provider to Quickly Identify and Remediate Non-compliant Configurations Across the Enterprise

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Configuresoft, the world's leading enterprise server configuration management company, today announced that Convergys has selected Configuresoft’s Enterprise Configuration Manager (ECM) to help manage and maintain compliance with multiple regulatory and industry standards including PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).

Convergys is a global leader in relationship management with more than half of the Fortune 50 companies as its clients. Convergys selected ECM for its scalability, performance, rapid and granular data collection of IT assets, industry leading compliance content and templates, and enterprise remediation capabilities.

“Convergys serves a diverse roster of clients across multiple vertical markets including retail, healthcare, banking and finance,” said Convergys Director of Global Information Security Greg Allender. “ECM’s out-of-the-box compliance templates, intuitive interface and speed of implementation help us comply with requirements such as HIPAA, GLBA, Sarbanes-Oxley and PCI DSS to name just a few. Configuresoft’s Center for Policy and Compliance templates provides the ability to track changes in regulations and our team can take advantage of Configuresoft’s regulatory expertise.”

By using ECM, Convergys is able to quickly assess and monitor PCI security controls through a continuous process that simplifies compliance. ECM quickly discovers, analyzes and automatically remediates PCI issues such as password policy violations and vulnerable machine configurations. In addition, Configuresoft’s Center for Policy & Compliance (CP&C) can ensure that as new PCI guidelines are introduced, Configuresoft will update Convergys.

“Convergys is a step ahead of the many companies that continue to struggle with PCI compliance and other regulatory mandates by designing and implementing a plan that goes above and beyond the minimum requirements of today’s regulations,” said Configuresoft Vice President Andrew Bird. “Convergys’ compliance strategy is a model for any organization seeking compliance, security and operational efficiency on a continuous basis, across the enterprise.”

About Convergys

Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG) is a global leader in relationship management. We provide solutions that drive more value from the relationships our clients have with their customers and employees. Convergys turns these everyday interactions into a source of profit and strategic advantage for our clients.

For 25 years, our unique combination of domain expertise, operational excellence, and innovative technologies has delivered process improvement and actionable business insight to clients that now span more than 70 countries and 35 languages.

Convergys is a member of the S&P 500 and has been voted a Fortune Most Admired Company for seven consecutive years. We have approximately 75,000 employees in 84 customer contact centers and other facilities in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and our global headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, visit www.convergys.com.

(Convergys and the Convergys logo are registered trademarks of Convergys Corporation.)

About Configuresoft

Configuresoft, the world’s leading enterprise server configuration management provider, delivers the Configuration Intelligence® that brings automation and intelligence to IT operations. Hundreds of organizations, including 13 of the world’s 25 largest companies, rely on Configuresoft to effectively and efficiently manage the complexity of today’s physical and virtualized IT environments. Configuresoft’s team of security and policy experts ensure continuous compliance with regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley and industry standards such as PCI DSS, and Microsoft and VMware Hardening Guides. To contact Configuresoft, please call (888) U-CONFIG or visit www.configuresoft.com.

Pool Tables Direct - The Best Defense is a Good Offense

Pool Tables Direct Fights Downturn in Home Luxury Goods Market with New Website and Aggressive Growth Strategy

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pool Tables Direct.com (), a manufacturer of quality custom pool tables, custom dining conversion tables, and poker and casino sets, announced today a new strategy to combat the economic downturn that's battering the majority of home luxury goods retailers and wholesalers. This strategy includes new products, expanded advertising channels, new components to the business model and a new website back-end and user-interface.

Pool Tables Direct has taken these steps to stay ahead of a market that has become exceedingly cautious with respect to any home goods. With home prices not expected to increase anytime soon, energy costs increasing and the challenged real estate and financial sectors, consumers have retrenched, posing a threat to the continued growth Pool Tables Direct has been experiencing.

“We are attacking this market as if it were an opportunity,” said Andrew Walker, President and CEO of Pool Tables Direct. “We’re still seeing the web traffic, so the interest is there; people are just postponing their buying decisions. Our plan is to make it easier for people to obtain our products, have more reason to do so and make it more cost effective to do it. And if they still postpone buying a pool table, Pool Tables Direct will be in their minds when they’re ready.”

“Pool tables are now the centerpiece of a home’s décor,” added Jake Jenkins, Director of Manufacturing. “As ‘games,’ pool tables have been seen as a ‘nice-to-have,’ but as a complementary piece of furniture, it then becomes a relatively inexpensive way to make a significant upgrade to a home. That’s often a home that isn’t getting other, more substantial upgrades, due to tighter credit markets and economic conditions.” Pool Tables Direct customer, Kyle van Hoften, in Mission Viejo, CA, sees the same value first hand. “For less than the cost of a new table or couch, we added a significant and complementary piece of furniture to our home.”

Pool Table Direct’s website is a critical component to this strategy. The new site includes improved traffic metrics, real-time inventory management, more efficient order processing and affiliate marketing capabilities. Pool Tables Direct’s second phase of our growth strategy includes expanding internationally into countries such Canada, Germany, France and Great Britain.

Colorado Tech grants full scholarships to Wounded Soldiers

Twenty-five Wounded Service Members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center Receive Full Scholarships to Colorado Technical University Online

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Twenty-five United States service men and women at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have been awarded full Wounded Warrior Scholarships from Colorado Technical University Online (CTU Online). Recipients were chosen by a ten-person scholarship selection board including former military officers and Career Education Corporation educators and chaired by Tammy Duckworth, Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, a Major in the Illinois Army National Guard, and a Wounded Warrior herself. The recipients, who come from across the country, were honored at a dinner on March 8, 2008, at Walter Reed, which was attended by General Richard A. Cody, the Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. Nineteen of the recipients will pursue associate degrees, five will pursue their bachelor’s, and one recipient will enter a master’s program. In developing the one-time scholarship program, CTU Online worked with the Helping Our Heroes Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides a way for donated funds and services to directly reach our injured service men and women.

"Our service members fight for our freedoms and give us the opportunity to pursue our dreams. When these brave men and women come home, they deserve to have every opportunity, including a quality education,” said Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director L. Tammy Duckworth. “I was honored to help select the Wounded Warrior scholarship recipients. These 25 young service members have their entire lives ahead of them and, after reading their applications, I know that they will continue to excel."

All tuition costs, course materials and fees are included in each scholarship, along with a laptop computer for each scholarship recipient. Pearson Learning Solutions, part of Pearson Education, will underwrite the education material costs of any course taken through Career Education Corporation/CTU Online that uses Pearson materials (such as text books or e-books). Apple will provide a MacBook computer to each student.

Candice Reed, a Wounded Warrior currently recovering at Walter Reed, will use her scholarship to pursue an associate degree in accounting and, upon completing her education, will be the second member of her family to have accomplished that task. The first was her step-father, an engineer, whom she considers a role-model. Reed enlisted in the Army immediately following high school graduation and the experience has increased her self-confidence and discipline, two traits that will serve her well as she enters the civilian world. She does not anticipate that life will be easy going forward, but she is confident that she can overcome obstacles as they come.

“The stories these service men and women shared were truly inspiring—recalling challenges they faced as civilians, adversities experienced in combat, and recognizing that they must now adjust their aspirations for the future,” said Dr. Wallace Pond, Chancellor, CTU Online. “Soldiers who have pledged to serve and protect their country are now faced with yet another challenging set of circumstances, and it is our hope that the education they receive from CTU will provide them with new skills to reach their goals.”

About Colorado Technical University and CTU Online

Since 1965, Colorado Technical University (CTU) – an institution of higher learning that provides career-oriented education by teaching applied industry-current programs -- has given students a pathway towards personal, academic, and professional advancement. Colorado Tech offers degree-track programs at the Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral levels in a wide range of fields of study. For more information on CTU, visit www.coloradotech.edu. Through its web-based virtual campus, CTU Online, the university offers degree programs that are 100% online. For additional information on CTU Online, visit www.ctuonline.edu. Colorado Technical University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association.

Colorado Technical University is a member of the Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ:CECO) network of schools, colleges and universities. For additional information, please visit www.careered.com.

About Pearson Education

Pearson (NYSE: PSO) is the global leader in educational publishing, assessment, information and services, helping people of all ages to learn at their own pace, in their own way. The company is home to such respected brands as Scott Foresman, Prentice Hall, PowerSchool, Addison Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, Longman and many others. Pearson’s comprehensive offerings help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within reach of every student. Pearson’s other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

About Helping our Heroes Foundation

Helping Our Heroes Foundation (HOHF) is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to provide support for those service members wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). The foundation was created at the request of the United States Army after it took Karen Theobald Conlin, HOHF President, to visit troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. An all volunteer organization, HOHF has no paid staff but rather works with a volunteer contingent. Services provided include: air travel grants, financial grants, educational and career support, morale events and mentoring. For further information please visit www.hohf.org.

Configuresoft Enhances Visibility to VMware Virtualized Environments

New Enterprise Configuration Manager (ECM) for Virtualization Now Includes Powerful Reporting Capabilities to Ensure Security, Control, and License Compliance

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Configuresoft, a leading enterprise server configuration management company, today announced it has enhanced visibility into VMware virtualized environments with its new Enterprise Configuration Manager (ECM) virtualization solution. The Configuresoft Enterprise Configuration Manager (ECM) for Virtualization solution now includes powerful new reporting capabilities that complement the management capabilities of VMware virtualization software for license compliance, security, and operational efficiency. This reporting functionality provides IT organizations end-to-end, at-a-glance visibility for VMware environments.

Software vendors’ application licensing agreements have dramatically increased in complexity recently, so the ability to understand and ensure license compliance in a virtualized environment is crucial. ECM enables IT Operations staff to measure their VMware environments in order to accurately account for license usage, and easily maintain license compliance across the IT infrastructure. The solution’s new reports – such as “Virtual Environments Networking Details” and “Host Security Profile,” as well as “Details” and “Trends” reports for both virtual hosts and guests – enable customers to translate the licensing and configuration data into actionable goals for solving any licensing issues and driving continuous improvement.

“Solutions like ECM for Virtualization from Configuresoft address a key customer need for visibility into VMware environments,” said Brian Byun, vice president of global partners and solutions at VMware. “ECM for Virtualization enhances customers’ VMware deployments by making it much easier to measure and track software license usage to help maintain compliance with regulatory and industry security standards.”

“The unique and holistic information provided by these reports complements ECM for Virtualization’s advanced level of visibility, control and security assurance to virtualized environments,” said Dr. Dennis Moreau, CTO of Configuresoft. “For example by utilizing our ‘Virtual Environments Host Activity Details’ report, an IT manager can acquire enhanced visibility into activity generated by their VM Hosts, including CPU, memory and storage utilization. Now, customers can enjoy a new level of control, security and compliance for their VMware environments.”

The new ECM for Virtualization enhancements include:
-- Host and guest memory and CPU reservation and utilization reports
-- Determine if host or guest configuration will affect performance of given guests.
-- Identify underutilized servers for capacity and Disaster Recovery (DR) planning.
-- Report on recent configuration changes and trending.
-- Firewall Security reports
-- View firewall setting across the VMware environment.
-- Identify vulnerabilities due to incorrect configuration.
-- Operation reports
-- Optimize storage utilization by viewing detailed storage allocation and orphaned file information.
-- View guest snapshots and details across the VMware environment.
-- Identify network configuration across the VMware environment and identify vulnerabilities and ensure that the traffic is correctly isolated.

About Configuresoft

Configuresoft, the world’s leading enterprise server configuration management provider, delivers the Configuration Intelligence® that brings automation and intelligence to IT operations. Hundreds of organizations, including 13 of the world’s 25 largest companies, rely on Configuresoft to effectively and efficiently manage the complexity of today’s physical and virtualized IT environments. Configuresoft’s team of security and policy experts ensure continuous compliance with regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley and industry standards such as PCI DSS and Microsoft and VMware Hardening Guides. To contact Configuresoft, please call (888) U-CONFIG or visit http://www.configuresoft.com.

Accellos Selected to Join Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program

Global Program Helps Accelerate the Success of Innovative Startups Committed to Microsoft’s Platform Technologies


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accellos, a leading provider of supply chain management solutions, today announced that it has been selected to join the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program. Stewarded by the Emerging Business Team (EBT) at Microsoft Corp., the program is designed to connect high-potential startups committed to the Microsoft platform to an extensive support network that provides access to Microsoft people and programs, guidance on future directions, and support to accelerate their success.

“We are honored that Microsoft chose Accellos for its Startup Accelerator Program,” said Matthew Turner, vice president of marketing for Accellos. “It is a testament to our commitment to customer-focused innovation and our growth in the Microsoft Dynamics channel.”

Microsoft is committed to serving as a valuable technology and business partner for emerging startups and their investors. Companies are selected to join the program based on their innovation, marketability, growth potential, funding, platform decision and strategic importance to Microsoft. These companies receive customized engagement plans designed to support their software development and increase market visibility. The program is now open to interested startups, which can apply via a profiling process outlined at the Microsoft Startup Zone at http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com.

“Accellos’ supply chain suite of products provides valuable solutions that complement the Microsoft Dynamics suite,” said Dave Drach, a managing director in Microsoft’s Emerging Business Team. “Microsoft is pleased to be working with Accellos to offer customers a cost-effective and innovative solution to accelerate their warehousing and logistics services with Microsoft technologies.”

The Microsoft EBT evaluates hundreds of technology startups each year to identify those with the strongest potential to succeed in the market, shape the industry’s future, and enhance the overall value of Microsoft products and services for customers. The Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program shines the spotlight on some of the most promising startups and provides good examples of how startups can work successfully with Microsoft.

About Accellos, Inc.

Accellos is a global provider of logistics, warehouse, 3PL, transportation and mobile fleet management solutions. Accellos addresses the supply chain management and execution market with warehouse management systems for multiple environments; Microsoft Windows-based transportation management solutions; and in-field mobile resource management solutions. Accellos’ powerful supply-chain execution solutions are easy to customize and implement, providing our customers with more innovation for less investment while producing significant savings and greater profitability.

Through a culture of innovation, Accellos strikes the perfect balance of customer satisfaction, employee fulfillment and shareholder value, delivering greater profitability and rapid return on investment for our customers, and accelerated logistics and warehousing services for the clients they serve. For more information, email info@accellos.com or visit www.accellos.com.

"Peak Vista 's Spring Break Egg Hunt

Peak Vista Community Health Centers invites the community to a Spring Break Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 22nd from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Fountain Creek Regional Park . For those who live and/or work in the Fountain neighborhood, end the hunt for egg-ceptional healthcare and register as a patient with Peak Vista’s Family Health Center at Fountain located at 301 E. Iowa . Peak Vista provides premier medical, dental and behavioral at its Fountain location. For more information, please call 228-6683.

Where's the Business At?

by Ed Duffy

I recently attended a Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce Event at which a very capable and knowlegeable speaker outlined important demographic statistics pertaining to the City of Fountain.

One of the things pointed out was that there is a large discrepancy between the actual economic activity taking place within the city, and what one would expect to find, given the demographic information; something on the order of a 46% deficit. This was pointed to as a sign of opportunity. I saw it a little differently. To me it looked like a sign of a problem. Fountain has been growing for a number of years. The fact that there will soon be a large influx of new troops to the area is no secret. Why does a city that can support 9 widget shops only have 5? Some cite a "perception problem" on the part of commercial real estate developers. Others actually blame the residents for not spending more money within city limits. Isn't it remotely possible that city policy and practices may have something to do with the fact that investment dollars are staying away in droves, compared to the evident potential? If there's good money to be made somewhere "perception problems" wont keep investment away. Opportunity cost will. If one has to work twice as hard to make a dollar in area A than one does 10 miles away at area B, the money's going to go to area B.

No doubt, there will be announcements of the landing of some big box stores and national restaurant chains in the coming year, but the fact is, those types of businesses are money siphons as far as residents are concerned. They help beef up government coffers with sales tax, but the profits are packed up and shipped back to headquarters for distribution to the shareholders. A healthy local economy would include a good variety of independent small businesses, something many government officials have very little interest in promoting even though statistics show they create the vast majority of new jobs. You get more headlines, kudos and faster promotions landing 100+ jobs at a time. Of course policies like less regulation, lower taxes, the elimination or reduction of fees, could lead to 300+ businesses hiring one or two additional people each, but that wouldn't make the papers. It's the "Catch 22" of a "controlled growth" policy. Doing nothing or doing less might be the optimum course of action, but if you want to appear to be controlling something, you have to create controls.

What specifically can a governing body do to be more business friendly? Generally, don't base decisions and regulation on what the most irresponsible person might do if you don't explicitly forbid it. Eliminate the use tax. Don't charge a fee and require a permit for everything, just because you can. Don't go out of your way to find violations and reasons things can't be done. Ensure street level employees regard constituents as valued customers, not a nuisance. Most importantly, recognize that creating an atmosphere in which the smallest of small businesses can thrive is at least as important to the vitality of the local economy as bringing in another MegaMart.

I do wish the City success. We all want the same thing; a vibrant, sustainable, self-sufficient economy and a high quality of life. I hope that the powers-that-be will periodically take an objective look at what they're doing, how they're doing it and why. Often times the best thing a government can do to promote a strong economy is to stay out of its way.