ANX buys VPN provider Southfield-based ANXeBusiness Corp. announced Tuesday it had acquired the Virtual Private Network division of Overland Park, Kan.-based Positive Networks Inc., including its flagship product, PositivePRO. ANX says it will merge the VPN business into its operations, a move designed to strengthen the ANX virtual private network product line. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Positive Networks provides managed VPN and end-point security products and services, designed to provide remote office capabilities for end-users and IT departments and enable employees to connect to their company's local area network and Intranet. ANX said the deal also strengthens its software and programming capabilities through the Positive Networks VPN development team, which is part of the acquisition. ANX officials say eight to 12 Positive Networks employees will join ANX, which has about 85 employees currently. More.
New color technology from X-Rite subsidiary The Pantone business unit of Kentwood-based X-Rite Inc .Tuesday announced the introduction of Pantone ColorMunki Create, a new hardware and software system for creating, managing, searching, verifying and sharing color palettes. Pantone also announced two new products for the Pantone Goe System, Pantone GoeBridge Coated and Pantone Color Cue 2.1. More.
Sircon Corp. gets new partner, product
Okemos-based Sircon Corp., a developer of software to automate the relationship between insurance agents, brokers and regulators, Tuesday announced a partnership with Alpharetta, Ga.-based Compliance 360, a provider of on-demand governance, risk management and compliance software for the insurance industry. The partnership will launch SirconEdge, combining Sircon's rich regulatory content with Compliance 360's content delivery technology to create an on-demand compliance tool providing regulatory intelligence and compliance management for insurance carriers, agencies and brokers. More.
Auto software company adds new technologies to products
Bloomfield Hills-based NeoSynergy, a Web-based automotive software developer, said Tuesday it is introducing additional technologies to broadcast automotive dealers' new-vehicle pricing and inventory, called Best Deals, to aggregator sites such as Google Base and Oodle. The firm will also begin pushing advertising and inventory to other automotive portals through gadgets and widgets later this summer. The extension of their network further establishes NeoSynergy's suite of tools as the premier solution for dealers to sell more cars while spending less money. More.
Economics Dept.: August purchasing managers index tumbles
During August, the metro Detroit Purchasing Managers composite index fell 6 points from its July level. The measure of production, new orders, employment, inventory, vendor deliveries, and commodity prices was 48.2. Readings below 50 indicate that manufacturing is contracting, said economist and Walsh College Director of Doctoral Programs David Allardice. Nearly 800 managers of the Detroit chapter of the National Association of Purchasing Managers were surveyed by Allardice last month. Within the index, employment rose 5.7 points, production rose 7 points; and prices fell 9.3 points. Seventy-six percent of the managers said that they believe the economy is in a recession. More.
The Department of Business at Kettering University recently welcomed entrepreneur Art DeMonte to the faculty, implemented a new entrepreneurship minor and continues encouraging students to take BUSN-572 Innovation and New Ventures.
Kettering officials say it all harkens back to the skunk works -- the legendary organization within Lockheed Aircraft Corp. during World War II that led to rapid technological advancement.
Skunk Works is an example of intrapreneurship -- the practice of applying entrepreneurial skills and approaches within an established organization by employees who basically operate within this framework like entrepreneurs.
So how does this concept apply to Kettering University in Flint?
Since 2006, Massoud Tavakoli, professor of mechanical engineering, Andy Borchers, associate professor of business and information systems and interim department head, and Bill Riffe, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, have worked to develop entrepreneurship opportunities and academic programming at Kettering.
In 2006 and again in 2007, the team of professors received a grant in each year for $50,000 from the Kern Family Foundation through the Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network, which supported the development of an introductory class called BUSN 572, Innovation and New Ventures, and the Kettering Entrepreneur Society (www.kesociety.com). This student-led organization sponsors business plan competitions, provides support services and other activities in an effort to promote an entrepreneurial culture at Kettering based on innovation. Additionally, KES helped spawn several new student-owned businesses based in Flint.
For the state of Michigan and city of Flint, which currently has an unemployment rate of more than 9 percent, new, innovative businesses are necessary to insure the economic potential and outlook of this part of the country.
Today, entrepreneurship studies at Kettering also focus on intrapreneurship, which helps provide students a comprehensive understanding of how innovative ideas are spurred and supported internally by parent companies.
Art DeMonte, who joined Kettering in July as the McDonald Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, is an accomplished entrepreneur who will teach BUSN 572.
DeMonte’s background in entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial activities is extensive: he came to Michigan about nine years ago to help launch eChemicals, an internet-enabled chemical distributor in Ann Arbor, helped create new business models at Dow Chemical, and later became the executive director of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest, which operates a statewide business plan competition and is a powerful engine for the formation of new, high-growth companies.
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New lab analysis product from Ann Arbor's Assay Designs Ann Arbor-based Assay Designs Inc. said Tuesday it had launched a new portfolio of ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) development kits called ImmunoSet. Assay Designs said it has aggressive plans for the development and release of the new ImmunoSet products, beginning with kits for the detection of mouse and rat heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and p53/MDM2 complexes. HO-1 is used by researchers studying cancer, oxidative stress, inflammation and aging. The p53/MDM2 complex immunoassay is used in research of several potential cancer therapies, and the Assay Designs product is the first time to measure both complexes in natural samples. The company says its product cut the costs of such immunoassays from the current $500 to about $90. More.
Appia gets new NYC area partner
Traverse City-based Appia Communications announced today that Connecticut-based Edge Technology Group has joined Appia as a partner. Appia provides managed IT and telecommunications services to small and midsize companies and organizations. Edge Technology Group will add Appia's proven solutions in voice, data, video and networking to its portfolio of services. More.
Ann Arbor's Terumo Cardiovascular files patent infringement suit Ann Arbor-based Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corp. announced that it filed a patent infringement complaint on Aug. 21 in the Northern District of California against Maquet Cardiovascular LLC. The complaint alleges that Maquet's Vasoview Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting Systems infringe a patent for which Terumo CVS owns the rights. The complaint also requests an injunction against further sales of the product in the United States. More.
THE WORLD IN TECH
Struggling Alcatel-Lucent names new execs At Britain's BT Group, Ben Verwaayen was lauded for transforming the money-losing phone company into a profitable and aggressive leader in broadband Internet access. Alcatel-Lucent will be looking for him to match that performance when he comes in as part of a new management tandem tasked with reversing a six-quarter earnings slide that has rung up 4.8 billion euros ($7 billion) in losses. The world's largest manufacturer of fixed-line telecommunications gear Tuesday appointed Verwaayen as its new CEO, and former EADS co-CEO Philippe Camus as its new chairman. Verwaayen, who is Dutch, and Camus, who is French, replace the U.S. and French executives behind the $11.4 billion deal that combined France's Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent Technologies two years ago. Verwaayen replaces CEO Patricia Russo effective immediately, while Camus will replace Serge Tchuruk -- long Alcatel's top executive -- next month. More.
Google polishes product line with Chrome browser
The new Web browser that Google Inc. released Tuesday is designed to expand its huge lead in the Internet search market and reduce Microsoft Corp.'s imprint on personal computers. The free browser, called "Chrome," is being promoted as a sleeker, faster and more secure alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which has been the leading vehicle for surfing the Web for the past decade. Despite recent inroads by Mozilla Foundation's Firefox, Internet Explorer is still used by roughly three-fourths of the world's Web surfers. More.
Gustav brings down cell phone, Internet service
Power outages caused by Hurricane Gustav brought down cellular and Internet service in parts of Louisiana, but its impact was much milder than that of Katrina. AT&T Inc., the main landline phone company in the state, said it had 2,000 employees working to assess damage and perform repairs. Most of its cellular towers in areas hit by the hurricane were working Tuesday, according to spokesman Drew Giblin. Verizon Wireless said fewer than 1 percent of its Gulf Coast cell towers were out of operation Tuesday morning, mostly due to power outages. "Power is the only critical issue affecting our network," added Sprint Nextel Corp. spokeswoman Stephanie Vinge-Walsh. More.
Russia's MegaFon to sell iPhone
MegaFon, Russia's third-largest mobile phone company, said Tuesday it will start selling Apple's iPhone 3G in Russia later this year. MegaFon did not provide further details of the deal. iPhones have not gone on sale officially in Russia, but are readily available on the "gray" market, selling for around $1,000, several times the current retail price in the United States. More.
Stocks: Afternoon selling leads tech stocks down at close
Most leading technology stocks closed with losses Tuesday as gains that came from a drop in oil prices failed to hold and Google Inc. debuted a Web browser to open a new battle front against Microsoft Corp. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) lost 18.28 points or 0.8 percent to 2,349.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) fell 26.63 points or 0.2 percent to 11,516.92. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) lost 2.45 points or 0.7 percent to 350.37 and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) fell 7.81 points or 1.4 percent to 552.29. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG) was a rare market bright spot, rising 0.91 points or 0.3 percent to 310.87, while the Amex Biotech Index (BTK) fell 6.31 points or 0.8 percent to 824.91. The S&P 500 ($SPX) fell 5.25 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,277.58. Energy fronted losses among the S&P's 10 industry groups, down 6.1 percent. Other declining sectors on the S&P included materials and utilities. The consumer discretionary sector led gains on the S&P, up 1.9 percent, followed by financials, ahead 1.5 percent. The U.S. dollar rose sharply amid the broad decline in commodities, with light sweet crude tumbling as oil installations in the Gulf were spared much of the damage that many feared. Crude for October delivery fell $5.75 to close at $109.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A whole bunch of local extras: St. Joseph-based medical research software developer GeneGo Inc. adds a famous cancer center as one of its "centers of excellence"; the Utopia Foundation of Traverse City plans a major summit on corporate sustainability; Fenton's 3Sixty Interactive adds three new clients; Borders offers an early online peek at a new fantasy novel; and the Detroit third party logistics provider NLM adds truckload brokerage services. Elsewhere in Techland: VMware;s executive vice president of R&D goes back to Oracle; Sony unveils an improved PlayStation Portable; Hulu will host NBC shows before they hit broadcast; Nokia launches a music/phone bundle in the U.K.; an FM transmitter for iPhone that actually works; there's talk that corporate lawyers put the kibosh on a 'Mythbusters' episode involving RFID; good news for consumers as a broadband price war brews; China Mobile says iPhone talks are ongoing; Microsoft plans a big coming-out party for its virtualization software; word is Dell may soon launch an ultra-portable; bookmark your favorite spots like a mixtape with Placefav; Malaysia breaks a promise by blocking a dissident site; Oracle will acquire the management software maker ClearApp; new technology that protects communications gear from EMP; the sun has its first spotless month since 1913; and a new study finds that our solar system is unusual.
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Kettering beefs up entrepreneurial programs
