...........OC Systems, Impact Labs, Icode, CourtEXPRESS,

    ...........Sourcefire, and ToadNet
3) FUNDING & FINANCE NEWS
    3.1 Life In The Food Chain
    ......USi Acquires CoreHarbor
    ......Experian Acquires PromiseMark
4) OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES
    4.1 Free Crisis Planning Software For Small Businesses


|||||||||||||||||||| 1. News About Netpreneur ||||||||||||||||||

1.1 SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOOD NIGHT
After seven years of writing Netpreneur News, your editor@ got to feeling more than somewhat nostalgic putting together this, his final issue before News transitions to the team of entrepreneurs who will be operating Netpreneur going forward. First, he got to thinking back to September of 1996 and why we started Netpreneur News in the first place, even before there was a formal Netpreneur Program to speak of. Mostly, we did it because of Thursdays.

Huh?

Back in the days before broadband and blackberries, the region wasn't exactly known as a business hub, let alone a hotbed of entrepreneurial endeavor. In fact, as those with receding hairlines will remember, back then the Washington Post could find so little to write about on Thursdays that the Business and Sports sections were combined into a single sliver of pages. True fact. And while defense contractors could find a li'l bit of coverage around town, if you were one of the people trying to start a software or Internet business, you were pretty much in the cold. We knew you were out there (we could hear you breathing), but nobody had any real idea about who you were or how many or doing exactly what.

Our leader, Mario Morino, is fond of telling a story about how, when we were working at Legent we needed a small piece of technology to finish up a big product. Lacking the time to develop it ourselves, we set off to acquire it from somebody else, and, after a protracted search, located something close which we bought from a company waaay out in California. After the deal had closed and we were furiously working to fit the square peg into the round hole, purely by accident someone on the team learned about a superior bit of technology built by a small startup right up the street in Virginia. Bummer. Neighbor, we hardly knew ye.

Put those two things together and you have the rationale for Netpreneur News -- a place where technology entrepreneurs who were flying below the radar of larger media organs could learn about each other, generate a little buzz, and maybe form partnerships with their colleagues.

The first few issues of News had maybe 35 subscribers and covered stories like this new guy named Bob Pittman (from MTV of all places) who was coming to run one of the three new divisions at AOL; that PSINet was taking its first steps to expand internationally (Yes, AOL and PSINet were once entrepreneurial, though just thinking about it is making your editor@'s joints creak.); that the SEC was about to approve online stock trading; and story after story about a whole buncha companies that are no longer around because they folded or got bought or changed their names or went public or folded. Your editor@'s favorite is still -- from our fifth issue -- the founding of a then-new company called PubCrawler (http://www.pubcrawler.com), a website "for beer lovers, brewers, and pub owners." Another dopey dotcom? Nope, PubCrawler is still going strong, so put that in your bubble pipe and pop it. (For your own trip down memory lane, you can find every back issue of Netpreneur News in the archives at http://netpreneur.org/news/archives.html)

Speaking of le bubble, like everything else, News expanded with it. By the year 1999, 35 subscribers had become over 12,000, and each issue had grown from around two pages to, often, more than 10. OK, maybe the length has slipped backwards a little since then, but one thing's for sure, the companies we've been covering generally have a bit more substance, yes? Heck, for a while in those days, even the Washington Post suddenly found enough grist to fill a full tip-in Business section on Mondays, so I guess we all rode in the same tea cup.

There was one more reason why we started Netpreneur News in 1996 -- to get out the word to the rest of the world about all the entrepreneurial excitement going on in this region. That one's been accomplished. A lot has changed from the days when the term "DC entrepreneur" was an oxymoron, through a (thankfully) brief period when the top topic around town was what we should name the region since we were going to compete with Silicon Valley (You people know who you are and you should still be ashamed of yourselves.) to, today, when the region is recognized around the world as a center of innovation and entrepreneurship. Not that we're taking credit for that or anything, but we'll be brash enough to think that we did our part. Another thing that's changed is that where once the only local outlets for news about technology entrepreneurs were Netpreneur News, the Post, and Washington Business Journal, now the region has enough room for at least five daily or weekly email newsletters plus print pubs covering various aspects of the technology sector in one geography or another. (Check out http://netpreneur.org/resources/newssources.html)

And although your editor@ and his faithful Indian companion are riding off into the sunset, Netpreneur News continues as the only publication dedicated solely to Greater Washington's startup community. In its new format, now run for and by entrepreneurs, News will continue keeping you informed about Netpreneur, its programs, plans, events, and services. Stick around, you're gonna like it.

So, from your editor@ personally, and on behalf of the entire team that worked to put out News every week over the years, thanks for reading each issue from masthead to Who'sware (Leave your editor@ his illusions. OK?) We appreciate your support. As for your editor@, he'll be sweeping up the Netpreneur offices for the next few weeks, so you can still reach him at List is Inactive. Especially if you're in the market for a marketing exec who knows his way around the technology business, and, especially, around a bad pun.

Dough raise me. That still cracks me up.

Take care, thanks for reading, and remember, climb ev'ry mountain till you find your dream.

Neil Oatley
List is Inactive
noatley@morino.org


|||||||||||||||||| 2. Regional Netpreneurs ||||||||||||||||||

2.1 MANAGED OBJECTS IMPROVES eGOVERNMENT
(McLean, VA) Managed Objects introduced BSM for E-Gov, a business service management (BSM) software solution. BSM is an approach that organizations use to manage IT as a service. Based on Managed Objects' Formula platform, the new product helps federal agencies speed compliance with the enterprise architecture and performance improvements mandated by Congress' eGovernment Act. Formula components give federal agencies a way to map enterprise architecture, measure and improve performance, leverage existing resources, and report on service levels through portals and dashboards.
http://www.managedobjects.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.2 OPTINEL DELIVERS HDTV
(Elkridge, MD) Optinel Systems, a manufacturer of transport equipment for the cable industry, released its DSTX-9150-HD transmitter. Targeted particularly for high definition television (HDTV) applications, it allows cable operators to transport over 100 HD channels on a single line card for an immediate rollout. Compatible with Optinel's PLEXiS MFX transport system, the transmitter allows cable operators to transport multiple traffic types over the same network hardware, simultaneously supporting HDTV, broadcast, and other high-bandwidth feeds. The system supports multiple traffic formats, including Gigabit Ethernet, SONET, QAM, and analog, and provides high-bandwidth, multiformat transport in a single chassis.
http://www.optinel.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.3 MERAK FIGHTS SPAM
(Alexandria, VA) Merak Mail Server introduced its Merak Instant Anti-Spam solution designed to eliminate spam for an entire organization. According to Merak, it controls spam for businesses and ISPs at a fraction of the cost and with greater accuracy than other anti-spam technology. It requires little initial or ongoing administrator configuration and includes a "self learning" mode and end user controls.
http://www.merakmailserver.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.4 ROUND-UP: QUICK HITS

(Washington, DC) SolarMetric announced several new products developed to provide Java Data Objects support for legacy systems. The company's Kodo JDO product for linking relational databases with Java applications can now communicate with a diverse set of back-end data stores such as CICS, MQ Series, Siebel, and many more.
http://www.solarmetric.com

(Washington, DC) Métier introduced its Portfolio Assessment Engine, an addition to its suite of statistical project portfolio management solutions that analyzes and predicts work. The Engine provides an objective rating system for project performance metrics so that users can more accurately select and align projects with strategic initiatives.
http://www.metier.com

(Baltimore, MD) Artifact Software released Version 2.0 of Artifact Desktop, a software product that provides developers with tools to better manage their code through search, categorization, and collaboration tools. The product integrates with many of the Web's most popular code sharing sites.
http://www.artifactsoftware.com

(Poolesville, MD) Visual Analytics released Version 2.0 of VisuaLinks, its pattern discovery analytical software product. New features provide expanded capabilities for users to discover intelligence and actionable insight from their data.
http://www.visualanalytics.com

(Fairfax, VA) OC Systems released Version 2.1 of RootCause, its application internals management tool for Java developers. Enhancements include an out-of-the-box memory debugging feature that helps resolve Java object growth problems.
http://www.ocsystems.com

(Columbia, MD) Impact Labs released Version 3.5 of its Master Archive 3.5 family of image compression applications. The suite has three specialized server editions, including Document Edition for Group Four TIFF images (scanned documents), Medical Edition for DICOM medical images (digital X-rays, CT scans, etc.), and Image Edition for high-resolution imagery (satellite, art photography, illustration, etc.).
http://www.impactlabs.com

(Chantilly, VA) Icode released Version 6.0 of Accware, its enterprise resource planning solution for small businesses, also renaming it Everest Standard Edition. The release includes nearly 20 enhancements, including new features for eCommerce.
http://www.icode.com

(Washington, DC) CourtEXPRESS, a website that provides legal professionals with access to federal and state court records, has redesigned its site and added features including Class Action Alerts and hourly tracking for newly filed documents.
http://www.courtexpress.com

(Columbia, MD) Sourcefire has integrated its Intrusion Management System with Atlanta-based GuardedNet's neuSECURE security management platform. Customers will be able to correlate security data from multiple products with data from firewalls, routers, and other devices.
http://www.sourcefire.com
http://www.guarded.net

(Severna Park, MD) ToadNet announced plans to launch high-speed wireless Internet access to Baltimore area businesses through an exclusive partnership with Accelacom, a Baltimore-based wireless company.
http://www.toad.net
http://accelacom.com


|||||||||||||||||| 3. Funding & Finance News ||||||||||||||||||

3.1 LIFE IN THE FOOD CHAIN

-- USi Acquires CoreHarbor
(Annapolis, MD) Managed services provider USi announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire key assets of CoreHarbor, an Ariba-focused managed service provider. Ariba is a developer of software products for electronic procurement. USi adds CoreHarbor's spend management, procurement, and sourcing capabilities, creating the most comprehensive managed service provider for Enterprise Spend Management solutions. The two companies' services will integrated, with hosting and management of all Ariba-based applications being consolidated within USi's existing facilities. CoreHarbor's headquarters in Atlanta will be retained to support customer service and sales operations.
http://www.usi.com
http://coreharbor.com
http://ariba.com

-- Experian Acquires PromiseMark
(Fairfax, VA) PromiseMark, an Internet identity and fraud protection services company, has been acquired by Orange, CA-based Experian Consumer Direct, a provider of online credit reports and products. PromiseMark offers a suite of identity theft solutions, with fraud resolution agents who are trained to handle identity-theft issues that would normally take a victim great lengths to resolve on their own. PromiseMark also offers coverage to victims for their financial losses up to $50,000 in the event it cannot remedy all of the damage and recover all of the customer's losses. More than 12 million visitors monthly visit Experian's Internet properties which , include ConsumerInfo.com, FreeCreditReport.com, and CreditExpert.com among others.
http://experian.com
http://promisemark.com


|||||||||||||||||| 4. Opportunities & Resources ||||||||||||||||||

4.1 FREE CRISIS PLANNING SOFTWARE
(Washington, DC) The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) is offering free continuity planning software that allows small businesses to produce individualized continuity of operations plans. The program enables businesses to identify hazards and to develop employee and supplier listings, checklists of key operational actions, and information on continuity of operations in the event business processes are interrupted by a crisis event. Users produce their own document through a study guide approach, which they can download and print to accommodate their business type and needs. Reading materials provide case studies, definitions, examples, and procedures for users to conceptualize a plan. COG initiated the effort in cooperation with the Greater Washington Board of Trade as part of its Regional Emergency Coordination Plan. Marsh Crisis Consulting developed the free content and software, which can be found in the Homeland Security area of COG's website.
http://www.mwcog.org

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