| Helping environmentally-conscientious business leaders choose environmentally-friendly solutions.
10 Lessons from Volleyball, Part 2
Part 1 of the 10 Business Lessons from Volleyball can be found here. In volleyball, the only play you control yourself is...
Full Story »
CloudTC and N-Able Acquired
"Australian-owned IP PBX systems company, Vixtel, has completed the acquisition of Silicon Valley based glass phone developer, CloudTC, for an undisclosed figure,"...
Full Story »
ProfitBricks: Where InfiniBand Meets Cloud 2.0
In a recent meeting with William Toll and Pete Johnson of ProfitBricks, the pair were ecstatic to explain how their company has...
Full Story »
Proactive Care Puts Operators One Step Ahead
By Thomas Fuerst, Senior Director, Multimedia Solutions MarketingAlcatel-Lucent
Monitoring and analyzing network data proactively saves operators time, money, and customers.
When a network service fails, it makes headlines, ticks off customers, and costs that network operator money. When a failure is headed off in advance, on the other hand, there might not be praise-laden headlines, but it's newsworthy nonetheless.
The traditional approach to customer care has typically been: a disgruntled customer calls customer service and complains of a service interruption or problem; the rep, learning of it for the first time, sends out a technician the next day, and eventually finds a resolution. Often, customers are left feeling put out, and the operator has spent significant time and money resolving the problem. Even worse is the customer who doesn’t call and just feels this is ‘typical’ of their network experience. That is a customer at risk of leaving.
Proactive care flips this dynamic on its head by using predictive analytics to identify potential outages or errors in the network and stop them before they occur. It consists of three main parts: one, constantly monitoring and measuring data on the network; two, real-time analysis of the data; and three, the most important, acting on that analysis to fix the problem.
Full Story »
10 Lessons from Volleyball
I've played volleyball for over 25 years. I have traveled around the US to watch the pros live - both indoor...
Full Story »
Emerging Threats Combats a Million Plus Pieces of New Malware a Week
There are 250,000 plus new pieces of malware being produced each day equating to one piece per person in the US in...
Full Story »
NFV-Based Software Telcos Need OSS/BSS Interoperability
One of the goals of ETSI NFV is to allow new entrants to provide solutions to carriers based on software instead of...
Full Story »GM Greens Up CES, Unveils New Caddy
January 9, 2008
In a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show, General Motors chief executive Rick Wagoner promised that by 2012 half the car maker's U.S. production line will be devoted to vehicles powered by "Flexfuel," an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional petroleum-based gasoline.
Wagoner put the emphasis on his presentation by unveiling a prototype Cadillac Provoq sedan.
“The Cadillac Provoq is the latest example of GM’s E-Flex propulsion system combining our new fifth-generation fuel cell with a lithium-ion battery to produce an electrically driven vehicle that uses no petroleum, and has no emission other than water,” he told the CES audience.
Wagner described some of the Provoq’s other intriguing features:
- A solar panel integrated into the roof to help power onboard accessories, such as interior lights and a high-performance audio system.
- An active front grille with louvers that close at highway speed to enhance aerodynamics and open at low speed to provide maximum cooling to the fuel cell stack.
- Both brake-by-wire and shift-by-wire technology which minimize the concept’s need for mechanical systems reduce the vehicle’s overall weight and provide for greater interior storage space.
Green Earth Gets Funding
January 9, 2008
Green Earth Technologies Inc. has received about $2.4 million in investment funding from Founder's Technology and eight angel investors.
Green Earth Technologies, a consumer goods manufacturer, produces “G”-Branded green products made entirely from American Grown Base Oils based on cutting-edge nanotechnology.
The company’s products apply across several market segments, including automotive performance and appearance chemicals, marine performance and appearance chemicals, household cleaning solutions and lawn & garden chemicals.
The Menlo Park-based firm said the funds will be used to fund working capital requirements.
InterCall Partners with Climate Action to Promote Green Technology
January 4, 2008
Global conferencing leader InterCall, a subsidiary of West Corporation, is doing all it can to get organizations of all types and sizes -- from SMBs to enterprises to government agencies to not-for-profits -- to jump on the “green” bandwagon. And why not, since the company’s high quality business conferencing services enable workers to communicate and collaborate “in person,” without having to travel in emissions-spewing vehicles?
In keeping with this mission, the company announced today that it is now a Platinum sponsor of Climate Action, a joint development of Sustainable Development International and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) which promotes environmentally-responsible business practices. Together, InterCall and Climate Action are working on a joint campaign to raise awareness about environmentally friendly best practices. The campaign will include a new book, Web site and marketing program designed to educate businesses, governments and non-profits on what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint and hence reduce their impact on climate change.
"InterCall is proud to support an organization that will be a powerful agent for change in the Green movement," said Carolyn Campbell, Senior Director of Marketing for InterCall, in a press release.
In keeping with this mission, the company announced today that it is now a Platinum sponsor of Climate Action, a joint development of Sustainable Development International and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) which promotes environmentally-responsible business practices. Together, InterCall and Climate Action are working on a joint campaign to raise awareness about environmentally friendly best practices. The campaign will include a new book, Web site and marketing program designed to educate businesses, governments and non-profits on what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint and hence reduce their impact on climate change.
"InterCall is proud to support an organization that will be a powerful agent for change in the Green movement," said Carolyn Campbell, Senior Director of Marketing for InterCall, in a press release.
Electric Car Offers Savings to Londoners
January 3, 2008
Electric car pioneer ZAP says that owners of its ZAP Xebra electric city car commuting into London can save so much on parking, charging and tolls that it could help pay for the car within a year.
Those crazy Londoners always get all the fun stuff first don’t they?
IXYS Joins Climate Savers Computing Initiative
January 3, 2008
IXYS Corporation, a Silicon Valley power semiconductor company, today announced that it has joined the Climate Savers Computing Initiative at the Affiliate level.
“Power conversion efficiency has been our core focus since the company started in 1983. We began with power semiconductors that have been key in enabling products for saving energy. Today, we offer a wider range of products for power systems, transportation and wind and solar based electricity generation,” commented IXYS CEO Dr. Nathan Zommer.
For more check out this story on TMCnet.
Only 1 in 5 Recycle e-Waste Properly
December 28, 2007
The Daily Green is reporting that a scant 1 in 5 of us recycle old electronics.
Disappointing.
With many consumers upgrading to newer versions of their gear this holiday season, replacing existing gadgets such as TVs, monitors, cell phones, video game consoles, etc… it’s troubling to think that only 21% of that e-waste is destined for proper disposal.
The article directs consumers to a variety of sources to help with recycling their used electronics, notably E-cycling Central, a national database maintained by industry of local recycling opportunities, and eRecycle.org, which lists additional options.
Silicon Valley VCs Seeing Green for Green's Sake
December 26, 2007
USA Today has an item online that sheds some light on what some of tech’s wealthiest individuals are doing to help the world become a little greener.
The article describes Vinod Khosla, a leading venture capitalist, and how his children view his rising passion for renewable energy.
“They think it’s cool Dad is saving the planet,” he says.
The article goes on to laud the efforts of other notables such as Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Nobel-winning ex-vice president Al Gore, and eccentric billionaire Richard Branson.
It’s defintiely worth a read.
Toronto Star: Will New Social Climate Lead to Green?
December 26, 2007
The Toronto Star has an item today about green living and a message to the citizenry of Ontario that going green doesn’t have to be all about sacrifice.
Amid messages of new technologies and altering lifestyles, Canadians looking to make a change in 2008 should take heart that it doesn't all have to be sacrifice.
Experts say an environmentally friendly lifestyle can mean not only lower household bills but also improved mental and physical health when forgoing the automobile.
Of course, whether or not recent polls showing that consumers would be willing to pay more or take that extra step for a greener planet will translate into real world changes remains to be seen.
Clifford Maynes, executive director of Green Communities Canada, told the Star: “You have polls where people say, ‘Yes, we’re willing to pay more to be green.’ I think this is a premise that has yet to be fully tested.”
To check out the article Is new social climate needed for green living? click here.
Forrester: In Search of Green Tech Consumers
December 19, 2007
As the environmental movement has gained momentum, one of the key questions facing companies that felt pressure to “green up” was “would consumers pay more for green tech and related products?”
Well, according to a recent Forrester Research poll, fully twelve percent of U.S. adults, or what amounts to nearly 25 million people — are willing to pay extra for consumer electronics that use less energy or come from a company that is environmentally friendly.
Forrester has termed these consumers “bright greens” and believes they are at the forefront of an emerging class of consumers that will be an attractive target for marketers at technology companies.
The report, based on a survey of 5,000 U.S.
Investors Still Keen on Green
December 19, 2007
A recent Investors Business Daily feature holds forth that venture capitalists are forecasting another solid year for investing in clean, “green,” technologies.
According to the report, based on a consensus estimate of 170 venture capitalists polled by the National Venture Capital Association, a full quarter (25%) of survey respondents forecast investments of $30 billion to $39 billion. The $39 billion number would represent the largest investment year since 2000.
The results show increased interest in clean technology investment, with 80% of respondents believing they will saying they will increase activity in the space.
For more, check out the article here.
