MBA Marks a Year of Success
It was a just over a year ago that the Magnolia Business Alliance (MBA), a non-profit founded by regional small businesses, was awarded one of ten national grants by the U.S. Small Business Administration (MBA) under the new "Innovative Economies" Initiative to drive innovation and create jobs in urban and rural areas.
Over the past year, MBA has provided over 25 unique services to existing businesses, start-ups, and individual entrepreneurs in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana including:
- Business Training
- Business Counseling
- Mentoring
- Business Risk Mitigation
- Technology Transfer Counseling
- Commercialization of R&D
- Export Readiness
- Support for Underserved Communities
- Financing Opportunities
- Market Development
Over the last year, MBA has provided over 2,000 hours of business training, over 500 hours of one-on-one mentoring, over 1,300 hours of business counseling, over 200 hours of technology commercialization and R&D assistance, and 70 hours of direct technology transfer support.
MBA recently received notice that the SBA grant was being renewed for an additional year. "MBA was founded to provide a single voice for small and medium-sized business in the region," said MBA Co-Founder and President Craig Harvey. "The renewal of our SBA contract is recognition of the impact we are having in helping our region compete on a national and global scale."
MBA currently represents 50 companies employing 1,400 high wage workers. MBA membership is open to small and medium sized businesses, non-profit organizations, economic development agencies, universities, and chambers of commerce. Additionally, sponsorship partnering opportunities are available.
For more information on USM/BIAC and its Mississippi Federal and State Technology (MS-FAST) partnership program supporting small businesses in competing in the federal SBIR programs visit: www.usm.edu/biac
Q & A with NVision Solutions
EIGS recently visited with Craig Harvey, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President for NVision Solutions, Inc., to learn more about the company, the industries they serve, the numerous accolades they have received for their work and their future endeavors. NVision Solutions is one of the founding members of the EIGS geospatial technology cluster of the Magnolia Business Alliance (MBA).
The Sensor:
Tell our readers about NVision Solutions and your role with the company. If you will, touch on the growth that NVision has experienced since its founding.
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Commentary From: Michael Liu, Sr. Vice President, Dutko Worldwide
Items regarding the debt, deficit, etcetera:
- Per the usual, do not expect any 'deal' or resolution among members of the Congressional Super Committee until the Thanksgiving deadline; and don't be surprised if an emergency extension will be required.
- No major tax reform will occur this year, but there could be some agreement on payroll taxes as marginally helpful as they might be.
- Continued turmoil with the Greek bailout and problems with Spain and Italy within the Euro Zone, will confuse rather than clarify issues for American fiscal policy makers.
- NASA's latest $35 billion rocket plan will go nowhere unless President Obama win's re-election in 2012.
- Sen. Marco Rubio will be on all of the Republican presidential aspirants' short list for VP. Look for his profile to increase and his public comments on fiscal issues to be more broadly promoted.
- Reconciling whatever the Super Committee comes up with and the Omnibus Continuing Resolution that will fund 2012 will result in some embarrassing mistakes for both the Congress and Administration.
Passing Note: Increasingly the popular talking heads (TV) or mouths (radio), as is wont to happen during presidential election cycles, are being more provocative in attacking and sniping and providing views of all sorts regarding issues of the day. Indeed many of the personalities have thoughts worth listening to, but a word of caution to Americans seeking information and direction from these sources. Depending on what is being discussed, it is useful to weigh what is being communicated against some understanding of whether or not the source has any real experience in being involved in the management of the issue being addressed. In the world of sports, the use of former players, coaches or sports executives is deemed necessary to give reporting and analysis credibility. Unfortunately, in the realm of politics and government public discourse, the stable of regular "analysts" are by and large persons drawn from journalism or public relations rather than for those who may have actually run a program or department. A pity.
Image of the Month
Lights, Camera, Sky Action!
Northern Lights above Bear Lake, Alaska. The lights, or aurora borealis , are created by solar radiation entering the atmosphere at the magnetic poles.
Northern lights - Bear Lake, AK
Credit: Senior Airman Joshua Strang, U.S. Air Force and NASA
Conference Spotlight
Items of Interest
MEC to unveil Blueprint Mississippi 2011
Jackson, MS-- The Mississippi Economic Council will release the results of its update of Mississippi's economic development strategy Oct. 13. Meetings are scheduled for Jackson, Tupelo and Biloxi to release Blueprint Mississippi 2011 which will provide a compass for the new leadership that will be in place as 2012 arrives. Input from business and community leaders throughout Mississippi was collected during a series of meetings held over the spring and summer… Read more,
msbusiness.com.
MAPPS Announces 2011 Geospatial Excellence Awards Judges
Spatial News
Reston, VA - A panel of five independent judges will evaluate projects submitted in the MAPPS 2011 Geospatial Products and Services Excellence Awards competition, the association announced today. The judges panel will once again be …
Read more: spatialnews.geocomm.com
Donation helps students tap into map technology
Florida Today
The school's new Geographic Information System program teaches students mapping techniques used by Global Positioning Systems. Students who complete three years of study are eligible for industry certification if they pass a project-based exit exam. Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High is the first school in the county to offer the GIS program. The school recently received a $10,000 donation from The Grainger Foundation to support the effort. …
Read more: www.floridatoday.com
Mississippi, Land of Green Jobs?
SustainableBusiness.com News
Thin-film solar startup Stion announced the grand opening of its first large-scale factory in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Where? Mississippi?
Stion is joined by a handful of green manufacturers locating to the state because of its low taxes, low labor rates and generous government subsidies.
Other companies opening factories there:
- Calisolar: makes polysilicon for solar cells ($75 million)
- Kior: a biofuels company ($75 million)
- Twin Creeks Technologies: makes thin wafers for solar cells ($54 million in state assistance)
- Soladigm: makes energy efficient windows ($44 million)
Read more: www.floridatoday.com
Blog of Interest:
BY: Jeff Thurston
Vector One
Is the Gap Between Surveying and GIS Contributing to Lower Precision Farming Uptake?
Many people have talked about a gap between surveying technology and geographic information system (GIS) technology over the years. Recent reports of precision farming uptake indicate lower than expected results - all at a time when commodity prices are high and food production is high on the agenda. …
Read more: www.vector1media.com
DigitalGlobe named Earth Observation Operator of the Year:
Longmont Daily Times-Call
LONGMONT - Satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe was named Earth Observation Operator of the Year by Euroconsult. Euroconsult is a global research and analysis firm specializing in the satellite industry. It awards corporations its annual Excellence…
Read more: www.timescall.com
Did you know ESRI recently received the Jane Goodall Global Leadership Award? The award pays tribute to extraordinary people and organizations. Esri, the world leader in geographic information systems (GIS), works with organizations throughout the world by supporting conservation research, education, policy development and sustainable practices.
Read more: www.sacbee.com
Global Perspectives
Russia to launch Earth-scanning satellite
UPI.com
23 (UPI) -- Russia says its first Earth remote sensing satellite, intended to provide radar imagery and terrain mapping in real-time, may be launched in January 2012."We are developing Kondor and Arkon [satellites],"
Anatoly Shilov, deputy head of the …
[Read the full article]
Survey details for GIS found faulty
The Hindu
… at a review meeting conducted by the Director of Municipal Administration at Chennai. Mr. Ponnusamy said that such faulty data could not be used for GIS. The resurvey would begin immediately after the completion of local body elections, he added …
[Read
the full article]
New partnership with Japan to increase employability opportunities
Creative Boom
GIS systems have been designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data and enables users to analyse spatial information and edit data and maps which are used within many
organizations …
[Read
the full article]
Africa told to use geospatial tools
Africa Science News Service
Governments in Africa were Tuesday urged to adopt geospatial technology to promote economic growth and development. James Orengo, Kenya's Lands minister said at the 6th Africa Geospatial Forum in Nairobi that governments couldn't do without the use of …
[Read
the full article]
The Sensor (Full text)
Tell our readers about NVision Solutions and your role with the company. If you will, touch on the growth that NVision has experienced since its founding.
Harvey: I am the Chief Operating Officer and an Executive Vice President. My primary roles day-to-day are corporate strategy and business development, but like any small business we all wear a lot of hats. NVision's growth has exceeded our expectations at every turn. We started with three employees in a 100-square-foot office and now occupy 10,000 square feet with 35 employees. At one point, when we were simultaneously involved in ongoing Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and the War on Terror we reached 70 people. As the economy recovers we're starting to see our numbers creep back up. We have managed this growth without any outside investment; everything has been project funded or invested by our owners.
The Sensor: NVision has a rich track record of serving a wide range of customers and industries, everything from bird watching enthusiasts to emergency responders. Can you give us an idea of who your customers are and how they use your services/products?
Harvey: Our business is 70% federal government and 30% commercial work. All of our products and services center on using geospatial technology to make decisions. Every once in a while we try something new, but we always seem to come back to what we do best. We apply our services and products to a wide array of industries from agriculture to defense. Our number one product is our Real-Time Emergency Action Coordination Tool (REACT) which received designation as a "Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology" under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act last year. REACT is a web-based, geospatial-based information management tool designed for crisis management, but is really useful for anybody who must make real-time decisions involving geography and resources. REACT has been used for hurricanes, oil spills and training exercises. Our latest product is our NVTouch surface computer. The NVTouch lets decision makers stand around a table and interact with information using touch on a 46-inch screen. We have sold two to NASA (Stennis and Headquarters) and one to the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at the University of Southern Mississippi. We also recently designed and created a field-deployable version which collapses into two hardened pelican cases. Our partner company, Downrange Operations in Jackson, is taking it to Africa as part of a U.S. Department of State contract.
The Sensor: NVision regularly teams with other companies and agencies to provide high quality products and services. Can you elaborate on this practice and give examples of your teaming partnerships?
Harvey: We team whenever we can to build our capability and experience faster than we could on our own. Our motto is "Healthy trees grow in healthy forests". The secret to teaming is building a team of the right size and the right compatibility for the opportunity. Our teaming choices are rarely a financial decision. We work to ensure the project goals and outcomes align with short or long-term strategic goals of each team member. One of our favorite partnerships right now is the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at the University of Southern Mississippi. By partnering with NCS4, we entered into a new and developing area of emergency management. We have worked in homeland security for municipalities for many years, but in a sports arena the population size of an entire town is stacked vertically in a relatively small place which is a big challenge for security and public safety. From the NCS4 perspective, NVision helps with commercialization of NCS4 products and provides technology and domain expertise based on our homeland security experience. We have also hired USM students as interns who then work at NCS4 when they are at school which provides continuity for both organizations and the students.
Over the years we have also worked with EIGS partner WorldWinds as well. We helped WorldWinds build one of the most powerful weather-modeling cluster computers in the country which they now maintain without our help. And in doing so we learned a great deal about weather data and models which we have since incorporated into our REACT system and used the weather data experience to compete on other contracts ourselves.
The Sensor: Over the years, NVision has been recognized for its innovative products and services. Tell us about some of these awards.
Harvey: Nearly all of our awards are directly related to our philosophy on teaming. The awards have a common theme of recognizing how we combined improving our company, improving our partner, and making the world a better place. We received many awards related to NASA technology transfer which funded much of the development of our REACT product. REACT helps first responders protect the public and has been used as shining example of how a small business can repurpose space technology to make life better on Earth while adding value to both NVision and NASA. We have received over 20 industry and government awards over the last 10 years. Our most recent 5 awards are:
- Minority Global Technology Firm of the Year - Southeast Region 2011
- 2010 Department of Defense Nunn-Perry Award
- 2010 NASA Hallmarks of Success
- 2009 Mississippi Company to Watch
- ESRI 2009 Business Partner of the Year
The Sensor: As part of your business practice, NVision is very active in achieving industry certifications. What are some of these certifications and why do you feel these are important to the company's credibility in the industry?
Harvey: Some examples of our corporate and individual certifications include ISO 9001:2008/AS9100, CMMI ML2/CL3, Project Management Professional, ESRI ArcGIS Desktop Professional, and Geographic Information System Professional. These certifications create a culture of quality and process discipline within our company for continual improvement of our products and services. The challenge with these types of processes is to increase structured plans and processes while remaining adaptable and innovative. Adding procedures has the potential to add needless bureaucracy, but we've been able to maintain that balance. These certifications also demonstrate our focus on customers. AS9100 is the quality standard of the aerospace industry and NASA is one of our biggest and longest customers. The Department of Defense created CMMI and we also have a long history working with DoD agencies. Adopting these methodologies is another way for us to better understand our customers.
The Sensor: As part of the company's growth over the last several years, NVision Solutions expanded its offices to the Stennis Technology Park. Talk about why this was an important milestone for NVision.
Harvey: NVision still maintains a presence at Stennis, but our headquarters simply grew out of the incubator space after our graduation and moved into a commercial building. This move also symbolized our growth from a stage 1 to a stage 2 company and made room in the incubator for another startup to have a chance. As the first company to move into the Technology Park, we also hope our presence here is the humble beginning of the kind of tremendous commercial development Huntsville, Ala. has seen around the NASA Marshall Center.
The Sensor: Along with AeroTec, NVision Solutions was one of the founding members of the Magnolia Business Alliance (MBA). You personally spent a lot of time and effort getting MBA up and running. Why do you think it was important for the small businesses in the region to have an organization that serves as an advocate for them?
Harvey: According to the SBA, small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms, employ just over half of all private sector employees, pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll, and have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years. So it follows if the economy is not doing well and unemployment is high then small businesses are suffering. Yet America invests a tremendous amount of funding and energy into helping small business. In Hancock County, Miss. alone there are 35 agencies to assist business and economic development. We decided the missing piece to this puzzle was the voice of small business. Small businesses usually don't have lobbyists or nationwide marketing campaigns to help policy makers and outreach organizations understand the needs of America's small businesses. By organizing ourselves and creating an agenda of action to improve the small business climate within our membership's collective area of influence we will help move our regional economy past the tipping point and create success.
The Sensor: Tell our readers what is on the horizon for NVision Solutions?
Harvey: Our federal services and product lines will continue their upward growth path, but we are focusing intensely on international trade and have been for several years now. We have conducted trade missions around the world and have already had some success. Our NVTouch table was the result of a 2009 partnership in France. The combination of globalization trends, technology advances and the weakness of the dollar on the international market are leading to increased international interest in U.S. companies. We are heavily involved in the Mississippi District Export Council which helps Mississippi companies export. Now is a great time for U.S. companies to work internationally. So NVision's horizon is literally the horizon we see out through our office windows. We are going global.
About About NVision Solutions, Inc.:
NVision Solutions, Inc. is a small, disadvantaged, minority, woman-owned certified 8(a) firm specializing in advanced geospatial solutions. NVision, headquartered near the NASA Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, is a founding member of the EIGS geospatial technology cluster of the Magnolia Business Alliance (MBA).
For more information about NVision Solutions, Inc., visit www.NVisionSolutions.com.
