Blog for the North Carolina Technology Association
@nctechnology
Founded in 1993, the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA) is a 501 (c) (6) not-for-profit association focused on advancing the state's tech industry. NCTA has 700+ member companies, organizations and institutions representing more than 200,000 North Carolina based employees.
NC Tech Talent Trends Report Released for January 2018
NCTA has launched a monthly IT jobs snapshot, NC Tech Talent Trends Alert, that captures the environment for tech employment in North Carolina.
For online access to the current and previous reports, as well as other talent-oriented information and resources visittechjobsnc.com .Â
Utilizing the TalentNeuron tool from Gartner, this snapshot is designed to provide insights to both tech employers and tech professionals as they assess the employment landscape. This Tech Talent Trends report will be released in the latter part of each month with data from the previous month. For online access to the current and previous reports, as well as other talent-oriented information and resources, click here.Â
This monthly report is made possible by Presenting Sponsor Greene Resources.
The story was quickly picked up by WRAL Tech Wireâs Rick Smith.Â
âReport: 17,371 tech job openings in NC + Who is hiring, types of openings, skills most needed" Â
RALEIGH â A new report from the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA) reports that information technology job openings across the state grew 3.4 percent year-over-year in December to 17,371.
In the first of a new monthly reported titled Tech Talent Trends Alert, NCTA reports that openings peaked at 20,321 in March. Jobs hit a low of 15,987 in August. The report breaks down openings by metro area, job type, skillset and employers who are the biggest hirers.
âLooking back on 2017, recruiting for IT talent in North Carolina was competitive, with over 89,000 open IT positions throughout the state over the course of the year,â the report says.
Find the entire article here.
The Tech Talent Trends Report will be released in the latter part of each month with data from the previous month. Readers will be able to view number of IT job postings presented in various top ten lists (skills, jobs, employers, regions) as well as a rolling 12-month chart reflecting the trend in job openings over the previous year.
NCTA, in partnership with FIRST North Carolina, held its first annual Robot Rumble last month. Â Eight corporate teams participated in the event which included a robot build and programming and they were mentored by FIRST Robotics Team contestants who from various high schools around the state to share their wisdom.
This corporate team building experience challenged company teams to build the best robot using the LEGO EV3 Mindstorm kit for a run at the FIRST LEGO League competition table. Â This was the first event of its kind in North Carolina! Â With the goal of raising awareness and funds for FIRST North Carolina and the North Carolina Technology Association, this fun event brought the tech sector together to engage in friendly competition and learn more about the experiences available for North Carolinaâs youth through FIRST programming. Â
The Robot Rumble culminated in a competition that put each teamâs robot to the test to outscore the other teams as it made its way through the MindStorm course. Â The inaugural winner, Credit Suisse Team #2, was crowned and hopefully will be back next year to defend its title. Â
The event was a huge success â not only provided a great teambuilding experience for the participating companies, but also it raised money for FIRSTNorth Carolina and NCTA to support each organizationâs ongoing programming. Â FIRST North Carolina and NCTA are already planning the event for next year, so be on the lookout for more information about the 2018 Robot Rumble.
December Executive Spotlight: Chris Chuang - Republic Wireless
Chris Chuang is our December Executive Spotlight. He is the co-founder and CEO of Republic Wireless. Heâs lived in North Carolina for over 13 years, moving from California, with his now wife and four kids.
Lessons Learned?
One of the most important lessons I've learned in my career is how dangerous (and easy) it is to mistake activity for achievement. That phrase comes from one of my favorite all-time basketball coaches (John Wooden), however, I've found it to be a powerful lesson in business and life as well. You and/ or your teams can be earnestly and incredibly busy (ie - full of activity), however, it's important to take a step back and really take a candid look at how well aligned your activities are to achieving your top priorities. Focusing your energies on the most important things sounds easy, but, is really hard to do when it's masked by general business.
What led you to here?
Laker loving California kid...went to Stanford...worked within a 5 mile radius of Stanford (McKinsey then Technology Crossover Ventures). Invested in a Durham company called Motricity, joined them a few months later to lead Strategic Development and help raise nearly $500M and acquired 3 companies with that money, before Motricity went IPO and reached a billion dollar market cap. Didn't want to relocate family to Seattle, and by the grace of God found Bandwidth (which turned out to be the best move of my career). Now CEO of Republic Wireless, after it spun out of Bandwidth 1 year ago.
How would you explain Republic Wireless to someone who has never heard of you?
*We're on a mission to provide remarkably simple and affordable ways for people to truly connect.
*We serve hundreds of thousands of customers across the country, saving them hundreds of millions of dollars off their cell phone bills
*We are quietly one of the largest private companies in the Triangle with annual revenue in the $100M neighborhood.
What is the next big project you are working on? Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
As we recently just announced, Republic Wireless is expanding its mission to take on the problem of smartphones (and screen time in general) dominating family's time and attention. To this end, we will be launching 2 new products (Relay and AnywhereHQ) which are "voice-first" interfaces without screens (a la Amazon Echo and Google Home) early next year. Relay in particular is aimed at giving 25 million children in the U.S., between the ages of 6 and 11, a safe and fun way to stay connected with their parents and friends, even when they are not physically near them.
What gets you going in the morning and what keeps you up at night?
What gets me going in the morning: My family, my Savior Jesus Christ, and the awesome team I humbled to lead everyday at work.
What keeps me up at night: I don't lose sleep over anything at work (because of the peace and foundation my family and my God give me). That said, I do "lose hours of sleep" staying up late many nights to watch the Lakers play on the West Coast
What advice would you give to students interested in pursuing careers in STEM?: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
WORK HARD, PLAY HARD Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Hobbies?
I love basketball in nearly every form (watching NBA, watching college, coaching my kids in various leagues, and of course playing myself at NC State's Carmichael Gym during our company sponsored lunch workout times).
I'm also a big time foodie (along with my wife). I will try just about anything at least once, love everything from fancy places to hole-in-a-walls, and also enjoy cooking myself as well (I specialize in making bone broths and smoked briskets...to give you a sense of my diverse food interests).
Favorite television shows?
My wife and l love to watch TV shows together and we have many favorites (Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Stranger Things, and more).
That said, I'd have to say our current favorite is This Is Us. It just resonates so much with where we are in life right now (with 4 young kids) and for some reason my eyes almost always have an allergic watery reaction every time we watch the show.
What do you love about North Carolina? Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
I love living and working in NC for a few reasons, but, perhaps the top reason is: The general focus and prioritization of family and being a good parent to your kids. This may sound mundane to some, but, in my experience living along the West and East coasts, it's actually pretty rare to find and impactful when you do. I would not be as good a father (nor perhaps have as many kids as we do) if we still lived in California.
What do most people not know about you that would surprise them?
I'm an Asian American guy who is completely in love with (and well versed in) Southern BBQ. Not sure NC BBQ, but, we're talking Texas (brisket), sauces from all over the country, and more.
I've got a Big Green Egg and I know how to use it :)
Have an executive in mind for our next Executive Spotlight? Contact Rachel Kennedy.
One Source Communications, founded in 1996, provides end-to-end management and support of all aspects of your business communications through our managed Communications Lifecycle Management and IT Services. This fully managed approach empowers you to focus on your customer and revenue-generating activities. Let One Source craft a suite of offerings specifically tailored to your business needs.
One Source's operations center is located in Greenville, NC which houses all 150 employees that are dedicated to supporting our customers. Additionally, One Source has a sales presence scattered throughout the country.
One Source currently employs 150 telecom professionals with plans to grow as business dictates.
Why North Carolina?
One Source was founded by an ECU Alumni, so we started 21 years ago here in Greenville. North Carolina has a friendly business culture and a pool of motivated and qualified employees.
Corporate Culture?
Dedicated, Fun, Diverse
What makes you stand out?
One Source has a focus on values like Servant Leadership and Quality of Life which drive our culture daily. Obviously, our people make the difference but we offer a fairly unique product in our Communications Lifecycle Management with the people and processes to support it.
We also have a beautiful facility in Greenville, with an on-site gym with locker rooms, 3 full kitchen spaces, lounge area with ping pong and foosball, a family room with couches and TV, and large conference room that can easily seat 70.
How is new technology affecting your business?
The trend in Telecom, like many industries currently, is consolidation. This is leaving customers with fewer product options, higher costs, and degrading customer service experience. Fortunately, One Source can navigate through these with Communications Lifecycle Management.
Cool Technologies?
We added an IT Services team 3 years ago, which offers traditional IT Services in tandem with our Communications Lifecycle Management of telecom. This yields a unique opportunity to fully understand the communications landscape for consulting, project planning, and help desk support.
How can someone reach you?
One Source is active on the company LinkedIn Page, located at https://www.linkedin.com/company/one-source-communications/.
Any additional questions can be sent to [email protected] or by calling Adam Zipf at 252-317-3355.
Want to be our next NCTA Member Spotlight? Contact Rachel Kennedy today.
Fahrenheit, founded in 2010, focuses in three practice areas - Accounting and Finance, Business Advisory, and Talent Acquisition, including fractional, interim, project consulting, and direct hire services.
Fahrenheit is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. We also have offices in Raleigh/Durham and Phoenix. Our Raleigh/Durham office is located halfway between Raleigh and Durham and serves all of the Carolinas. In addition, we have resources situated in other states.
Company-wide we have approximately 80 employees that currently work with Fahrenheit; six are in the Raleigh/Durham area. We are looking to double our staff in Raleigh/Durham over the next 12 months.
Fahrenheitâs Corporate Culture:
Entrepreneurial, Flexible, Fun
Fun Factions about Fahrenheit?
We bring clients experienced, hands-on professionals who have "been there and done that," in a configuration that meets the problems our clients are seeking to solve or in helping them take their organization to the next level. What makes our business unique is that we are creating a firm with a culture that embraces a team approach to serve our clients. We have expertise across the spectrum that we can pull from with a team of CFO's, controllers, business advisory professionals, and former CEO's. To foster this culture and team approach we host monthly team meetings, happy hours, networking events, and community events.
Technology Trends and how you deal with them?
As technology has become more prevalent and software-as-a-service for accounting and back office functions are improving, we are helping our clients implement the technology, automate processes, and get better data to help them run their business and make decisions.
Obstacles and Challenges?
Our greatest obstacle has been finding talent at the different skill sets that are not only good at what they do, but can also be consultants. The need in the marketplace is so great, that it is a constant balancing act judging where the hiring edge is so that we are hiring just on the curve, not ahead of it. While this is a challenge, we have excelled at finding the right balance for our organization, as well as the right mix of talent to serve our client's needs.
Cool or interesting technologies?
We use a voice-over-IP system in creative ways to generate a culture of community and help bring together a workforce that works mostly remote. This technology includes video sharing, a mobile app, and instant messaging. We also utilize a web-based CRM system and a cutting-edge applicant tracking system for our search and professional recruiting practice.
Recent Awards?
Fahrenheit has been voted a "Best Places to Work" in Virginia for the past four years in a row by Virginia Business magazine. We are also a finalist for ChamberRVA's Impact Award this year (the winner will be announced November 15th). Our goal is to bring this same culture and recognition to our Raleigh/Durham office.
What does the future hold?
We are looking towards continued expansion through the Carolinas, both by increasing the number of consultants and opening additional offices.
Website highlights and upcoming events?
Our website (www.thefahrenheitgroup.com) has an Insights section where we publish a tremendous amount of expert content, written by our consultants, to help small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as privately-held and family-owned businesses, run their businesses more effectively (https://thefahrenheitgroup.com/insights/). We are sponsoring a CED Event featuring Lighthouse Labs November 7th in Cary, North Carolina (https://thefahrenheitgroup.com/news/fahrenheit-sponsors-ced-event/).
Contact Fahrenheit:
We have a website www.thefahrenheitgroup.com. There is a "Contact Us" section on our website and emails sent through the website will be answered promptly.
Executive Spotlight: Jay Blandford, Sageworks President
Jay Blandford, President at Sageworks, is our Executive Spotlight for November. We recently interviewed him on his personal and professional life.Â
Jay is from Bloomington, Indiana and attended Marquette University. He has lived in North Carolina for 9 years now, drawn to the area with a position at Parata Systems in Durham. He and his wife Julie have three children - Willem (16), Colin (14) and Marjorie (10).
Lessons Learned?
If you optimize the performance conditions of your company, the talent will come and stay. Great talent in a sub-optimal environment will not deliver sustained excellence.
Describe your company to someone who has never heard of Sageworks:
We are a mission-directed company that was founded to help small businesses win. We take complex financial data and simplify it for action. We are a fast-growing company that has a maniacal focus on customers.
Personal Attributes that Help in Business?
Honesty- being who you are is incredibly important.
Sageworks Corporate Culture?
Driven, personal accountability, meritocracy.
Advice to students interested in pursuing careers in STEM?
The future is very bright for people possessing these skills. Follow something you are passionate about.
Personal mantra?
Trust but verify.
Hobbies?
My wife and I love to antique and tag sale. Additionally, at this point in my life, Iâm a soccer/tennis/sports parent.
Favorite thing about living and working in NC?
The people. They value family and are sincere.
Favorite Vacation Spot?
Rural Connecticut â getting outdoors.
Bucket List Item?
Visit all of the Disneyland parks around the world.
Surprising fact about yourself?
I like to antique.
If you are interested in becoming our next Executive Spotlight, please contact Rachel Kennedy.
On September 22, NCTA hosted its first Women In Tech conversation in Charlotte at the Wells Fargo Auditorium at the Knight Theater. More than 200 attended to listen to Jendy Burchfield with ISACA share findings from their recent study, Connecting Women In Tech, as well as panelists Haley Bohon (SkillPop), Terri OâLeary (Wyndham Capital Mortgage), Anuja Ratanakye (Duke Energy) and Dr. Tiffani Williams (Northeastern University) share their insights and experiences throughout their careers. The discussion was lively, engaging, edgy and honest which provided great insight for the audience.Â
With the incredible turnout and positive feedback, NCTA is excited about continuing the Women In Tech conversation in Charlotte in the spring which will explore different angles of Women in Tech. We are currently working with partner organizations to bring this to fruition, so stay tuned.  We would like to thank our sponsors â Skookum, Wells Fargo, Brighthouse Financial and AvidXchange â for their commitment to diversity and inclusion and making this event possible.Â
The meeting generated a great deal of âbuzzâ on twitter. Below are some notable tweets from our audience!
CloudKoalaâ @cloudkoalatech
Enjoyed Friday's Women in Tech panel! DYK that NC ranks #1 for % of women making up its tech workforce? (36.3%) #womenrising @nctaezen
TWEET: Taylor Driesellâ @TaylorDriesell
"If you can't say no then your yes has little meaning. Find mentors, set boundaries, & trust your gut." #thankyou #WomenRising @womenintech
TWEET: Marisaâ @ris_akers
In a room of #womenintech, I love the laughter. We're talented & feisty, the shared experience is electric â¤ď¸@NCTA @Skookum #WomenRising
TWEET: Stephanie Suberâ @elphabablue
Jendy Burchfield starting the #womenrising panel in #CLT w/ scary stats. We can change them! @ISACANews #SheLeadsTech
Ana Rosalesâ @AnaRosa07002319 Â Sep 22
#womenrising #ncta compelling reasons to get women engaged in technology
Started in 2013, RadixBay delivers world-class Business IT Consulting and IT Support Solutions using a new approach that breaks the outdated and stale IT delivery model. The RadixBay model utilizes Rural Development Centers (located in Rural NC), coupled with Onsite and Offshore consulting to deliver more efficient and cost effective solutions for our clients. This approach delivers high-touch, high-quality results and is aligned with our goal of creating jobs in rural North Carolina.
How many RadixBay locations do you have?
RadixBay is passionately driven to make NC a better place to live, learn and develop a long fulfilling IT career. RadixBay is based in Charlotte, NC and has a Rural Based Development and Support Center located in Tabor City, NC. It starts with RadixBay working with U.S. Veteran placement services along with NC & SC based schools: UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington, Southeastern Community College, Sandhills Community College, Coastal Carolina & Horry Georgetown Technical College. RadixBay identifies, hires, trains these aspiring IT professionals and centrally manages them from the RadixBay Rural Development Center in Tabor City, NC. By RadixBay having the strong commitment to Rural NC, those aspiring IT professionals in Eastern NC will have a platform and foundation for a career in IT consulting.
Why North Carolina?
The continued support from the various organizations - the State, NCTA, NC based organizations - all have been very supportive in our quest to change the IT consulting model by developing and leveraging Rural IT consulting talent.
Corporate Culture: Innovative, Impactful, Fun
What Makes You Stand Out?
The RadixBay model utilizes Rural Development Centers (located in Rural NC)
Adapting to New Technology Trends
Security, Quality, Social, Political, Regulatory trends have increased the interest in our Rural delivery capabilities. Our Rural Operation is US based and provides an "offshore alternative" approach.
Challenges and Obstacles:
Finding and developing talent in Rural NC. We are overcoming this challenge by working with U.S. Veteran placement services along with NC & SC based schools: UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington, Southeastern Community College, Sandhills Community College, Coastal Carolina & Horry Georgetown Technical College. RadixBay identifies, hires, trains these aspiring IT professionals and centrally manages them from the RadixBay Rural Development Center in Tabor City, NC.
Whatâs Cool?
We work with various technologies - the most interesting are around Business Intelligence and Analytics.
Recent Awards:
2016 NCTA - Corporate Impact
2016 Best Places to Work
Future Plans:
We believe that RadixBay will help change how technology projects and support services are delivered by growing our NC based Rural operations. We believe the future is bright and promising for our company and clients.
Dais X provides business transformation, marketing and technology services to clients. It operates three business units â Dais Consult, Dais Ignite and Dais Digital â that empower businesses to drive innovation, optimization and growth, helping them gain a competitive advantage to succeed in an increasingly digital world. They are headquartered in Greensboro, NC at Revolution Mill.
Why North Carolina?
North Carolina is home to two of the fastest growing MSAs in the United States, as well many other fast growing secondary markets. We are also fortunate to have some of the finest college and universities here in North Carolina.
There is a tremendous amount of corporate growth and expansion happening and projected for our state, and we look forward to helping all of those businesses leverage technology to reach their growth potential.
Corporate Culture?
Fun, fast-paced & inclusive.
What makes your business stand out?
Our Summer Associates interns built robots and learned code to control their robot's actions on their second week at Dais. It was fun for the entire team.
In addition- even Jr members of our team participate in high level planning sessions - both for our clients and for our company. Everyone feels part of the team here and has a voice.
How has your company dealt with new technology trends?
Dais was founded to help businesses deal with complex IT challenges and gain a competitive edge in an ever changing marketplace. So staying on top of trends is a big part of what we do. Our team spends quite a bit of time updating market research for our various practice areas.
In the retail sector, for instance, we are focused on improving customer experience which we believe starts with data analytics, supply chain and related technologies.
In the financial services sector, we are writing algorithms that help asset managers better forecast the spread on arbitrage.
For other clients, our dev team takes on large complex projects to design and build platforms to better support our client's internal needs/ better serve their customers, or our IT consultants works with companies on selection and integration of technologies, i.e. POS, DMP, DSP, cloud applications, etc.
What are your greatest challenges and how do you face them?
We are a very new company and (presently) entirely self-funded by our Founder and CEO. This means every penny counts. This has presented some challenges because we do very little marketing, only a percentage based on revenue that's in the bank. Fortunately, however, we have had good success winning new business based on past relationships and performance. And we plan to scale accordingly.
In addition, we do not advertise our client wins or speak much about the work we are doing for them. We are looking for ways to better communicate value we provide our clients without it impacting the competitive advantage gained from the strategies and technologies we are developing for our customers.
Cool technologies?
¡       The integration of DMP and DSP to drive clients marketing is fascinating.
¡       Using data science to help clients and their tech make better predictive and cognitive decisions.
Recent Awards?
We just launched in April. Hopefully recognition and awards will come from the value we're providing our clients. Many of the "fastest growing company" awards are for companies that have 3 yrs of financial history.
Whatâs in the future?
Growth and Innovation. We will always be a service company first, but we do have several products in development that we feel have licensing opportunity.
Dais X Contact Information:
1250 Revolution Mill Drive
Suite 228
Greensboro NC 27405
Amy Phillips is the IT Director, Cost Reduction at Corning Incorporated, an NCTA member company. Amy lived in Hickory, NC for 4 years before moving to Wilmington to take a new role with Corning. She has a husband of 30 years, 3 adult children (one boy and 2 girls - girls are both married), and one grandson.
Amy loves living in North Carolina for several reasons; the people are friendly, the geography allows you to go from beach to mountain in a matter of a few hours and the warmer weather extends outdoor activities. My favorite thing about working in North Carolina is access to the NCTA organization. I hope people appreciate the professional and personal community NCTA creates while helping to enable businesses in the technology sector.
After 28 years with Corning, these are Amyâs key takeaway lessons:
There are and always will be highs and lows. This is true financially, organizationally and throughout key initiatives. You have to be the constant, the cheerleader, the believer that we can make it through together. Your most valuable asset in business is people. How you treat people both in good time and difficult times shows your character and either makes you a valuable asset to the company or a great liability.
Three Things to Know About Corning
¡ Corning is an American-based company that focuses on specialty glass, ceramics and optical physics. We are known for our innovations from creating the bulb-shaped glass encasement for Thomas Edisonâs new incandescent lamp in 1879 to developing the first low loss Optical Fiber in 1970.
¡ Our Pyrex glass has made its way into laboratories and kitchens around the world and Gorilla glass protects many of the handheld mobile phones and tablets we use every day.
¡ Recently Corning, Merck and Pfizer have joined forces to create pharmaceutical glass packaging, bringing manufacturing to the US in an industry that has been 98% overseas.
Amyâs Greatest Achievement
I consider my greatest achievement to be balancing my career and family; although this was a team effort and not an individual event. My husband has been very supportive of my career and a true partner. When we were first starting a family, we had an important conversation to determine which of us would focus on a career while the other person would let their career take a back seat to be more available for family. We agreed that I would focus on my career. That doesnât mean that I didnât make every effort to attend soccer games, swim meets and parent-teacher conferences. It helped to set priorities in the house. 30 years later, my husband has his own thriving business, our children are educated, responsible adults and we have many fun-filled family memories. In addition, Iâve been enjoying a wonderful career creating IT systems to support manufacturing and supply chain, leading organizations and growing leaders through-out the company and across several continents. Having balance in my life has taken work, but it has been well worth it.
The Next Big Thing?
I recently took a new role to help realize the CIOâs strategy of reducing cost for the purpose of reinvesting in new capabilities and technologies. This initiative uses my skills of strategy, influencing, financial acumen and relationships. We have several process and mindset changes that we need to make and Iâm excited to motivate the teams through this change.
What keeps Amy motivated? Â Â Â Â Â
Adding value and making a positive impact on others is what gets me up in the morning and keeps me going at night. I am most energized when I am helping someone solve a professional or personal problem.
Advice to students pursuing a career in STEM?
STEM opens the doors to many interesting job and opportunities. People may have the impression that if they focus on the technical studies, they will find themselves working in front of a computer all day, every day. It may turn people away from technical roles. Iâve found that the many successful technical people have great communication and relationship building skills and spend a majority of their time interacting with others. If you enjoy solving problems, engineering or math and you are social as well, you can find jobs that use all your skills in interesting and exciting ways.
Fun Facts
Personal Mantra: Less is more
Hobbies: Kayaking, hiking and since I have moved to North Carolina, I have taken up 4-wheeling both in a Jeep and on ATVâs.
Books: Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. The book provides relatable stories based on research; focusing on understanding and improving 8 areas: Motivation, Teams, Focus, Goal Setting, Managing Others, Decision Making, Innovation and Absorbing Data. Â
Bucket List? I had âRunning a Tough Mudderâ on my bucket list; however, I was able to accomplish that in 2014 with the help of my children! What a great memory, but talk about hard work both training for and participating in the event. Next on my list would be planning a cross-country trip to visit National Parks and key tourist areas across the United States. Work has allowed me to see several other countries, but I havenât spent enough time exploring the US.
Guilty Pleasure? Vanilla latte and Oreo (double stuff) cookies!
Would you liked to be included in our next Executive or Member Spotlight? Contact Rachel Kennedy to learn more.
The American Lung Association is leading the way in helping all Americans breathe easier. Thanks to our donors, volunteers, program and event participants, and staff, we are Americaâs trusted source for lung health education, lung disease research, support, programs, services and advocacy.
The American Lung Association has two offices in North Carolina; one in Raleigh and one in Charlotte. These two offices serve the population of North Carolina through educational programs and services, research, and advocacy. Â Local programs include asthma education for youth and support groups for individuals with lung disease.
In the state of North Carolina, there are currently two employees. The organization plans to expand to a statewide staff of nine individuals over the next five years.
What do you love about NC? The people, culture, and Carolina BBQ.
Fun Facts?
¡       We are the oldest voluntary health organization in the United States.
¡       We serve all breathing individuals.
¡       1959: Dr. Mary Ellen Avery, a grantee, discovered that the lungs of babies with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) lack the fatty substance, surfactant. This finding led to ways to treat RDS and itâs estimated that more than 800,000 babiesâ lives have been saved since then. For her continued investigative work in this field Dr. Avery was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1991.
¡       In 2016, we funded $6.49M in research.
¡       Created new tools to help the 5.4M kids with asthma carry their own medication to school and learn in asthma friendly environments.
Whatâs cool?
Saved By The Scan: Our current campaign, Saved by the Scan is all about using technology to detect lung cancer.
A low-dose CT scan is a special kind of X-ray that takes multiple pictures as you lie on a table that slides in and out of the machine. A computer then combines these images into a detailed picture of your lungs.
A study on early detection of lung cancer found that only the low-dose CT scan can reduce mortality for those at high risk. If youâre a current or former smoker over the age of 55, you could be at risk.
Whatâs next?
Great things! As of July 1, 2017, the American Lung Association united as one nationwide organization. This move was a result of the Lung Association's commitment to double its mission impact, research investment and public support to save more lives and improve lung health. As we move forward as one nationwide organization, we will be able to better expand the organization's ability to fund mission where there is the greatest need, grow our staff and invest in greater relationships with our volunteers and donors. As a result, we will be able to grow our presence and impact in communities across the nation and save more lives.
Get Involved
The American Lung Association will host its annual Fight For Air Climb in April 2018. This fun and unique event engages businesses, community members, and firefighters in a challenge to reach the top of the Wells Fargo Capitol Center by climbing the steps of all 30 floors.
Participants fundraise to support lung disease research, education, and patient services. Your participation could lead the next big lung disease discovery. Step Up to the Challenge and Climb with us. Keep checking our event website and Facebook for the latest Climb News. www.ClimbRaleigh.org. facebook.com/LungRDU
We are always looking for voLUNGteer leaders to join our team.
YOU = Life Saver. Without lungs, we cannot breathe. Without breath, we cannot live. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer, please contact us.
If you are interested in being featured in our member spotlight, please contact Rachel Kennedy.
Currently, Massey Consulting is headquartered in Raleigh, NC. All of our full-time employees are based in North Carolina. Accounting software is the specialty of Massey Consulting. Our consultants boast a wealth of practical field experience gained as controllers, accountants, and information system professionals in a wide range of business environments. We are certified, recognized experts in each of the software solutions we offer. As Massey Consultingâs customer base continued to grow, there grew a need for additional staff members. The diversification of the staff with key millennial hires in the consulting and marketing areas have rounded out the departments. With the additional hires, Massey's team of seven will continue to grow over the foreseeable future.
Massey Consulting is very proud to be the premier accounting software resource/expert in North Carolina but we are even more proud of the great North Carolina companies that we have helped to be more efficient, effective, and profitable such as Carolina Hurricanes, Legacy Healthcare, Webassign, and Planet Fitness of Eastern North Carolina. North Carolina is home to our employees and over 70% of our customers. We are invested in continuing to invest our communities.
Did you know? Between all Massey Consulting employees, we have 19 pets including cats, dogs, and chickens.
Obstacles? Brand recognition continues to be a challenge with a small consulting firm within Raleigh. The exceptional work Massey Consulting has done on behalf of our customers and software publishing companies has lead to new sales opportunities through referrals. Additionally, the hiring of a full time marketing person will allow Massey Consulting to better address awareness, branding, demand generation, business development, and online presence â and increase new business opportunities.
Cool factor? Massey Consulting has created and launched an integration application called mConnect. With mConnect, you can easily synchrionize information between your ERP solution and ConnectWise PSA-- in real time or on a schedule.
Recent accolades? Over the past 12 months, Massey Consulting has achieved Intacctâs Presidentâs Club three out of the past four years, Intacct Premier Partner since 2013, Microsoft Gold Partner since 2008, named one of Bob Scottâs VAR stars in 2015 and 2016, and a marketing award from Intacct. Massey Consulting was named one of the top 10 VARs to watch by national publication Accounting Technology in their top 100 VARs release for 2017.
Join Massey Consulting for their September Cloud Bytes session on Going Paperless!
http://www.masseyconsulting.net/events/cloud-bytes-going-paperless/
The best way to get in touch with Massey Consulting is through the below contact page.
http://www.masseyconsulting.net/contact-us/
Also, connect with Massey through Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Interested in becoming a feature on our member spotlight? Contact Rachel Kennedy.Â
NCTA Guest Blog: Turning the Odds for Innovation in Your Favor
Rob Mann, Vice President, Growth and Innovation, North Highland
Itâs no secret that innovation is critical to growth. And for a state like North Carolina, 8th among all states in advanced industry job growth, technological innovation is vital to remaining a major business hub in the South.
In May, I joined other North Carolina business and technology leaders at the North Carolina Technology Associationâs flagship tech conference. I had the privilege of participating in a panel entitled Getting to Market Faster â How to Accelerate Innovation. I was joined on the panel by Joe Bastante, CTO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Katherine Manuel, SVP of Innovation at Thomson Reuters, and Patrick Turner, CTO of Small Footprint.
We discussed a variety of topics focused on nurturing practical innovation in North Carolina. From a panel of leaders across industries, a few key takeaways stood out to help businesses keep up with the rate of growth and technological advancements weâre seeing throughout the region.
Think beyond the walls of the business.
The cloud makes resources readily available, regardless of the size of your business. Look for opportunities to leverage it in our API economy by encouraging new forms of practical open innovation and immersive experiences â such as tours, idea jams, scouting events â beyond the traditional confines of your business. Inviting others in to help, even those who donât work in tech, will help build stronger products and platforms. Going beyond your business also introduces creative possibilities and the potential for unique problem-solving capabilities. We already see this happening in the regionâs financial technology space, and should look to grow such openings.Â
Monetize innovative opportunities.
I spoke about the concept of co-creation, and other panelists agreed that thereâs value in utilizing an existing consumer base, or an influencer within that consumer base, to innovate new products, businesses and ideas. The advantage here lies both in innovation and economic advantages. Take, for example, Style Saint â Allison Beal created a business that pulls in the style ideas of customers and social influencers (the SaintSociety) to design the clothes they sell, allowing customers to be designers. This isnât just innovative â itâs also a smart business strategy that cuts down on costs while maintaining a loyal audience. We need to innovate to help support newer, and often more cost-efficient, business models.
Build a corporate culture of innovation.
Perhaps the most important thing we can do to encourage innovation is build it into the business environment within which our employees and leaders operate. I mentioned working and embedding innovation into your operating model. It gives your company focus and consistency, but it also gives employees the permission to spend part of their time thinking, discovering and problem-solving outside of their daily responsibilities. These are the opportunities that lead to innovation within our businesses, and we must give our employees the time to think through these challenges.
We also shouldnât limit who gets to innovate â Joe Bastante noted that we need to build bridges between tech teams and broader teams to foster good relationships. These partnerships encourage employees to identify commonalities and bring fresh thinking to their work â the âseedsâ of innovation. Technology is advancing faster than weâre able to innovate. Bringing together individuals with various backgrounds, knowledge areas and skillsets is ultimately better for growth.
Innovation is often the result of serendipity, but it doesnât happen in a vacuum. As business leaders, we can skew serendipity and turn the odds in our favor by allowing our businesses and teammates to immerse in innovation environments and collaborations. In doing so, the time to develop innovations and solutions will ultimately accelerate growth and yield higher returns on innovation efforts in North Carolina. Â
Rob Mann, VP, Growth & Innovation Lead
Rob is a Vice President with North Highland's Strategy group where he focuses on growth, innovation and Performance Improvement. Rob has deep expertise in growth and innovation, CX, product design/development, and operating model improvements. He has 25 years of consulting experience in the US, Canada and Latin America, the Middle East, UK/Europe, the Caribbean, Greater China and the APAC region. He also teaches Growth, Innovation and Market Entry Strategy to executives and MBA students at the Wharton School.
If you are interested in submitting a guest blog for NCTA, contact Rachel Kennedy.
NCTA Guest Blog: Technology is Evolving, Tech Jobs Need to Evolve, Too
Steve Stover, VP of Product, Samanage
Technology innovations like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are on the rise. As these innovations become more widespread and come together in ways that amplify their impact, many worry about the potential impact on jobs and the economy.
 Tech workers bring a valuable set of specialized skills and shouldnât be concerned about losing their jobs to these technologies, but they should be actively thinking about how these innovations are reshaping their work. Innovative technologies empower tech employees to work smarter and focus on more complex, proactive projects that have greater impact on business objectives.
 Businesses are rapidly adopting these innovative technologies. A 2016 survey of business leaders indicated 38% of enterprises are already using AI technologies and 62% will use AI technologies by 2018. That same study revealed that 80 percent of executives believe artificial intelligence improves worker performance and creates jobs. With technology transformation happening at this rate, tech workers need to ask themselves now how they can add value in their current environment while simultaneously evolving their role to prepare for the workplace that will exist in five years.
 Prepare for the Tech Positions of the Future
Despite the uncertainty that comes with rapid change, this an exciting time for those who work on IT teams and in other technology-based roles. IT professionals have the opportunity to work with a wide mix of emerging technologies and to implement solutions that streamline their organizations.
 As new technologies are put in place, tech workers must stay nimble and forward-looking. They should view retraining themselves as an ongoing part of their job, because it will be necessary if they want to succeed in a rapidly evolving technology landscape. Solutions are already being put into place that allow simple tasks, like resetting a password or routing an IT ticket, to be done automatically by the software. And the future will bring further advancements, including virtual assistants fueled by AI that address a much broader range of tasks. These evolutions will free tech workers up to spend more of their time on complex projects.
 Early Adopters Will Win
 Change is inevitable. And the speed at which new technologies are being introduced and spread across departments makes those who can train others on them increasingly valuable and highly visible within their organizations.
 As new technologies are put into place, the early adopters who embrace them will be best able to leverage the change to make themselves and their organizations more successful.
 Know Your Business Value
 IT teams contribute significant business value and drive opportunity at their organizations. Technology is changing, but the core purpose of IT remains the same and workers should remain focused on contributing to the business versus getting overly caught up in emerging trends and tools. When IT does their job successfully, every other employee is able to do his or her job better, too, from the sales representative giving a demo to the HR leader onboarding a new employee. The responsibility to quantify and communicate this value to the organization doesnât just fall to CIOs and leadership anymore.
 As more technologies are introduced that can do work previously done by humans, it is increasingly important that tech workers not focus solely on their technical acumen, but also increase the strategic value of their role. Every tech worker seeking to grow his or her role must work to understand business objectives and identify the best ways IT can meet those objectives. Skills like engaging with other teams to identify needs and clearly communicating solutions will also be very important.
 When used effectively, new technologies present a win-win-win for employees, organizations and their customers. Most tech workers prefer to spend their days on complex projects that drive the business forward, not on break-fix requests. Likewise, customers who have simple requests certainly prefer to receive an immediate response without having a conversation. Streamlining processes through AI, ML and other new technologies frees employees up for more strategic work while introducing faster resolution times and higher customer satisfaction.
 When simple issues are quickly resolved without human assistance and complex issues are being proactively addressed by skilled workers augmented with new technology, organizations are in the best possible position to drive their business forward.
If you would like to submit an NCTA guest blog, please contact Rachel Kennedy.
NCTA interviewed Teaching Garageâs founder, Janice Lanthrop for our August Member Spotlight. Keep reading to learn more about this exciting NC start-up company.
Teaching Garage creates tools to inspire the next generation of innovators. Its first product, Design SySTEM, is the first digital engineering curriculum for elementary schools focused on innovation, iteration, collaboration, and the Engineering Design Process by way of introducing different fields of engineering to young learners.
The company works with schools across the U.S. (e.g., Silicon Valley, Boston, NYC, rural WA, and more).
Teaching Garage has recently expanded into North Carolina (and is now headquartered in Raleigh), and is currently in conversations with local schools and district leaders about effective tools and professional development services that would bring innovation-based STEM education into NC elementary schools.
What do you love about doing business in NC? It's clear that educators in NC are deeply committed to serving both the academic and socio-emotional developments of all students. I frequently have the opportunity to share the passion to make an impact on students' lives with educators, parents, engineers, and business leaders, which demonstrates the desires and efforts to use cross-industry collaboration and cooperation to best prepare our students for the modern workforce.
Fun Facts about Teaching Garage: Teaching Garage hosted a star-studded Innovation in Education conference in 2015 with the vision to spur cross-industry discussion and collaboration in the effort to innovate within traditional education.Â
The conference featured former NYC Chancellor of Education, Joel Klein. Additional speakers included Ellen Bialo, Founder & President of Interactive Educational Systems Design, Richard Achee (Strategic Partner Manager at Google for Education), Scott Kinney (Senior Vice President at Discovery Education), Kobi Yamada (best-selling author and CEO of Compendium), Andrew Arenge (NBC Education Nation), Adam Fried (Superintendent of Harrington Park School District, NJ), Christopher Lohse (Vice President of Government Affairs at Renaissance Learning), Lisa Nielsen (Director of Digital Engagement and Professional Learning, Division of Instructional and Information Technology at NYC Department of Education), Alex Torpey (Former Mayor of South Orange, NJ), Stephanie Lo (Director of Programs at TED-Ed), and Janice Lathrop (Teaching Garage), Jeanette Duffy (Cause Platforms Manager at UNICEF Ventures), and Jae Gardner (Founder and CEO of The Ivy Key).
Teaching Garage stands out as an education startup in that it is deliberate about fostering discussion between stakeholders from different sectors to spur the most creative and effective ideas that would truly innovate in education.
Corporate Culture? Although I am the only full-time employee at Teaching Garage, I work with teachers, administrators, contractors, and partners who share the vision of empowering students of all backgrounds to innovate, problem-solve, and self-advocate towards the future they want to create. As the company grows, I plan to help foster a culture where unique personal strengths and ways of thinking are not only embraced, but also expressed through the tools to innovate.
Greatest Obstacles and How to Overcome? One of the greatest challenges in working in education is that it's hard to compete with the larger and more established vendors and publishers that schools are already aware of and using, even if the startup has created something incredibly valuable for the classroom. Through the help of many colleagues and mentors in education, I've prepared Teaching Garage to be in the education marketplace in the long-run by taking the time to present at conferences and speak with principals, teachers, superintendents, parents, potentially partners about the work Teaching Garage is doing in order to organically get the word out that Teaching Garage exists, and it's doing something important for schools
Recent Awards?
Teaching Garage Awards
Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF) iHub Pitch Challenge Winner
Mass Challenge Semi-Finalist
TiE Boston Challenge Winner
Janice Lanthrop (Founder) Achievements:
Association of American Publishers On the Rise Award Honoree
School Board Member in NYC (starting in School Year 2017-2018)
Whatâs in store for Teaching Garage? Continue to create tools that will help teachers and schools both innovate the classroom and help give students the tools for innovation. I have plans to create additional publications, then venture into the VR space.
The best way is to email [email protected] or check out photos of student work on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/teachinggarage.
If you are interested in submitting a piece for our Member Spotlight, please contact Rachel Kennedy.
August Executive Spotlight Josh McKinney of Ekos Brewmaster
Josh McKinney is the CEO of Ekos Brewmaster. Â He is originally from Spruce Pine, NC and is a graduate of Appalachian University majoring in Computer Information Systems and Business Management. Â He is married to wife Lindsay, and has a daughter named Leighton (4) and a son, Olsen who is 1.5 years old.
What led you to your current role? âWe have always been fans of craft beverages and wanted to find a way to work in the industry. We already had our proprietary SaaS platform in place, ekos, but needed to find the best way for us to add the most value to the market. After multiple discussions with craft breweries in the Charlotte area we knew how we could provide the most value, a business management system. Since launching ekos _brewmaster in 2014 we are now the industry leader in providing cloud based management software to independent craft manufacturing businesses! Over the past 3 years we have had the opportunity to partner with almost 1,000 craft beverage producers, over 7,000 users located in over 30 countries, and quadruple the size of our team the past couple of months. With just a few clicks of a mouse or swipes of a mobile device, we have made it easy for users to organize, manage, and integrate information from every area of their operations, production, sales, and accounting teams into one easily accessible location. Our goal is to allow businesses to focus less on the paperwork and more on their craft, allowing them time to make more.â
What are lessons learned throughout your career to date? I think this can apply to both professional and personal life, but the biggest lesson Iâve learned is to âjust tryâ. Whether it be an idea for a new company, process, product, etc. At least take the first few steps to put something into motion to see if it might work or improve something that is already in place. Worst case scenario is that it turns out to be a horrible idea. But, at least then you know instead of constantly having an idea floating around in your head. After the failure make sure to review any lessons learned so that they can be applied to future successes. In the case of success, celebrate!
Personal Mantra: âTwenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didnât do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.â â Mark Twain
Greatest Career Achievement: Our companyâs greatest achievement so far has been accomplishing what we have in such a relatively short amount of time and on our own head of steam. Weâve built the best team, bar none, and they continue to amaze me daily with the drive and commitment to our customers that they have. I canât wait to see what we achieve together in the coming years.
Next Big Thing? While ekos_brewmaster is becoming an essential component for breweries, we are not done growing! We have plans to optimize the software for efficient use in cideries, wineries, and meaderies by the end of 2017. In 2018, we will be adding a customized platform for distilleries. By actively working in these markets, we will more than 3x our target market - allowing for exponential growth. With these new verticals on the horizon, we have plans to connect the entire craft beverage industry from the makers to the distributors and suppliers. Through every aspect of ekos, we ultimately hope to continue to help the craft industry make more.
Donât take myâŚ.? âMy phone would be the obvious answer but I really canât live without my Fitbit Surge. Iâm a data nerd so being able to know how I perform from one run or workout to another is key for me to improve personally.â
I just finished readingâŚ.? âCreativity, Inc by Ed Catmull and Tribes by Seth Godin. Both were great reads for getting the creative juices flowing for managing growth and marketing. Iâm currently reading The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni and Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. If itâs not obvious I do a lot of reading and listening to various podcasts for part of my personal development.â
On vacation, I like to goâŚ..? âto the mountains or the beach at various times during the year to enjoy the outdoors and get a different perspective than staring at my computer screen. If I am at the beach then I enjoy sitting in the sand or by the pool with a good book and cold beverage. If Iâm in the mountains then nothing beats sitting on the front porch with a hot cup of coffee overlooking the mountain tops in the morning or sitting by the fire at night.â
I love living in NC becauseâŚ.? Its proximity to the ocean and the mountains. Itâs great being able to drive a couple of hours east or west of Charlotte and getting a completely different view than the city.
My guilty pleasures areâŚ.? Charcuterie boards, great craft beer, and a good rye whiskey. As my team and wife know, a big board of meat and cheese along with a great flight of beer is the quickest way to my heart.
Digital engagement without a firm plan is like going to the grocery store without a listâyouâre likely to wind up with more items in your cart than you need. And what were you going to the store to buy in the first place?
This may sound like a simple concept, and it is, but many companies fail to understand the complexities of truly engaging customers in a digital space. Itâs not the same as a face-to-face or phone transaction. Your customers are very comfortable buying products and interacting in cyberspace. What they require is a frictionless way to find the product they need and buy them, or find answer to whatever questions they may have.
Customers want to transact in their way.
But many companies make that very difficult, creating barriers to a frictionless transaction. Every time I buy something online, I have to click past a screen asking whether I want their credit card. I didnât want the credit card the first time I saw the ad, or the one after that, and I donât want it now. Having to move past that screen yet again creates friction in the buying process.
A banking site I use keeps informing me I have new messagesâeven though I looked at the messages last time, and there are no new messages. And a credit card vendor thinks itâs perfectly OK to fill my screen with an ad, preventing me from transacting the business I came to the site to transact. Yes, itâs simple to click past the ad, but that action creates friction.
Buy and forget not the answer
Executives in banking and other industries have been looking for ways to reduce friction, moving from a back-end, full-service business executive to buying a solution geared toward their industry. And while thatâs a good first step, digital engagement is never a one-and-done solution.
The next step is to engage the customer to improve your digital satisfaction score. Unfortunately, though, many companies donât move beyond the digital engagement tool, whether itâs the app, the digital storefront or the transactional software. By not taking this critical, extra step, you risk alienating your customers.
How often do you shop at Amazon? Although the term wasnât around when the site was founded, Amazon gets digital engagement right. You know in advance how much you need to buy in order to get free shippingâthat is if youâre not a Prime member with all of the extra benefits. When you search, you get suggestions for ancillary products. Â And while you probably donât shop at Amazon every day, you darn well know that itâs there when you want it.
Harnessing the power of your new app or new website to create digital engagement is just as important as the app or the website itself. You need to have a plan, then you need to execute it effectively. Thatâs not a skillset that many smaller companies have in-house. You want a provider thatâs knowledgeable not only about your industry but also in digital engagement.
If youâre interested in submitting a guest blog for NCTA, please reach out to Rachel Kennedy.
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