CT Industry

• 07/01/08

:: NEWS

SECURING DONORS. The University of Florida Foundation (fundraising arm of the University of Florida) has turned to Enterasys Networks for identitybased policy enforcement, to protect private donor information and help security administrators comply with payment card industry and state of Florida regulations. The system will help IT security staff automate compliance, and operates seamlessly with existing multivendor networking equipment.

SPEEDY BACKUPS. Rio Hondo College (CA) is reporting a 50 percent reduction in its nightly backup window, thanks to a disk-based backup solution from ExaGrid Systems. ExaGrid combines backup compression along with data de-duplication, which stores changes from backup to backup instead of storing full file copies. Weekly full backups of Rio Hondo's servers now take 12 hours, and nightly differential backups have been reduced from eight to four hours.

PURCHASING POWER. Rice University (TX) has selected SciQuest's eProcurement solutions to support the school's online purchasing program. The SciQuest system will help the university streamline and electronically route orders from users for approval; consolidate purchasing power and negotiate more favorable contracts with vendors; and collect more detailed information about university spending.

STUDENT LOANS GO WEB 2.0. Web startup GreenNote has launched a social networkbased service that enables students to obtain low-cost student loans from family, friends, and others. To obtain a loan, a student uses GreenNote to create a profile and request loans from individuals in his or her social network. GreenNote then formalizes the agreement for students and lenders into legally binding loans and handles all the details, from loan documentation to repayment.

ONLINE HOUSING OFFICE. Baruch College (NY) has implemented Lifetopia Roommates and Lifetopia Housing, customized online roommate and housing solutions that will allow Baruch students to access their own centralized, online community to find prospective roommates and housing. "We can now attract students from a much larger geographic region—students who will no longer be so concerned about finding roommates and housing when considering Baruch," enthuses Ben Corpus, VP for student development & enrollment management and dean of students.

:: M&A, Etc.

JOINING FORCES FOR ADMISSIONS. Recruitment, enrollment, and retention solution provider Hobsons has acquired College Confidential, a web community for collegebound students and their parents. The site features information from experts, and forums where students and parents can discuss topics such as financial aid, test preparation, admissions, study abroad, and more.

MERGING EDUCATIONAL CONTENT. Cengage Learning, a provider of customized learning solutions, has acquired publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's College Division. The HM College assets will expand and complement the range of textbooks, study guides, custom publications, and digital solutions that Cengage Learning provides to professors and students in two- and four-year colleges and universities.

:: PEOPLE

SONIC EXEC. Sonic Foundry has appointed Robert Lipps as executive VP of sales. Lipps' background includes sales and channel management at Adaytum (now Cognos).

CHANGING OF THE GUARD. ViewCast has announced that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer George Platt will retire as the company's CEO, and will be succeeded by President and COO David Stoner. In addition, Stoner has been appointed to ViewCast's board of directors. Platt will remain chairman of the board.