By EMMA BARTLETT
Where to find the money to repair Budlong Pool has been a syllabu of discussion for the past several months after it was determined the pool would not open this year due to safety concerns. Councilwoman Aniece Germain put forth a resolution on July 25 to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to repair the facility. Council members unanimously approved the resolution, and Germain now plans to meet with the administration to discuss the best course of action.
“This resolution is a cry out from the residents,” said Germain, at the finance meeting on July 18 where the resolution was first introduced. “The pool is not only to allow people to cool off, it’s a place to help socialize and to get children out of their home and play.”
Germain said a lot of children in Cranston do not have the luxuries to go to beaches or have a pool in their backyard.
“With increasing temps in summer, it’s critically important that we take measures to offer residents places to cool off,” said Councilman John Donegan, at the July 18 meeting.
Chief of Staff Anthony Moretti said the administration suggested the use of the ARPA funds for the pool several months ago and was glad to see the council followed up on the idea. He added that the administration is happy to meet with Germain and that they will be contacting the proper authorities to determine if ARPA funds can be used for the Budlong Pool project.
The administration initially allocated $1.5 million to the Budlong Pool in the FY 2023 budget, however, the process of adding the line item was done incorrectly – resulting in its removal from the capital budget. In the meantime, the city applied for $2.8 million in grant funding in hopes of obtaining federal money for the pool. Moretti said Cranston received word from Senator Jack Reed that the grant passed through one of the Senate committees and has now gone to the Senate’s appropriations committee. He said there are a couple more steps required, but the request has past initial approval.
Budlong Pool has been closed for the past two years due to the pandemic, and Germain said when the pool did not open for the third year because of structural issues, she received a lot of emails and complaints from residents.
Germain said she is against tearing down the facility, saying that it has potential. She compared the pool to a foreclosed house, where individuals are able to fix it to make it operational again. She advocates for using $2 million from ARPA to fix the pool. Should the city receive the $2.8 million in federal funding, she’d like to see the money go toward recreational activities at the Budlong facility; this includes resurfacing the basketball court and adding a fitness space for older people and individuals who may not be able to afford a gym membership. Overall, this would all be part of a greater discussion on what is best for the city’s residents.
The city’s residents have had their voices heard on how the city should use the ARPA funds, including two public workshops, a survey created by Councilwomen Lammis Vargas and Nicole Renzulli created and administered by the Cranston Public Library and a poll conducted by EMC Research Inc.
The survey created by Vargas and Renzulli had advocates for Budlong Pool. Of the survey’s 1241 respondents, 337 individuals gave specific ideas for ARPA funds usages; the top responses concerned Parks & Recreation/Sports/Open Spaces. Of those, there were 80 responses to improving public spaces including improving parks and sports fields, better public access to fields and more parks and open spaces. The top themes were an indoor sports and recreation center/sports complex (25 responses), purchasing land for open spaces (seven responses) and reopening the Budlong Pool (eight responses).
At July’s finance meeting, council members added to Germain’s idea.
Councilman Matt Reilly suggested not only bringing the pool back, but making it a bigger destination for residents. He said over the last 10 years, the pool hasn’t received the traffic like it used to, but believes that can be changed.
Renzulli suggested that outside of this resolution, establish a committee or board to help the recreation department. She said without an aquatics director, the pool could be difficult to manage properly.
Councilwoman Jessica Marino said the council needs to know what it costs to get the pool operational and said the feasibility report that was conducted earlier in the year did not answer that question.
Councilman Richard Campopiano said they need to have some type of number.
“We don’t know if we’re demolishing the pool, fixing the pool … we don’t know where this is going,” said Campopiano.
“We have to start somewhere,” Germain said.
It’s no surprise that the president of RSA, the security division of Hopkinton, MA-based information management giant EMC (NYSE: EMC), has strong views about the need for better security practices within corporations and government agencies. But Art Coviello, who joined RSA in 1995 and helped engineer its 2006 acquisition by EMC, says the problem isn’t that companies aren’t aware of today’s cyber security challenges—it’s that they often aren’t doing the right things to address them.
Companies try too hard to protect the machines that data live on, rather than the data itself, Coviello told me during an interview earlier this month. They dive into faddish new technologies like cloud computing and social networking without investigating the new kinds of security risks they pose. And they focus too much on achieving technical compliance with government regulations, rather than on minimizing the risks those regulations are meant to address.
Coviello spoke with me shortly after RSA issued the latest report from the Security for Business Innovation Council, a group of 10 security executives from companies like Motorola, JP Morgan Chase, Time Warner, and Novartis. RSA assembled the council to draw attention to ways that businesses can continue to innovate—a process that often involves adopting untested new technologies—without exposing themselves to new waves of fraud, data breaches, and other cyber attacks.
Coviello was eager to share the recommendations in the report, which range from suggestions about specific security policies and technologies that companies can adopt to ideas for broad industry cooperation on ways to thwart cyber criminals. But I also asked him for his perspective on the exact increase in the number of New England-area companies offering so-called “governance, risk, and compliance” software, and for his views of the Obama Administration’s performance so far on cyber security issues. (See page 3. A preview: he’s reserved, but optimistic—and has some specific suggestions on who President Obama should name as the new cyber security czar.) A condensed version of our interview follows.
Xconomy: What’s the main purpose of this latest report from the Security for Business Innovation Council?
Art Coviello: One of the things we tried to establish early on is that security doesn’t have to be viewed as an inhibitor of innovation. It can be viewed as an enabler of innovation. This is the fourth in a series of reports that does just that. It gives tips and advice on how [security] can not only not get in the way, but how it should provide people confidence to do more things online.
But one part of what we’re bringing out here is that when it comes to things like cloud computing and social networking, people are just jumping ahead, and saying we’ll take care of the security later. That’s a bad idea.
X: Forgive me if this question sounds cynical, but cloud computing and certain forms of social networking are among EMC’s services and software these days—and so, obviously, is security. Wouldn’t almost any report coming from a group convened by the security division of EMC be recommending more adoption of security software?
AC: I can see how you could be cynical about almost anything that gets produced by a technology company. But the guys who are part of this study are independent. We facilitate it, we don’t pay them for it. You’ve got people like Bill Boni from Motorola, Anish Bhimani from JP Morgan Chase, David Kent from Genzyme, Craig Shumard from Cigna. You have a cross section of people, and they’re not making any money from cloud computing or social networking.
Having said that, the fact is that the horse is out of the barn, and people are going to be adopting these technologies, because they Strengthen productivity and communication. You are not going to slow it down, but you can expose yourself to risks that you would feel fairly sorry about if you don’t … Next Page »
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A.G. Ken Paxton filed a complaint July 14 challenging the Biden administration's guidance that doctors must provide abortions to save lives under federal law (Courtesy of State of Texas)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton – the actually influential version of a guy who was “just playing devil’s advocate” during a eugenics discussion in a college philosophy class – tried his darndest Thursday to block emergency rooms from offering abortions to save the lives of pregnant people.
The Biden administration told hospitals on Monday that they "must" provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk, because federal law on emergency medical treatment trumps state laws that now ban abortions without exception – bans that are, of course, going into effect after the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Even though Texas’s abortion restrictions (for now) still allow for life-saving abortions, Paxton’s office took issue with the president’s guidance in a complaint that was as predictable as it was debasing to people capable of pregnancy.
In the complaint, Paxton (or his goons? who’s to say) claimed that Biden was attempting “to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic.” And, well, yes, though no transformation should be needed. Emergency Rooms are, after all, walk-in clinics for people who need life-saving procedures in the case of a life-threatening situation, which the souled population generally describes as an “emergency.”
Paxton argues that the 1980s Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) – the basis for Biden’s guidance – does not specifically name abortions or protect the right to “any specific treatment.” The act does, however, specifically protect a patient’s right to stabilizing treatment for an emergency medical condition (EMC), including active labor, regardless of an individual's ability to pay.
Paxton’s lawsuit points out that EMTALA defines an emergency medical condition as a medical condition with acute symptoms (including severe pain) which, without immediate medical attention, could place “the health of the individual (or, with respect to a pregnant woman, the health of the woman or her unborn child) in serious jeopardy” or cause serious impairment or dysfunction to any part of the patient’s body.
In what reads as a thinly veiled threat to Texas providers, Paxton argues that Biden’s guidance would actually force hospitals and doctors to commit crimes and risk their licensure under Texas law. At the same time, he says that EMTALA’s wording actually “contemplates that an emergency medical condition is one that threatens the life of the unborn child.” It seems that in EMTALA’s wording, Paxton is banking on the word “or” in “the health of the woman or her unborn child” as an admittance that doctors can just pick their favorite patient (the pregnant person or the fertilized egg, as the case may be) and let the other die.
Overall, the lawsuit adds more legal knots to the ratty jumble of abortion-related laws that doctors must comb through at the moment. Abortion providers and advocates in Texas have so far seen the need to cease most if not all operations (abortion funds are paused, and Whole Woman’s Health is packing up to move to New Mexico). With conservatives across the country pushing for “personhood” laws that would effectively grant fetuses a greater right to life than the pregnant person carrying them, it’s not unreasonable to imagine that Paxton’s office is hoping for such an outcome from this lawsuit, though they might settle for a dash of limelight from Fox News.
Got something to say? The Chronicle welcomes opinion pieces on any syllabu from the community. Submit yours now at austinchronicle.com/opinion.
What You'll Learn:
- How does EMI differ from RMI?
- What types of EMI and EMC affect medical devices?
- Shielding options.
- Dealing with computed-tomography interference.
The medical circumstance for many people requires that they have an implanted pacemaker/defibrillator or an implanted insulin pump. These kinds of critical equipment must not be disrupted by the operation of other electronics such as cell phones, etc.
What’s the Difference Between EMI and RFI?
The terms radio-frequency interference (RFI) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) often may be used interchangeably since radio waves are simply a subset of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, there’s actually a difference in practice.
EMI is usually characterized as any frequency of electrical noise; RFI is a specific subset of electrical noise within the EMI spectrum. RFI is classified as a disturbance that may affect an electrical circuit due to either electromagnetic conduction or electromagnetic radiation emitted from some external source.
IEC 60601-1-2 is the primary standard for EMI and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in electronic medical equipment and systems. This standard is created to define the safety and performance expectations for medical electronic equipment that is in the presence of an electromagnetic interference.
Medical Device Examples
There are so many types of medical devices that can be worn or implanted. Some of the main examples include:
- Clothing
- Watch
- Ring
- Shoes
- Belt
- Glasses
- Armband
EMI/EMC Effects on Implanted or Wearable Electronics
Electromagnetic waves, which are emitted via communication devices (cell phones, etc.) or from an electrostatic discharge (ESD), will cause power disturbances that create a surge in conductive current as well as a localized radiated transient field.
READ MORE: Why is Industrial Design Important for Wrist-Based Wearables?
EMI may occur when these three factors are present: a source of EMI, a coupling path and a receptor. The coupling path from the source to the receptor can be a magnetic field, electric current or even an electromagnetic field.
For instance, lightning is an EMI source that occurs in nature. Other sources of EMI might be radios, wireless networks, computers, cellphones or even any electric devices designed to transmit signals. Keep in mind that any signals less than 50 kHz will typically not be a cause of EMI concern (see figure).
Shielding Against EMI
Modern EMI shielding is more challenging than it has ever been before. The use and production of new medical devices, along with the construction of digital circuits that are smaller yet faster for these newer models, make them susceptible to electromagnetic fields and the inevitable interference.
Gold is one of the best coatings that can be employed as an effective shield against EMI. Gold will not cause a reaction when it comes into contact with the human body, Thus, it’s a superior EMI coating for medical devices such as pacemakers. Occasionally, platinum also is used for shielding on pacemakers. Platinum will help resist corrosion, but cost is a problem since it’s higher than the already-expensive gold.
Multi-Cavity EMI Shielding
Designers of medical devices always need to consider EMI shielding to prevent medical equipment failure and stay compliant with federal regulations. One that front, the multi-cavity EMI shield will help solve various problems associated with shielding technologies. This method consists of a lightweight metallized plastic material that’s able to be molded to fit any design shape.
READ MORE: Pacemakers Study Confirms Cell Phone Interference
The metallized plastic material should be attached to the printed circuit board (PCB) after the surface-mount technology (SMT) reflow process. It will allow for easy component inspection or rework. The plastic material also can be easily removed by hand without damaging the board or the soldering. It has excellent shielding capability and is a very simple attachment mechanism as compared to perforated, soldered metal can shields.
Another option is a polymer-based, non-ferromagnetic shield, as it will not disturb MRI imaging.
EMI/EMC Filters
Employing an EMI filter may help with conducted emissions as well as meet immunity and fast transient requirements of radiated emissions. A power line or mains EMI filter can be installed at the power entry point of equipment to prevent electromagnetic noise from exiting or entering the medical implant/device.
Computed-Tomography (CT) Interference with Medical Devices
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has been notified of a small number of reports of adverse events that may be associated with CT imaging of implantable and wearable electronic devices (such as insulin pumps, cardiac implantable electronic devices and neurostimulators).
A CT scanner will directly irradiate the circuitry of certain devices (when the device is visible in the resulting CT image) and may cause sufficient electronic interference to affect their function and operation. Although there’s a low probability of causing clinically significant adverse events, it’s still possible.
Interference can be avoided when the medical device isn’t within the primary X-ray beam of the CT scanner. CT is the preferred tomographic imaging technology for patients with implantable or wearable medical devices. CT is safer for patients with devices of unknown magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) safety status, too.
Summary
The rise of advanced wireless technologies creates an almost saturation of the spaces that surround us, along with a high level of EMI. This situation can have particularly negative effects on the latest array of worn and implanted medical devices, and it may present a danger to people using them.
Thus, designers need to “err on the side of caution” when designing worn and implanted medical devices. Methods of EMI shielding and filtering must be considered as a key part of these designs.
This article appeared in Electronic Design.
References
Medical applications, Texas Instruments
PCB Design Guidelines For Reduced EMI
EMI’s Potentially Dangerous Impact on Pacemakers
How Does EMI Affect the Human Body and Brain? | Electronic Design
Interference between CT and Electronic Medical Devices | FDA
EMI/EMC Standards for Medical Devices - VSE
5G Networks: Effects On Radiated Emissions And EMI Shielding (com-power.com)
The Importance of EMI Shielding in Medical Devices - SAT Plating
FDA/CDRH Recommendations for EMC/EMI in Healthcare Facilities | FDA
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The GeekWire Summit returns Oct. 6-7, bringing together business, tech and community leaders for enriching and inspiring discussions about the future.
Now in its 11th year, the Summit features in-depth fireside chats, interactive panels, and brainy power talks with some of the top names in tech, plus unique in-person networking opportunities at one of Seattle’s coolest venues.
Limited in-person passes are available, so purchase tickets today. In addition, GeekWire Summit sessions will be available via livestream for virtual ticket holders.
Thanks to longtime presenting sponsor Bank of America for helping to make the GeekWire Summit possible.
More information on speakers and agenda coming soon.
Civic Conversations: Tackling Public Policy Challenges During a Covid Economy
Civic Conversations is a new GeekWire virtual event series, presented by Microsoft.
Coming one year after the shutdown of Washington state’s economy and as hopeful signs emerge as to how we can bounce back, this session explored the public policy steps needed to get Washington state back on its feet.
Panelists included:
- Chris Gregoire, CEO of Challenge Seattle and former governor of Washington state
- Gordon McHenry Jr., CEO of United Way of King County
- Kris Hermanns, Chief Impact Officer of Seattle Foundation
Media partner 
What the Biden Administration Means for Startups, presented by Lane Powell with GeekWire Studios
The inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will bring change to the business community. In this 90-minute seminar and workshop, we heard from leaders in public policy and technology about what opportunities and pitfalls may arise for startup companies.
The virtual event kicked off with a panel discussion featuring National Venture Capital Association CEO Bobby Franklin and venture capitalist Heather Redman of Flying Fish Partners. Following the main session, attendees joined small breakouts where courses such as immigration, estate planning, privacy, employment and the Paycheck Protection Program were discussed. This Lane Powell virtual event is presented in partnership with GeekWire Studios.
2020 was an extraordinary year. And while it is a year that many want to put in the rearview mirror, powerful stories of resilience emerged as entrepreneurs adapted to an extreme and unprecedented business situation.
In this GeekWire virtual roundtable, we heard inspiring and impactful stories from entrepreneurs and executives who transformed their businesses amid one of the most stressful and chaotic periods in history. We were joined by Seattle Storm CEO and General Manager Alisha Valavanis who helped guide the professional basketball team to their fourth WNBA championship in 2020. We also heard from Brian Canlis owner of Canlis — the landmark Seattle restaurant that’s experimented with everything from yurt dining to professional training.
Thanks to our sponsors Seattle Bank and Davis Wright Tremaine.
GeekWire Studios Virtual Event: Calgary-The city of disruptors, not the disrupted
Why Calgary? As the city of choice for the world’s best entrepreneurs solving global challenges in energy, transportation, food, and health, there is a thriving innovation ecosystem with highly-skilled talent, poised to embrace digital transformation, adapt and prosper. Panelists included the City of Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Virtual Gurus Founder & CEO Bobbie Racette, and Exhibition Founder James Lochrie who shared their insights on why Calgary is quickly becoming Canada’s most adventurous tech city.
GeekWire Roundtable: Enabling Digital Health at Scale Post-COVID-19 – a more effective, and more convenient future
COVID-19 is catalyzing digital transformation in many areas of healthcare and creating opportunities for innovators. The impact on the traditional, hospital-centric health system will accelerate business model shifts, new entrants, and the adoption of new technologies. The panel discussed tech’s critical role in the shift, and the opportunity for innovation associated with this acceleration of distributed care due to COVID-19.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor Providence’s Digital Innovation Group.
2020 GeekWire Summit
The 2020 GeekWire Summit was a fully immersive virtual event, taking place in bite-sized chunks throughout October, with fireside chats and panel discussions featuring software pioneer Bill Gates, venture capitalist Emily Melton, Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern, COVID-19 data expert Dr. Vin Gupta, DreamBox Learning CEO Jessie Woolley-Wilson
CFO Roundtable: Insights on a Changing Economy
The historic events of 2020 have altered business operations in unimaginable ways, making the job of the chief financial officer especially challenging. In this exclusive GeekWire Studios virtual event, three CFOs discussed how they are navigating these turbulent times. Learn how businesses are conducting long-range financial planning; managing the risk of bringing employees back to work; evaluating growth opportunities like acquisitions; and thinking about the economic changes ahead.
Thanks to our presenting sponsors Apptio and EY.
GeekWire Studios | How do we collaborate and innovate together in the midst of a pandemic? Sponsored by Premera
The panel explored “Just-in-Time” innovation collaboration for on-demand care, telehealth treatment for opioid addiction and other behavioral health applications and consumerism’s impact on post-pandemic healthcare delivery.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor Premera for their support.
GeekWire Virtual Awards
Continuing this great tradition, we revealed the winners of the Pacific Northwest’s annual startup and technology awards. Unable to meet in person, the GeekWire Awards were held virtually for the first time it’s 12 year history. Watch the awards now!
GeekWire Virtual Roundtable: The Future of Sports
Sports bind us together in unimaginable ways. But with the shutdown of nearly all sporting activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, teams, fans, players, staff and others have been sidelined. In this special GeekWire live-streamed event, we discussed how sports can safely return; what technologies will be deployed to ensure a seamless transition; and the economics of sports in the age of COVID-19.
Thanks to our presenting sponsors Pure Storage and Davis Wright Tremaine for their support.
Geeks Gaming for Good (July 8, 2020)
Five company-sponsored teams competed in this one-of-a-kind Rocket League tournament, presented by Avalara in conjunction with our organizing partner Virtual Sports. A portion of the team entry fees went towards a prize pool benefiting non-profit organizations that are part of the All In Seattle initiative. The winning team will also received three round-trip tickets from Alaska Airlines.
Virtual Webinars and Roundtables
GeekWire Gala presented by First Tech Federal Credit Union (December 5, 2019)
The tech community’s holiday party! We kicked off the 2019 holiday season in style with friends, colleagues and significant others at the holiday party that celebrates the region’s tech community. We saw familiar faces, made new friends and enjoyed an evening of conversation, tasty treats and festive cocktails with great music from KEXP DJ Troy Nelson at the Showbox in the heart of Seattle. Check out the festivities from Gala here, including the Geek Style Reboot, Ugly Sweater Contest winners, and Geekaraoke.
The Playbook from GeekWire (November 7, 2019)
Designed for entrepreneurs and business leaders, The Playbook, presented by Lane Powell and Seattle Bank, brings together Seattle’s top minds, innovators and iconoclastic thinkers to share the secrets to success, while also recounting what it takes to overcome life’s biggest hurdles.
Our featured speaker for this event was Alisha Valavanis, currently CEO and General Manager of the reigning WNBA Champion Seattle Storm and Force 10 Sports Management, LLC; a sports management firm that creates world-class sport and entertainment events in Seattle by providing operations, revenue generation, communications and marketing expertise. See the full recap here.
The GeekWire Summit, presented by Bank of America (October 7-9, 2019)
What happens here, matters everywhere.
That’s one of GeekWire’s founding principles as a technology news website — that the innovation-related work in the Seattle region impacts the world — and it certainly rang true at the eight annual GeekWire Summit, where attendees had a chance to learn about the future from more than 65 world class speakers such as Microsoft President Brad Smith, University of Washington president Ana Mari Cauce, Seattle Seahawks legend Doug Baldwin, Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom, and many others.
Videos from the 2019 Summit will be available soon, a full recap of the event is here and all our special coverage is here.
GeekWire Sounders Day presented by Qualtrics (September 18, 2019)
Summer wasn’t quite done putting on a show in Seattle on Wednesday evening, turning the rooftop deck at Qualtrics in Pioneer Square into the perfect place to be for the annual GeekWire Sounders Day tailgate party. See photos of the celebration before the Sounders FC match against FC Dallas here.
The Playbook with T.A. McCann (June 26, 2019)
Not every entrepreneur can say they helped save Rupert Murdoch’s finger from falling off. But that was one of several fascinating life experiences shared by Seattle startup veteran T.A. McCann at The Playbook, our speaker series where entrepreneurs, founders and investors connect in a casual setting to hear what really happens inside early-stage companies. See more startup lessons here.
GeekWire Cloud Summit, presented by F5 (June 5, 2019)
There were several themes running through the sessions of our third annual GeekWire Cloud Summit Wednesday, but one thing is clear: data is the lifeblood of the cloud, from machine-learning algorithms to managing infrastructure at scale to the connected farms of the future. See the recap here for key takeaways, links to coverage of the event, and photos. All GeekWire Cloud Summit coverage is here.
GeekWire Awards, presented by Wave Business (May 2, 2019)
The strength and success of the people and companies across the Pacific Northwest tech ecosystem was on full display Thursday night at the GeekWire Awards.
It was so much fun celebrating with more than 900 of you at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle for the 11th annual GeekWire Awards, one of our favorite events of the year that spotlights the entrepreneurs, engineers, CEOs, designers, marketers, product managers, and everyone in between working at Pacific Northwest companies based in the region. See all the winners here and all of our special awards coverage here.
GeekWire Bash, presented by First Tech Federal Credit Union (March 7, 2019)
Dodgeball squads hooted and hollered amid intense battles between Seattle tech companies. Elementary and middle school students chanted “We Love STEM!” over at the Robotics Cup competition. Attendees oohed and aahed after delicately-placed shots landed perfectly on the ping pong tables.
It was another exciting geek festival at the 8th annual GeekWire Bash, presented by First Tech Federal Credit Union. See a recap of the event here, coverage of the tournaments here and the inaugural GeekWire Robotics Cup here.
GeekWire Gala, presented by Smartsheet (December 6, 2018)
It was an electric scene at the historic Showbox on Thursday evening as the Seattle community came out in full force to celebrate the holidays. We had so much fun welcoming more than 800 of you for our eighth annual GeekWire Gala, presented by Smartsheet. Entrepreneurs, engineers, and everyone in between partied in the heart of downtown Seattle with an evening of eating, drinking, networking, and of course, dancing. See a recap of the event here and a video of all the fun here.
GeekWire Live with Chris Cocks and Doug Baldwin, November 1, 2018
As part of a special editorial project, GeekWire on the Road in Renton, GeekWire Live headed to Southport on Lake Washington for a special recording of the GeekWire podcast with Chris Cocks, President at Wizards of the Coast and surprise guest Doug Baldwin of the Seattle Seahawks. See the full interview with Doug Baldwin here, the conversation with Chris Cocks here and GeekWire Reporter Taylor Soper’s top takeaways after a week in the growing Seattle suburb of Renton.
GeekWire Live with Cory Bergman, October 24, 2018
This special recording, hosted by GeekWire’s Todd Bishop and Monica Nickelsburg featured special guest Cory Bergman, co-founder of Breaking News and Next Door Media. Recording live at Columbia Bank’s Ballard Neighborhub, Bergman discussed the story behind his new startup Factal, the changing media landscape, and the role of facts and news in our current national political climate. Read five insights from Bergman on the future of news and listen to the full conversation here.
The GeekWire Summit, October 1 – 3, 2018
The 2018 GeekWire Summit was an action-packed national tech conference that explored what’s next in the innovation economy and brought together more than 800 business, tech, media and government leaders.
The panel discussions and fireside chats on stage in Seattle covered a wide spectrum of industries: aerospace, e-commerce, real estate, philanthropy, education, and more. Videos from the 2018 Summit are available here, a full recap of the event is here and all our special coverage is here.
The Playbook from GeekWire, September 19, 2018
The second installment of The Playbook, our new speaker series that dives into the fascinating intersection of entrepreneurship, business, sports and culture took place at The Ninety just before Seattle Sounders FC took on Philadelphia Union. Our featured guest Mark Mader, CEO of Smartsheet, discussed the importance of “radical candor” and shared other valuable leadership tips.Big thanks to our partners at Lane Powell for helping make The Playbook happen. Read about “radical candor” and 4 other unorthodox leadership tips from Mader here.
Thirsty Thursday + GeekWire Podcast Live at NeighborHub, August 23, 2018
We had a great time last night recording the GeekWire podcast at NeighborHub at Columbia Bank, before hanging out on the rooftop deck with more than 150 of you as the sun went down over Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. Listen to the podcast and see our event recap here. Also check out this post for highlights from the conversation with Amy Nelson of The Riveter and Sarah Studer of Impact Hub Seattle about the future of workplaces, startups and the tech economy. Full video of the live recording is here.
The Playbook from GeekWire, July 25, 2018
They grew up together, worked at the same family business as teenagers, and have both become household names in the Seattle community. But the Hanauer brothers also couldn’t be more different with how they’ve approached business, life, and civic engagement.
That juxtaposition was on full display at The Playbook, a new speaker series hosted by GeekWire that brings together some of Seattle’s top minds, innovators and iconoclastic thinkers to share the secrets to their success, while also recounting the biggest hurdles they’ve overcome. A recap of GeekWire’s conversation with Adrian and Nick Hanauer is available here and a closer look at Nick’s advice to Amazon’s HQ2 city is here. Full video of the fireside chat is here.
GeekWire Cloud Tech Summit, June 27, 2018
The second annual Cloud Tech Summit offered a deep dive into some of the most important innovations in computing, from machine learning to DevOps to serverless computing. Top technical minds from Slack, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Alaska Airlines joined us on stage at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, with more than 600 developers, engineers, CIOs, CTOs and others attending. You can see full coverage of the 2018 event here and recap of the event here. Cloud Tech Summit slides and videos here.
GeekWire Awards, May 10, 2018
There was singing; there was cheering; there was laughing; there was crying. The 2018 GeekWire Awards had it all on Thursday evening as we honored the top companies and entrepreneurs across the Pacific Northwest. It was a blast welcoming more than 900 of you at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle for the tenth annual GeekWire Awards — a longstanding event symbolic of this region’s robust and growing tech ecosystem. See all the winners here.
GeekWire Bash, March 15, 2018
Dodgeball. VR. Video Games. Ping Pong. Foosball. And even a fast-moving zipline. More than 1,700 geeks — many sporting their company colors — joined us for the GeekWire 7th Anniversary Bash at the CenturyLink Field Event Center. The Zillow Group captured the crown on the T-Mobile dodgeball court, while Qualtrics swept the expert and intermediate divisions of ping pong. Choozle’s Aran Dahl picked up the trophy in the beginner bracket of ping pong. Matt Quint and Annie Love from Geocaching won the intermediate foosball tourney, while former Google colleagues Nick Gorski (now at Bonsai) and Russ Brennan won the expert group. Full recap here, and video overview here.
GeekWire Gala, Dec. 6, 2017
Another fun holiday gala, with more than 1,000 party goers who arrived at the Museum of History & Industry in Seattle to celebrate the year in tech in true geeky style. We also welcomed a new class of The Seattle 10, an awesome program that recognizes 10 up-and-coming Seattle area startups who recreate their business concepts on giant cocktail napkins. Check out the full recap here, and the awesome sizzle reel here.
GeekWire Summit, Oct. 9-11, 2017
Our biggest Summit yet, with fireside chats from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta; Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson and many more. And don’t forget the parties, rocking out at the Living Computers Museum + Labs and the amazing rooftop deck at Frolik. Videos from the 2017 Summit are available here, a full recap of the event is here and don’t miss the 2017 GeekWire Summit sizzle reel here.
GeekWire Sounders Day, July 19, 2017
The beer was cold; the BBQ was juicy; the weather was perfect; and the vibe was bumpin’.
Thanks to everyone for joining us at our fifth annual GeekWire Sounders Day tailgate party on Wednesday at the Dell EMC rooftop deck in Seattle. We had so much fun bringing together soccer fans and tech geeks for this one-of-a-kind networking event where friends new and old enjoyed amazing views of Seattle before crossing the street and watching the Sounders match at CenturyLink Field. Photos from the tailgate and the match here.
GeekWire Sports Tech Summit, June 21-22, 2017
There is more happening at the intersection of sports and technology than ever.
That much was evident at the second annual GeekWire Sports Tech Summit this week at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, where we had so much fun welcoming 400 executives, entrepreneurs, engineers, investors, founders, athletes, general managers, gamers, scientists, and many more to our one-of-a-kind event. Check out the full recap of the 2017 event here, and check out the overview video here.
GeekWire Cloud Tech Summit, June 7, 2017
“Cloud computing is the new operating system.” That’s what one venture capitalist said on stage at the inaugural GeekWire Cloud Tech Summit, and it’s a reminder of why it was so exciting to welcome more than 600 folks to our first technical event ever on Wednesday in Bellevue, Wash.
It was an action-packed day that showcased the cutting-edge cloud-related trends and ideas that are transforming the technology world. See the full recap here and a video overview here of GeekWire’s first-ever Cloud Tech Summit in “the cloud capital of the world.”
GeekWire Awards, May 4, 2017
If our annual GeekWire Awards celebration is any indication, the innovation and entrepreneurial energy within the Pacific Northwest tech community continues to rock on. It was so much fun welcoming nearly 1,000 folks from the local community to the Museum of Pop Culture Thursday evening in Seattle, where we honored winners of the 2017 GeekWire Awards, presented by Wave Business. Nominees of the 14 categories like Startup of the Year and Geek of the Year were in attendance at this high-energy event, in addition to entrepreneurs, engineers, executives, and everyone in between. See all the winners, photos, videos and more here.
Thirsty Thursday with GeekWire, April 20, 2017
There’s nothing quite like waking up on a sunny morning after an evening clinking glasses, playing games, and chatting with members of our fantastic community. Thanks to everyone who showed up to make our first Thirsty Thursday happy hour a success. We like to experiment and mix things up at GeekWire and thankfully you guys do too! More than 200 geeks wanted to try something new with us at this sold-out event. See the scenes from our hoppin’ happy hour at Pike Brewing here.
GeekWire Bash, March 15, 2017
Ping pong, foosball, intense dodgeball tourney, sumo wrestling, virtual reality, beer pong, arcade games, FIFA, Settlers of Catan, giant jenga, tricycle races, donut walls, networking, and a whole lot of fun. Yes, it was an epic geek carnival.
The 2017 GeekWire Bash was the biggest and most epic party we’ve hosted yet, as we welcomed more than 1,700 of you inside the CenturyLink Field Event Center in Seattle to celebrate our sixth anniversary. Check out all the action here, including photos, tweets and more.
GeekWire Gala, December 7, 2016
Buzzing energy, awesome networking, cold cocktails, groovy dancing, an escape room, a museum, the Seattle 10, and a whole lot of fun — the GeekWire Gala 2016 had it all.
Thanks to the more than 1,000 of you who joined us Wednesday night for our sixth annual GeekWire Gala, presented by Wells Fargo, where geeks, techies, entrepreneurs, engineers, and everyone in between from the Seattle community gathered for a holiday celebration at the Museum of History & Industry. See the full recap including photos, tweets, and more.
GeekWire Summit, October 4-5, 2016
Top executives from the likes of Microsoft and Expedia laid out their vision for the future. A biotech CEO explained how his company is fighting cancer. A former NFL wide receiver who nearly died on the field last year talked about the power of grit and determination. And Seattle was declared as “the Silicon Valley of saving the world.”
In between all of that, hundreds of entrepreneurs, engineers, executives, and many more met new friends, made business connections, and learned about the future of innovation. Check out a full recap and video from two action-packed days in downtown Seattle with the top thinkers and builders across the tech industry.
GeekWire Sounders Day, July 13, 2016
Another huge crowd got to enjoy blue Seattle skies, great BBQ and plenty of beer at the fourth annual Sounders Day on presenting sponsor EMC/Isilon‘s rooftop deck in Pioneer Square on Wednesday, July 13.
The Seattle Sounders FC made it an even better night for the more than 400 tech and soccer geeks who turned out for GeekWire’s event by easily beating FC Dallas 5-0 in a match at CenturyLink Field. Check out photos from the rooftop tailgate and victorious match here.
The whole sporting affair was a great way to cap off the inaugural GeekWire Sports Tech Summit, see below, which took place the same day just down the street at Safeco Field.
GeekWire Sports Tech Summit, July 12 – 13, 2016
What. A. Day.
It was so much fun learning how and why technology is changing the sports we love to watch and play at the first-ever GeekWire Sports Tech Summit, presented by Comcast at Safeco Field in Seattle.
More than 300 techies, geeks, entrepreneurs, executives, athletes, coaches, team owners, and many others came together for an awesome day all about the budding intersection of sports and technology. From Steve Ballmer to Big Data, check out a full recap and video from the inaugural GeekWire Sports Tech Summit here.
GeekWire Awards, May 12, 2016
The energy at the EMP Museum was palpable as entrepreneurs, engineers, innovators, leaders, and more came together at the GeekWire Awards to recognize the very best of the Pacific Northwest tech community.
Now in its eighth year, this event, presented by Wave Business, just keeps getting bigger and more exciting, with more than 1,000 people joining us for an awesome night to celebrate the region’s robust technology industry.
Check out who took home a robot, highlights of the night, and full coverage of the GeekWire Awards here.
GeekWire’s 5th Anniversary Bash, March 24, 2016
The ping pong and foosball action at the GeekWire Bash once again delivered thrilling competition with top-notch quality of play. But for our fifth Anniversary Bash, we expanded beyond those games and went big — like, really big.
It was a blast hosting our annual party, presented by Point Inside, for Seattle’s buzzing tech community last night at the massive CenturyLink Events Center, where more than 1,500 people joined us for dodgeball, basketball, video games, beer pong, cornhole, sumo wrestling, March Madness, massages, and of course, action-packed sold-out ping pong and foosball tournaments.
Check out our full recap and scenes from the 5th Anniversary Bash here.
GeekWire Startup Day, Feb. 12, 2016
Over 600 members of the Northwest entrepreneurial community gathered at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue for a day of insights and inspiration about the startup journey. The crowd heard from OfferUp CEO Nick Huzar, Olympic track star Ja’Warren Hooker, wireless pioneer John Stanton, and dozens of other entrepreneurs. Marketing software startup Slope took home first prize after presenting to our panel of VC judges. Seahawks lineman and Greater founder Russell Okung closed out the day with some inspiring words about startup lessons learned on and off the field.
Check out our full recap of the day here.
GeekWire Gala, Dec. 2, 2015
It was so much fun welcoming 1,000 of you to our fourth annual GeekWire Gala, where the Seattle community gathered for a holiday celebration at the Museum of History & Industry. The evening kicked off with a special VIP pre-party aboard the Steamship Virginia V for GeekWire members, Seattle 10 startups, and Newsmakers of the Year. Then it was three hours of networking, eating, drinking, dancing, and an all-around good time at MOHAI, where attendees had a chance to tour museum exhibits, visit a whiskey tasting room, and stop by the photo booth before ending the night with a fantastic after-party. Visit KING5 for a video recap of the event and to see the Seattle 10 honored at this festive celebration.
Check out our full recap and scenes from the Gala here.
GeekWire Summit, Oct. 1-2, 2015
Authors, artists, and astronauts. Senators, scientists, and superheroes. CEOs, COOs, and CTOs. The GeekWire Summit 2015 featured top executives, entrepreneurs, experts, and more than 800 attendees in downtown Seattle this October. This was our first time hosting the Summit for two days, doubling the amount of fireside chats, power talks, and “Inventions We Love” segments. It ended up being a fantastic time as we heard from technology leaders and innovators in a variety of fields, offering up interesting insights into the past, present, and future of their respective industries.
Check out scenes and quotes from the Summit here.
GeekWire Sounders Day, July 18, 2015
Over 400 soccer geeks joined us on the roof deck of EMC Isilon for Seattle’s best tailgate party.
Sounders General Manager Adrian Hanauer stopped by talk about the future of the franchise, along with goalie Stefan Frei. With so many fans showing their Seattle pride, it was the perfect opportunity to announce GeekWire Sports, our new channel focused on the intersection of sports and technology. Sign up here to receive our free, weekly GeekWire Sports newsletter.
Check out scenes from Sounders Day here.
GeekWire Awards, May 7, 2015
We had a fantastic time celebrating the very best in the Pacific Northwest tech community with nearly 1,000 attendees at the EMP in Seattle.
After collecting more than 25,000 votes, we had the pleasure of naming winners in 13 geeky categories representing the pillars of the region’s tech community.
Check out the winners here and photos from the event here.
GeekWire Anniversary Bash, March 26, 2015
They came. They mingled. They partied. They ponged.
It was a blast welcoming more than 700 attendees — many in costume or wearing company gear — at our fourth annual GeekWire Anniversary Bash. Sure, Georgia may have The Masters, but we’ve got a tradition unlike any other right here in Seattle with hundreds of fanatical ping pong and foosball players.
Check out scenes from the event here.
GeekWire Startup Day, Jan. 30, 2015
More than 600 of you joined us for the sold-out, sixth annual GeekWire Startup Day. We heard from a stellar lineup of startup vets, Seattle’s mayor, a noted chef, two nationally recognized Entrepreneurs of the Year, and two former roommates who just sold their company for $8.3 billion. We learned what happens when the cash runs out, and what people do after they leave Microsoft. And we were introduced to some promising new companies that are trying to make their own dent in the world.
Check out our full recap and special coverage with highlights from the day’s events. Thanks to our title sponsor, EY, and to all of the sponsors who made this event possible.
GeekWire Gala, Dec. 3, 2014
We had so much fun welcoming more than 1,000 attendees at the beautiful Museum of History & Industry for one of our favorite events of the year. We introduced the 2014 Newsmakers of the Year, displayed the artistic skills of the Seattle 10, our list of the top rising startups in the area, and we danced…a lot.
Thanks to everyone in the community who came out for the huge holiday bash, where we ate, drank, networked, and celebrated another great year in geek!
Check out scenes from the event here.
GeekWire Summit, Oct. 2, 2014.
It was a blast welcoming 800 attendees to the Pacific Northwest’s premier technology conference this year. We heard from some of the top thinkers, leaders and innovators across a wide variety of industries.
It kicked off with the future of flight and ended with an honest — and hilarious — chat with T-Mobile CEO John Legere. In between, we saw some amazing inventions, listened to insights from one of Seattle’s lesser-known billionaires, and a heard from the nation’s chief information officer.
Read a detailed recap of the event here.
Sounders Day, Aug. 20, 2014.
A rooftop tailgate, delicious BBQ, tasty beer, and even an Ice Bucket Challenge — Sounders Day 2014 had it all.
More than 500 people joined us for an awesome evening that started on the wonderful deck of EMC/Isilon overlooking Puget Sound and ended with an exciting Sounders match just a few blocks away at CenturyLink Field.
It was tons of fun hanging with some of Seattle’s coolest geeks and listening to Sounders FC general manager Adrian Hanauer share insights about the growth of both soccer and technology in Seattle.
GeekWire Awards, May 8, 2014.
More than 800 members of the Seattle tech community joined us to honor the region’s top entrepreneurs and companies. From the inspiring keynote from Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff to the awesome intro video from Killer Infographics to the actual awards ceremony itself, it was a night to remember.
Read the detailed recap here and check out the winners for each category here.
GeekWire Ping-Pong & Anniversary Bash, March 20, 2014.
More than 800 people joined us for the GeekWire Anniversary Bash & Ping-Pong Tournament, a one-of-a-kind event has become an annual tradition in the Pacific Northwest tech community. Check out the full recap here, with pictures, and results and video highlights from the hotly contested ping-pong and foosball tournaments.
In addition to the huge turnout from the tech community we were honored to be joined by notable guests including U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who connected with a wide variety of tech entrepreneurs at the event; and members of the Seattle Reign FC professional women’s soccer team, who competed in the GeekWire foosball tournament.
GeekWire Gala, Dec. 4th, 2013
More than 1,000 Seattle geeks, tasty food, cold drinks, great conversation and an epic impromptu dance floor inside one of the coolest venues in the city — yep, the GeekWire Gala had it all.
We had so much fun hosting all of you Wednesday night at the newly-renovated Museum of History & Industry in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood for one of our favorite events of the year.
Recap and scenes from the night.
GeekWire Startup Day, Oct. 25th, 2013
Whether it was the governor touting Washington as the most innovative place in the world, or Dave Cotter sharing his near-death experience that changed his perspective on life, it was an action-packed day at the Showbox SoDo filled with powerful entrepreneurial insight and advice from CEOs, founders and industry leaders. In case you missed Startup Day — or the awesome Battle of the Geek Bands afterparty — we’ve got you covered here in the form of photos and tweets.
GeekWire Summit, Sept. 12th 2013.
From a fantastic talk with Rich Barton and Bill Gurley to a former Amazon exec comparing shopping to sex, the 2013 GeekWire Summit was one to remember.
Thanks to the more than 700 of you who came out to Thursday’s day-long event, where we enjoyed excellent conversations with industry leaders, great networking and tasty food. Photos and recap here.
GeekWire Sounders Day, Sept. 4th 2013.
We were joined by more than 400 people for a swanky pre-game tailgate party on the EMC/Isilon rooftop deck, before marching to the match and watching the Sounders top Chivas USA from a special GeekWire section at Century Link Field. More photos here.
GeekWire Startup Awards, May 9th, 2013.
We had at GeekWire Awards celebration, partying with more than 750 folks from the tech community as we handed out awards in 14 categories. It was an epic night for us, thanks to all who came out! Coverage from this awesome night below:
GeekWire Meetup, April 12, 2013.
Live taping of the GeekWire Radio show. It was a GeekWire first as we recorded our weekly KIRO-FM radio show on stage in front of an audience. With guests, Mike McSherry of Nuance; Tom Leung of Yabbly; and Dan Crowdus, a.k.a. the Icarus Kid.
GeekWire Ping Pong & Anniversary Bash, March 6, 2013
Hundreds of people from around the Seattle region’s tech community joined us for a night of ping-pong, foosball, networking and more, celebrating GeekWire’s 2nd Anniversary. Here’s some of our coverage from this one-of-a-kind event.
GeekWire Meetup, Feb. 13, 2013: Fireside chat with Tableau CEO Christian Chabot
Coverage from GeekWire, plus a bonus video with audience reaction:
GeekWire Gala, December 6, 2012
More than 800 people joined us at McCaw Hall in Seattle to celebrate the Newsmakers of the Year and the year in geek at our giant holiday bash.
VIDEO: Fashion, tech trends, favorite geeky gifts from the GeekWire Gala Red Carpet
Gallery: Scenes from the festive GeekWire Gala
GeekWire Presents Seattle 2.0 Startup Day,
More than 300 current and aspiring entrepreneurs joined us for this one-of-a-kind one-day conference to inspire and inform their decision to join the world of startups. GeekWire was pleased to present the fourth year of this popular favorite, with entrepreneurial veterans sharing key lessons from the world of startups. Featuring keynoter Aaron Levie, CEO of Box.
GeekWire Summer Bash, June 21, 2012
We brought out the ping-pong tables and brought back the GeekBall Court for this giant summer celebration at the Showbox SODO — with expert and intermediate ping-pong tournaments, foosball, prizes, special guests, good friends, good times and plenty of food and drink.
Seattle 2.0 Startup Awards, May 3, 2012
This was the fourth year of one of the region’s most-anticipated and hotly-contested tech events: the Seattle 2.0 Startup Awards at the EMP. Continuing this great tradition, we celebrated our community’s movers-and-shakers, up-and-comers, and thought leaders: the region’s tech rock stars.
Revealed: The Winners of the Seattle 2.0 Startup Awards
March 7, 2012 – The GeekWire Summit
More than 500 people joined us for the first-ever GeekWire Summit and Anniversary Celebration, an afternoon conference and evening party in downtown Seattle that brought together thought leaders from our region and beyond to discuss the future of innovation.
The event featured keynote conversations with former Microsoft software chief Ray Ozzie and Hulu CTO Richard Tom plus panels with leaders from Facebook, T-Mobile USA, Rhapsody, Microsoft, Swype, the University of Washington and more.
News emerging from the event generated multiple rounds of coverage from sites including Engadget, Mashable, Reuters, CNet News.com and more.
Also see more of GeekWire’s coverage from the event.
Dec. 8, 2011 – GeekWire Gala
We looked back on a big year in technology at the first-ever GeekWire Gala — toasting our GeekWire Newsmakers of 2011, and celebrating the “Geeks Who provide Back,” who were featured in a specially produced 2012 GeekWire Calendar that was our gift to everyone who joined us for the event.
Apart from recognizing those tech luminaries, the event provided an important setting for the technology community to connect as the year drew to a close.
More than 500 people attended the GeekWire Gala at Seattle’s Union Station, including executives and employees from many of the region’s top startups and larger companies such Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, RealNetworks and many more.
See this roundup with photos and video from the event.
June 22, 2011 – GeekWire Launch Event
More than 800 people joined us for the epic GeekWire Launch Event, including NBA legend Detlef Schrempf, music legend Sir Mix-A-Lot, Seattle Sounders Pat Noonan and Brad Evans, and hundreds of people from the Seattle tech community.
The event featured classic games, prizes and a new sport that we call “GeekBall” — a unique combination of soccer and billiards on an oversized pool table.
More: Photos and Video from the GeekWire Launch Event
Past Meetups
- Aug. 20, 2014: GeekWire Sounders Day
- June 27, 2014: GeekWire Trivia Night
- July 10, 2013: GeekWire Game Night
- Feb. 13, 2013: GeekWire Meetup with Tableau CEO Christian Chabot
- Oct. 23, 2012: GeekWire Fall Meetup and Karaoke for a Cause
- Aug. 16, 2012: GeekWire Summer Meetup in Ballard
- Apr, 11, 2012: GeekWire Spring Meetup and Conversation with Bill Flora
- Feb. 8, 2012: GeekWire Game Night
- Oct. 29, 2011: GeekWire Meetup and Conversation with Rich Barton
Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has switched from ageing EMC storage hardware to Pure Storage flash-based arrays in a move that boosted I/O performance, overcame a capacity bottleneck and massively simplified management.
COPFS has dealt with more than 90,000 cases since 2016 and holds huge amounts of data in formats that range from everyday standard Word, PDF and Excel documents, where versioning for legal reasons may see 30 instances of the same file created.
Also, since the pandemic, digital media has been centralised whereas formerly it was held on CDs, USBs, etc, so that CCTV and mobile phone data is now accessible from anywhere.
COPFS’s core work also centres on case management applications that lean heavily on Oracle database environments.
The organisation runs two datacentres – in Glasgow and Edinburgh – with a largely Windows environment and up to 400 VMware virtual servers.
COPFS had been running two EMC VMAX – the storage giant’s former flagship arrays – at each datacentre and each with 72TB of capacity for most of its storage, with a much smaller amount of capacity on Dell EMC Xtremio all-flash arrays for virtual desktops.
Apart from anything else, they were very big, said Adam Biggs, head of IT services at COPFS.
“Each array occupied two full cabinets, so were two metres high and about the same across,” he said. “And they didn’t have dedupe or compression. To add more capacity would have needed an entire extra cabinet.”
Biggs added: “It was spinning disk and it was old, so we were replacing a drive every week. Also, any work on it was a bit of a dark art and we had to get contractors in to do simple things like extend a volume.”
COPFS eventually replaced the EMC hardware with two Pure Storage FlashArray//X50 arrays, each with 120TB of raw capacity that ran to 580TB with data reduction applied.
Pure’s FlashArray//X range is its NVMe flash-equipped storage aimed at high-performance use cases, and which scales potentially to petabytes.
The organisation opted for Pure’s Evergreen programme, in which the customer buys the hardware but can replace components on an agreed upgrade cycle. Pure offers a range of procurement options that extend to as-a-service purchasing, but in this case, COPFS decided it would manage the arrays in-house but get a controller hardware upgrade after four years. COPFS also uses Pure’s SafeMode immutable snapshot provision to protect against ransomware.
Did COPFS consider any options towards as-a-service provision? “It’s a case of capex vs opex and for us as public sector, it suits us to capitalise the investment and operationalise the support and maintenance,” said Biggs.
So, what are the key benefits?
“It’s storage, so if it doesn’t break, no one cares, but it’s good to have the confidence that it will do what the organisation expects,” said Biggs. “Also, being able to manage it simply is good. And support. We’ve had one or two disks die – which is normal – but it’s been fantastic and upgrades have happened without disruption.”
In terms of measurables, the database team has reported I/O improvements of about 15%, he added.
The Enrollment and Content Marketing Collective serves as a vehicle for sharing information and resources among UTSA staff and faculty charged with various aspects of marketing the university to prospective students, current students, and other audiences, both external and internal. The Collective will act as a channel for bridging the university’s decentralized nature, with a specific focus on elevating brand consistency and ownership across the institution.
Quarterly meetings will offer the opportunity for the group to discuss branding, advertising, messaging, collateral development and digital assets among other topics. The efforts of the council will help Strengthen UTSA's market position and prominence, which in turn will help achieve the university's enrollment and retention goals.
Chairs
| Anne Peters University Marketing Associate Vice President for University Marketing & Special Projects |
Kristina Garza Enrollment Marketing Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Marketing, Communications & Systems |
Rebecca Luther Academic Strategic Communications Director of Communications |
Collective Members
University Marketing
| Brett Calvert Senior Executive Director, University Marketing |
Shashi Pinheiro Director, Web Services |
Mitzi Shipley Director, Creative Services |
| Kristin Law Digital Asset Manager |
Jeremiah Barber Web Accessibility & SEO Coordinator |
Drew Vincent Senior Communication & Content Strategist |
| Brandon Fletcher Multimedia Specialist III |
Ximena Vila Ferral Web Designer |
Kimberly Maldonado Project & Content Coordinator (President's Office) |
Enrollment Marketing & Communications
| Erin Moring Associate Director, Enrollment Marketing & Communications |
Doug Baker Associate Director, CRM Systems |
Sarah Harless Assistant Director, Enrollment Marketing & Communications |
| Scott Glavac Assistant Director, Enrollment Marketing & Communications |
Sarah Webb Communications Manager |
Callie Simpson Creative Services Manager |
| Lindsay O'Day Marketing Manager |
Emily Lerma Marketing Coordiantor |
Academic Strategic Communications
| KC Gonzalez Senior Associate Director, Academic Strategic Communications |
John David Garza Assistant Director, Academic Web Development |
Debra Del Toro Director of Strategic Messaging (Provost Office) |
College/Academic Units
| Wendy Frost Alvarez College of Business Director of Communications |
Melissa Lackey Alvarez College of Business Director of Marketing |
Elizabeth Castillo College of Education and Human Development Communications & Development Coordinator |
| Rory Dew Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design Director of Communications |
Amanda Cody College for Health, Community and Policy Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications |
Nick Ward College of Liberal and Fine Arts Associate Director of Communications |
| Ryan Schoensee College of Sciences Senior Communications Specialist |
Rosalinda Montero School of Data Science Senior Communications Coordinator |
Giselle Villalpando The Graduate School Communications Manager |
Recruitment Units
| Ana Rodriguez Freshman and International Recruitment Interim Senior Director for Undergraduate Recruitment |
Belinda Harmon Transfer Recruitment Senior Director for Community Outreach & Transfer Programs |
Jeff Ragsdale Graduate Recruitment Assistant Dean of Graduate Strategic Initiatives |
| Maria Medrano Graduate Recruitment Senior Graduate Recruiter |
Suzana Diaz Rosencrans Online Recruitment Assistant Vice Provost for Online Programs |
Auris Calvino Online Recruitment Assistant Director for Online Marketing |
| Jeff Berry Continuing & Professional Education Marketing Manager |
Additional Units
| Christi Fish University Strategic Communications Senior Executive Director of University Communications |
Katia Diamante University Strategic Communications Social Media Specialist II |
Jennilee Garza Development Director of Development Communications |
| Veronica Dominguez Alumni Relations Associate Director of Alumni Engagement |
Sarah Hada Research & Knowledge Enterprise (REDKE) Director of Communications |
Kevin Wier Institute for Economic Development (REDKE) Director, Communications |
| Lauren Beaver Business Affairs Senior Director, Business Affairs Strategic Communications |
Liz Rickstroh Business Affairs Director of Strategic Initiatives and Content Strategy |
Jessica Abel University Technology Solutions Director of Digital Customer Experience |
| Jan McKinney Student Affairs Executive Director of Communications and Administration |
Shruti Anand Career Center Marketing Coordinator |
Betty Serna Athletics Senior Associate Athletics Director |
Associate Deans, Undergraduate and Graduate Studies
| Mark Appleford Undergraduate Studies Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies |
Jianwei Niu University College Associate Dean of University College |
Lydia Bueno Honors College Assistant Dean of Enrollment Management & Student Life |
| Mark T. Leung Alvarez College of Business Interim Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies |
Rosa Garza-Girdy Alvarez College of Business Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies |
Juan Manuel Sanchez Alvarez College of Business Associate Dean of Graduate Studies & Research |
| Francisco Marquez Alvarez College of Business Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies & Research |
Alberto Cordova College for Health, Community and Policy Associate Dean for Undergraduate Student Success |
Rob Tillyer College for Health, Community and Policy Associate Dean for Graduate Student Success |
| Arturo Montoya Klesse College of Engineering Integrated Design Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs |
Jill Ford Klesse College of Engineering Integrated Design Assistant Dean of COE Student Success Center |
Anson Ong Klesse College of Engineering Integrated Design Senior Associate Dean for Administration & Graduate Programs |
| Norma Guerra College of Education & Human Development Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies |
Vittorio Marone College of Education & Human Development Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies |
Nathan Richardson College of Liberal & Fine Arts Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies & Curriculum |
| Jason Yaeger College of Liberal & Fine Arts Associate Dean for Graduate Studies |
Timothy Yuen College of Sciences Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies |
Jose Lopez-Ribot College of Sciences Associate Dean for Graduate Studies & Research |
