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For Immediate Release:

Gloria Larkin Presenting the Federal Impact on Real Estate During the CREW Baltimore Luncheon Titled “2014: The Road Ahead”

The CREW Baltimore Panel discusses economic changes and strategies in the real estate market in 2014.

Baltimore, MD – January 17, 2014 – Gloria Larkin, President of TargetGov, will be presenting on a panel for the CREW Baltimore Luncheon “2014: The Road Ahead” which focuses on the economic future of the real estate market in the Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. areas. The event will be held at the Hotel Monaco on Thursday, January 23 from 11:30am-2:00pm.

Mrs. Larkin will discuss the impact Sequestration and budget cuts has had on the regional real estate markets, including those related to the Department of Defense and Civilian agencies, with an update on legislation affecting government contracting and the real estate market.

“While the Emerging Trends in Real Estate ©2014 report has a gloomy perspective on the Baltimore-DC real estate market,” says Gloria Larkin, “I anticipate the solidified budget is actually loosening the pent up need for real estate expansion in the civilian agencies.”

Moderating the panel is Nancy R. Ferrell, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of NorthMarq Capital and other panelists include Brenda McKenzie, President & CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation, Roger Staiger, Managing Director of Stage Capital, LLC, Anita Kramer, Vice President of the ULI Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate, and Mary Ann Scully, President and Chief Executive Officer of Howard Bank.

These subject-matter experts will join Gloria Larkin in examining the role of capital markets as indicators for future events, key economic and financial trends, and how federal spending could impact real estate development in the region.

To learn more about CREW Baltimore or to register for this event, visit http://www.crewbaltimore.org.

About Gloria Larkin:

Gloria Larkin, National Marketing and Business Expert, is President of TargetGov. Larkin has been interviewed on MSNBC, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and TheStreet.com. She is an expert author with articles regarding federal business development published in local, regional, national and international publications. She is also the author of two books: “The Basic Guide To Government Contracting” (book & Kindle) and “The Veterans Business Guide: How to Build a Successful Government Contracting Business” now in the fourth printing (book & Kindle). TargetGov clients have won federal contracts worth billions of dollars and the company focuses on government procurement and related business development and marketing services including minority certification services, contract development, proposal management, contract administration and expert federal contracting services.

Separate but equal: Mitigating the risk of Web-borne malware infections

KoolSpan to seek $10M to $12M in VC this year

Bethesda-based mobile security company KoolSpan Inc. plans to seek between $10 million and $12 million in venture funding this year as it expands its international presence.

Company Senior Vice President Francis Knott said funding will be used to grow KoolSpan’s sales and engineering teams, particularly overseas.

“A lot of our growth is international. I would guess that for 2014, international will outweigh domestic as far as growth for us,” Knott said. “Foreign entities seem to be more embracing of pre-empting the problem that exists.”

Koolspan has about 40 employees, 30 of which are based in Maryland. Knott said the company plans to hire another 25 this year.

The company — who’s products include a TrustChip that slides into smartphones and other devices to secure their information — has offices in the United Kingdom, Italy and South Korea. It is also in the final stages of opening an office in the Middle East. Knott would not say where that office is, citing the volatility of the region.

The company also plans to open an office in Brazil this year.

KoolSpan has landed about $40 million in venture capital since its founding in 2003, said Knott, who would not reveal the company’s revenue or say whether it is profitable. Investors include New York-based Security Growth Partners and TWJ Capital in Bethesda.

KoolSpan’s customers include AT&T Wireless and Samsung. Knott said its competitors include Secusmart gmbH in Germany and Cellcrypt in Virginia.

Lawrence Livermore explores the shape of data, expanding query-free analytics

• By William Jackson
• Jan 09, 2014

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is taking advantage of federally funded research into topological data analysis (TDA) to find new ways of extracting and using information from data sets that are too large and complex to yield to traditional analytical techniques.

The lab is collaborating with Ayasdi Inc., a commercial spin-off from research at Stanford University that is funded through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation.  Ayasdi’s Insight Discovery platform is a software suite already being used by private- and public-sector organizations, including the intelligence community, to glean insights from large and varied data collections.

“Big data challenges are a part of our mission,” said Anantha Krishnan,

director of the lab’s Office of Mission Innovation.

The lab uses high-performance computing for modeling and simulation in areas of energy, climate change, biological defense and national security. “For many years the lab has had to rely on homegrown technology,” Krishnan said. “We have developed our own set of data analysis tools and modeling and simulation tools.”

But the lab also is looking at commercial tools that have emerged as big data has become a mainstream subject in IT. “Our sense is that topological data analysis could be a big contributor to the things we do,” Krishnan said.

Topology is a branch of mathematics dating to the 18th century that studies shapes. In the 21st century it has been expanded to apply to problems beyond physical shapes and surfaces to include the very large and high-dimensional data sets that constitute what is called big data. Data has shape, and shape has meaning, said Krishnan. The lab’s work with Ayasdi, announced in November, is an effort to extract that meaning.

“We are going through the evaluation phase now,” said Krishnan. “Our hope is that in the next few months the value will become clear.” The challenge in working with big data is not just volume. Big data is more than small data made large, said Ben Mann, Ayasdi’s vice president of federal operations. “Big data, done right, is completely different.”

Read more at http://gcn.com/articles/2014/01/09/topographical-data-analysis.aspx

NEWS RELEASE –December 2013
Contact:
Alexandra Gold
bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park
443.543.5047
alexandragold@umbc.edu

Three new companies and one expanding company move into bwtech@UMBC’s newest space

Baltimore, MD (December 23, 2013) – bwtech@UMBC is pleased to announce the arrival of the first four companies to its newest space, the CyberHive. ParaTools, Inc., Integrata Security, LLC, and CloudCover, Ltd. have moved into the recently completed space down the hall from the Cyber Incubator located at 5520 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, Maryland. The fourth new CyberHive tenant is current Cyber Incubator company Fearless Solutions, LLC, who has expanded into the new CyberHive office.

The CyberHive was developed to accommodate bwtech@UMBC’s growing incubator program, which continues to accept, nurture, and graduate companies on a regular basis. The first company to join the CyberHive was ParaTools, Inc., www.paratools.com, devoted to the development and application of tools for parallel computing systems, with specific expertise in high performance computing and performance analysis. Most notable in their parallel tool development portfolio is the TAU Performance System® in use at research laboratories across the United States.

The second, Integrata Security, LLC, www.integratasecurity.com, has developed the world's most advanced and effective system for protecting wireless networks.  With technology exclusively licensed from the Department of Defense, Integrata's solution allows enterprises and governments to finally take advantage of safe wireless networking and safely manage the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement.

The third new company to call CyberHive home is CloudCover, Ltd. Headquartered in Burnsville, MN, CloudCover, www.cloudcover.net, is a cyber-risk insurance entity uniquely aligned with cyber security technology focused on underwriting and insuring data security and privacy within online networks. The company’s core solution, known as CloudCover Data Insurance™(CDI), represents a new category of insurance providing continuous data risk governance, as well as active risk transfer protection collectively known as the CloudCover Protocol™.

“CloudCover is excited and feels honored to participate in one of the most advanced, if not the best cyber-technology development incubator, whose primary focus is protecting our country's cyber security and privacy,” said Stephen Cardot, President of CloudCover.

Fearless Solutions joined the Cyber Incubator in June 2010 with one employee, the founder, President, and UMBC graduate, Delali Dzirasa. Since its inception, the company has grown to twelve employees and has won several large contracts in the federal space. “Despite government shutdowns and sequestration, we still managed to grow in the Cyber Incubator and that has been the direct result of our partnership with bwtech@UMBC.  We're excited to expand into the CyberHive and further benefit from the resources that the incubator has to offer,” said Dzirasa.

Fearless Solutions, LLC, www.fearlesssolutions.com, is a minority-owned business that serves a variety of federal, state and local government clients as well as commercial sector clients. The company's core competencies include: visualization, rapid prototyping / proof of concept, software engineering / web application development, development infrastructure setup, project and program management, and equipment procurement.

"We are very excited that ParaTools, Integrata and CloudCover have joined the CyberHive here at the Cyber Incubator@bwtech, and that Fearless Solutions is expanding into this new space as well,” said Jennifer Reynolds, the Director of Venture Creation at bwtech@UMBC. “We are always looking for new, innovative cyber businesses and technologies to add to bwtech’s already large cyber security community.  We are eager to support each of these companies and look forward to their growth and anticipated positive impact on economic development for the region."

About CyberHive: The CyberHive, located at the Cyber Incubator at bwtech@UMBC, offers a unique business development co-working environment for cyber companies seeking opportunities with the government, military and commercial sectors. CyberHive participants enjoy business support services from bwtech@UMBC’s experienced entrepreneurial services team, robust and redundant data connectivity, shared reception areas, private phone booths, coffee lounge, and conference rooms. "Hive" participants also have the opportunity to regularly interact with bwtech@UMBC's cyber security community, which includes over 45 companies and agencies at bwtech@UMBC, as well as UMBC students, faculty and other resources

About bwtech@UMBC: bwtech@UMBC, www.bwtechumbc.com, is a 71-acre research and technology community at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). With over 500,000 square feet of office and laboratory space, it is home to nearly 120 technology and life science companies at all stages of development. bwtech@UMBC offers collaboration with university faculty and students and enjoys a strategic and convenient location, close to downtown Baltimore, BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, and Washington, D.C. Its annual economic impact on the state is estimated to be over $300 million.