The software helps organizations achieve greater efficiency, comply with regulations such as HIPAA and, most importantly, manage the lifecycle of myriad types of files. Once documents are scanned into the archive, or directly saved there from virtually any application, users can, among other things, search, retrieve, add metadata to and share files – all from a Web browser. Workflow is another part of the system and has been dramatically enhanced from the previous version. Powered by DocuLex’s ‘decision engine,’ organizations can automate the structure of document exchanges so work activities have consistency and are accomplished efficiently and to completion.

The company states that Archive Studio has found a home in many  markets including: accounting, legal, manufacturing, healthcare, education and human resources, as well as architectural, engineering and construction environments. Professional Edition – the subject of this report – is suitable for small and medium-size businesses. Small Office Edition is targeted at workgroups and departments, while Enterprise Edition is ideal for larger organizations that desire one content management solution to be used across all departments and/or locations.

Incorporated in 1996, Winter Haven-based DocuLex, an early entry into our growing downtown technology core, creates non-proprietary enterprise content management software. Archive Studio is easy to use, productive electronic document management software for any business environment seeking secure Instant Document Access. See www.doculex.com for program information and demonstrations.

The Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce that we will present our first ever “Green Works Expo” showcasing environmentally friendly businesses and products.  The event will take place on August 26 and feature afternoon hours for the general public and evening hours for the Chamber’s monthly Networking Showcase.

The Expo is being organized by a Chamber committee chaired by Chad Lennox with QuickBeam Energy. Committee members include Lauren Oakley with Windsor Lighting and Everton Jackson with Polk State Corporate College. There are sponsorship and exhibit opportunities available: email chamber1@winterhavenfl.com for further information.

The Green Works Expo is planned to be held in the Chamber’s downtown building but may, based on interest from exhibitors, be moved to a larger venue if necessary.

Mark your calendar now for a great afternoon and evening of Green Works information, refreshments and live entertainment all with an eye toward a sustainable Winter Haven. QuickBeam Energy is the first supporting sponsor of this event.

Thursday, May 6 was a busy day for USF Polytechnic University as it held ribbon cutting ceremonies for both Blue Sky East and Blue Sky West business accelerator facilities. Blue Sky East festivities were held in Lakeland. Pictured above, dignitaries at the Blue Sky West celebration prepare to launch the business accelerator located in the 610 Plaza building.

Pictured left to right: Winter Haven City Commissioners J. P. Powell and Steve Hunnicutt; Chamber President Howard King; County Commissioner Randy Wilkerson; Winter Haven Mayor Jeff Potter; USF Polytechnic President Marshall Goodman (partially hidden); State Senator J. D. Alexander; USF Polytechnic Board member Gene Engle; CFDC President Tom Patton; City Commissioner Nat Birdsong and 610 Corporation’s Bud Strang

Artist concept looking SE from interection of Ave. A and Third St. NW

Winter Haven City Commissioners met today (Friday, March 12) in a Quarterly Planning Workshop designed to discuss potential new projects and review the status of previous priorities.

One primary area of interest involved a proposed downtown parking garage that would be situated on the block where the Ritz Theatre is located. The garage would essentially wrap around the theatre. Conceptual plans call for first floor retail space for urban connectivity and several floors of parking spaces including a top deck. Total number of spaces would number slightly more that 5oo.

Commissioner Jamie Beckett pointed to the new “Business Continuity Center” located in the 610 Plaza building (formerly Verizon) that can accommodate overnight up to 250 workers from a business that has suffered an interruption due to catastrophic circumstances anywhere.  Beckett said his number one question from downtown businesses dealt with parking and he added, “Where will we park those 250 extra workers.” (Also, a developing downtown technology sector now employs approximately 230 people and is projected to employ 500 by 2012.)

City Manager Dale Smith noted that parking garages are never inexpensive but the current economic climate should produce a cost effective climate for building.

The commissioners instructed staff to develop definite plans and recommendations on how to proceed.

The planning workshop lasted three-hours and dealt with a variety of topics. The Commission is also interested in evaluating the need for updating the Community’s visioning document, “Our Future By Design.”

The primary driver of this tech hub is two large telecommunications buildings formerly owned by Verizon/GTE and now owned and being developed by the Six Ten Corporation. The two buildings are hardened and carrier grade and have become the anchors for what is now known as the Inland Fiber and Data Park — a four-block area offering safe data storage and emergency back up facilities to both government and corporate clients from throughout Florida and both national and international interests.

There is currently 300,000 square feet of space serving 26 companies with approximately 230 employees. Six Ten is proposing to add another 50,000 square feet of new space by 2012 effectively doubling the number of companies to 50 and employment to 500. These high technology jobs are projected to average wages of $43,000 – $69,000.

Currently there are eight fiber optic providers located downtown. They include: Level 3, Verizon, Nuvox, Time Warner Telecom, FPL Fibernet, BrightHouse and Sprint. That number is expected to grow to twelve by 2012.

Tenants include medical, business service and support, software developers, data centers anddisaster recovery, technology, educational institutions and State and Federal Government. Another key partner in the development of this technology park is Elephant Outlook Information Services providing secure email management and compliance.

Key to this emerging sector is the synergy derived from public/private partnerships. Six Ten Corporation and Elephant Outlook are partnering with the resources of the City of Winter Haven, Central Florida Development Council, East Polk Committee of 100 and USF Polytechnic to maximize the position of Polk County and Winter Haven in this highly desirable area of economic development.

High wage and high potential in the heart of downtown. The future looks bright.

Do you have an idea for technology- related business, or know of an existing business interested in setting up shop in central Florida? If so, we might just have the resources and personnel in place to help you succeed.

The University of South Florida Polytechnic is pleased to announce that the staff of our USFP Blue Sky Business Incubator (Lakeland) and Business Accelerator (Winter Haven – to be housed in the 610 Plaza building pictured right) is officially in place. Their main charge is to promote the USFP Blue Sky sites to start up tech companies and young firms who can benefit from the many resources afforded to them through the world-class Blue Sky facilities, our economic development partners throughout the community and the highly skilled students, faculty, and staff at USFP.

Specifically, USFP Blue Sky East and USFP Blue Sky West will offer:

- Free or subsidized, fully furnished office space
- Connections to the University’s substantial resources, including;
- Technology
- Research
- Expertise
- Social Networking
- Student Interns

The USFP Blue Sky centers enjoy collaborative relationships with key economic development partners in state and local government, as well as:

Central Florida Development Council
Central Florida Partnership
East Polk Committee of 100
Florida High Tech Corridor
Lakeland Economic Development Council
Tampa Bay Partnership

In addition to these valuable connections, our newly placed USFP Blue Sky staff members represent experience in the fields of business development, international business, and entrepreneurship. They will be on site to assist to you take your operation to the next level.

We’re looking for a few good companies… to help us move Polk County and central Florida forward. Call us today at 863.667.7056 or email us at BlueSky@poly.usf.edu for more information.

Please visit us on the web at http://poly.usf.edu/BlueSky/

Refreshments will be served immediately following the Ribbon Cutting and tours of both facilities will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. We encourage you to make time in your busy schedule to join with area Chamber members in this celebration!

Ridge Career Center is located at 7700 State Road 544 in Winter Haven.

The LandMaster family of products includes applications specifically developed to support growers and processors in data collection and land management including identification of the land, blocks, and parcel locations, by commodity, variety, growers and ownership. LandMaster was developed to be modular and therefore growers can purchase specific applications to support their agricultural operations. Key applications in the new LandMaster family of software include: Crop Care, Crop Scout, Harvest, Field Time, GEO, Commodity Processing  and Available for Sale.

ProPak Software has previous experience in citrus-related software through its existing CitrusPro software platform. The company began development and investment in the LandMaster family of products more than three years ago. “The launch of LandMaster is a culmination of our long-term plan to offer software solutions that can transform agriculture.” stated John Sauer, President of ProPak Software.

LandMaster software handles all types of agricultural commodities and activities from crop care to geospatial mapping, which is integrated with Microsoft Virtual Earth from the point of contact in the field. Crop scouts can utilize GPS coordinates to mark trees for further inspections, replacement and many other caretaking activities. Harvesting managers and caretakers can use an electronic and interactive map of their operations and monitor activities on a real-time basis from anywhere and at anytime. LandMaster is available as a site license to larger growers and as an online service to smaller growers.

“LandMaster and the Ford Work Solutions in-dash computer system and a mobile broadband internet allows citrus growers and all commodity growers with an integrated real-time approach to take care of our agricultural food supply more efficiently and safely by monitoring all aspects of the growing process, from the time they purchase and identify the land,” stated Rick Montney, Vice President of ProPak Software.

ProPak Software is a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner and, in addition to the LandMaster Family of Products, also markets CitrusPro and BeveragePro software developed for the citrus and beverage markets.

Propak is one more important facet of Winter Haven’s growing technology hub. It was founded in 1992 and has its roots in the citrus industry.

“We want a diverse group of entrepreneurs with the potential to create a significant economic impact in central Florida,” says Marshall Goodman, VP and CEO of USF Polytechnic. “These facilities provide opportunities for a wide range of enterprises. Some will be raw start-ups, and some will be more advanced. Regardless of the stage, Blue Sky represents an opportunity to thrive.”

Applicants must be for-profit technology corporations, with proprietary technologies preferred. Applicants can be a start-up company, an existing small business in a growth phase, an existing business launching a new business project, or an international business looking for a soft-landing site.

The Blue Sky facilities are the first public business technology incubators in Polk County. They will focus on attracting and nurturing entrepreneurial businesses by creating a place where USF Poly faculty, staff and students can work with businesses to develop innovative technology. Incubated companies will benefit from the proximity to and resources of a national research university as well as the assets of economic development networks.

The application is available at here. Applicants must be for-profit technology corporations. Preference will be shown for proprietary technologies. Applicants can be start-ups, existing small businesses looking to grow, an existing business that is launching a new project, or an international business looking for site in the U.S. that plans to hire locally and pay local taxes.

Moraco said, “I’m excited about the partnership. I have built Cyberlink1 with a foundation of creativity and technical specialization to guide clients of all sizes and industries through the complicated and ever-changing world of the Web. My team and I have enjoyed providing clients with the very best design and hosting solutions and we are thrilled to continue those same high standards in partnerhsip with Kingham Software.

Among the clients served by Cyberlink1 are:  Atlantic Blue, Bogdahn Group, Eye Express, Six Ten Corporation, Peterson Myers, The Humane Society and Keep Winter Haven Clean and Beautiful to name but a few. Moraco will continue his role in sales and marketing consulting and will be available to assist with new projects.

The joint venture is another step in the growing technology sector in downtown Winter Haven. Both Cyberlink1 and Kingham are long time players in area Web development.