SupplyChainBrain.com recently cited World Trade Organization estimates that by 2010 there will be close to 400 bilateral and regional free-trade agreements in place around the world.  The growing number of agreements has complicated companies' ability to evaluate duty-avoidance alternatives and minimize the total landed cost of imported goods.

Management Dynamics compares distribution strategies using trade content information from 120 countries.  Nathan Pieri, senior vice president of marketing and product management at Management Dynamics says, "we have a number of tools, including Trade Planner, to help [importers] figure out where the critical components of an end product should be sourced so that overall landed cost is lower. It is no longer just about going to China. You could have a slightly higher invoice from another country but if there is a preferential agreement in place, you could end up with a lower landed cost because of duty savings."

ForeSee Results recently reported that citizen satisfaction with federal government web sites improved for the first time in a year, according to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Government Satisfaction Index.  The study also found that improvements in satisfaction could save tax dollars as citizens migrate to the web-channel as a primary resource, and away from more expensive channels like call centers.  Satisfied users of government websites are:

• 84% more likely to use the web as a primary resource for information or transactions;
• 82% more likely to recommend the website; and,
• 56% more likely to return to the site than dissatisfied citizens.

ForeSee reported that the highest-scoring federal website continues to be Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps6z/i1020/), with a score of 88 on the ACSI’s 100-point scale.  The site has been at the top of the Index in each quarterly report for the last two years.

"What it does, is it takes a very difficult and confusing process and makes it easier for people to understand," Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results, said in an interview. "They're really providing a value to people to understand what's going on. Even though it's not the prettiest site to look at, it seems to meet the needs of its users. And that's what it comes done to - meeting customers' needs." 

Potomac Tech Wire has announced the latest event in its breakfast round table series, "The Future of Software."  Topics to be discussed by senior industry executives and technology investors in the Mid-Atlantic include software-as-a-service, open source growth, business models and trends in enterprise software and venture capital. 

Updata Partners' Carter Griffin will participate on a panel entitled, "Venture Capital: Investing in Software," along with Harry Gruner, General Partner at JMI Equity and Don Rainey, General Partner at Grotech Ventures.

The event will be held from 8:00am - 10:30am on Friday, September 5 at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Alert Logic, an award-winning provider of on-demand IT compliance and security solutions, announced that it has secured its 500th customer in the first half of 2008.  Other important milestones for Alert Logic this year include:

• Announcing channel alliances with two web hosting companies, Hostway and Logicworks, and an IT distributor, Ingram Micro.
• Winning a Red Herring 100 Award, a selection of the 100 most innovative private technology companies based in North America.
• Receiving a Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70) Type II audit report. Alert Logic was also re-certified to perform assessments for organizations that must comply with the PCI DSS.
• Releasing an upgrade to Alert Logic Log Manager™, its flagship log management product.
• Tripling the size of its Houston, TX-based headquarters, moving into 21,000 square feet of office space.
• Raising $8.25 million in Series C financing, led by Updata Partners and included existing investors Hunt Ventures, OCA Ventures, DFJ Mercury and Access Venture Partners.

Adoption of Alert Logic's IT compliance and security solutions has been driven largely by industry and government regulations such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Many organizations struggling to comply with these and other mandates choose Alert Logic because its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform delivers log management, intrusion protection and vulnerability management solutions that are the easiest to implement and use.

LogiXML, a leading provider of web-based enterprise business intelligence (BI) solutions expanded its LogiOnDemand business unit with the acquisition of OnDemandIQ, a Los Angeles-based provider of sales analytics. LogiOnDemand builds innovative BI solutions on LogiXML's technology in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for enterprise, SMB and individual end users.

The LogiOnDemand unit launched last month with the announcement of its first product, Widgenie, the industry’s only on-demand, interactive data visualization tool.  Widgenie allows users to quickly create dynamic charts and table graphics from spreadsheets or online data feeds, publish them to web sites, blogs and social networks, share their widgets and track usage.

Updata Partners completed a $5 million round of financing with LogiXML in December of 2007.

ContextWeb a leading contextual advertising company and operator of the ADSDAQ Exchange, announced that it has closed a $26 million Series D round of funding led by Investor Growth Capital, with participation from all existing investors, which includes DFJ, DFJ Gotham Ventures, Updata Partners, DFJ New England and Gold Hill Capital.  The financing brings ContextWeb's total equity investment to $54 million.  Noah Walley, Managing Director of Investor Growth Capital, has joined the board of directors.

CEO Anand Subramanian said of the financing, "This round of funding will help propel current and future product releases as we rapidly grow the ADSDAQ Exchange. Our Agency Trading Desk, Publisher Reach Extension Program, Self-Serve Publisher Selling Desk, Self-Serve Advertiser Buying Desk and Buying Desk for Vertical Ad Networks all provide scalable solutions for advertisers, ad agencies and publishers."

ContextWeb is a leader in the growing online advertising market.  According to the company's announcement, which cites a report by IDC, internet ad spending in Q1 of 2008 was up 23.9% vs. the same period in 2007.  ContextWeb's ADSDAQ Exchange ranks among the top 20 ad-supported properties, according to comScore Media Metrix, and reaches more than 100 million monthly unique visitors, as of May of 2008.

Earlier this month, Updata Partners portfolio company RedVision announced expanded market coverage of its online titling research services for the real estate industry.  The company acquired Colorado Record Data (CRD) and CRS Title Services (CRS), marking a dynamic step forward for RedVision as it rapidly grows its national title research footprint to support lenders, insurers and default services companies, according to their press announcement.

RedVision serves users of title evidence looking for relevant and accurate information to make sound business decisions relating to real property transactions. RedVision's unique approach combines a distributed services workflow platform, a vast title plant database, and well-trained service experts to provide accurate, cost effective, and timely real property research services for its banking, title, default and settlement service customers.

"We believe this business combination represents the essence of our overall strategy. CRD and CRS have excellent reputations for quality and a passion for customer excellence. We believe our combined technologies and national service infrastructure will offer all our customers even greater advantages in efficiencies and products, as well as wider coverage for our national clients," said Brian Twibell, CEO of RedVision.