Category Archives: Strategic Planning

Olympus

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Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) June 06, 2012

VoiceBase, Inc., a leading provider of machine-based voice indexing and search services, and Olympus, the market leader in manufacturing of portable digital voice recorders and professional dictation devices, today announced a strategic partnership. With just a few clicks, users of Olympus voice recorders can now store their personal recordings in the VoiceBase cloud where they become searchable by any spoken word, making it easy to find and listen to the most relevant section of any recording.

VoiceBase serves a big need for many Olympus users with an exciting solution that combines cloud storage with automatic keyword transcription and audio search services. VoiceBase even suggests terms identified in the recording, making it easy to explore and discover lectures, interviews and other personal audio content, said Amy Leslie, Senior Marketing and Business Development Manager, for Olympus.

VoiceBases unique pricing plan allows users to store up to 50 hours of audio for free, and up to 500 hours of audio for just $ 7.99/month. All uploaded recordings are machine-transcribed and search enabled within minutes. As needed, users can optionally select a perfect human transcription of any recording at industry-leading rates.

We are excited to improve how journalists, students, lawyers and doctors use their Olympus voice recorders by making all of their recordings searchable and sharable, said Walter Bachtiger, CEO of VoiceBase. Our partnership with Olympus highlights our unique service offering to personal and professional voice users.

About VoiceBase

Founded in 2010, VoiceBase is a leading provider of massively scalable cloud-based voice indexing and search services, designed to make uploaded audio and video content fully searchable and discoverable by keyword within minutes. The companys BIG VOICE solution utilizes a patent-pending user interface that combines automatically extracted keywords and color-coded, time-synchronized markers to facilitate the search and discovery of any recording. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VoiceBase is privately held. For more information on VoiceBase visit http://www.voicebase.com .

About Olympus Imaging America Inc.

Olympus Imaging America Inc. is a precision technology leader, designing and delivering award-winning products for consumer and professional markets.

Olympus Imaging America Inc. works collaboratively with its customers and its ultimate parent company, Olympus Corporation, to develop breakthrough technologies with revolutionary product design and functionality that enhance peoples lives every day. These include:

Brian Tracy to deliver keynote address at National Agents Alliance Key To Tomorrow Leadership Conference

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Burlington, NC (PRWEB) June 04, 2012

Brian Tracy, national bestselling author, speaker and trainer, will deliver the keynote address at NAAs Key To Tomorrow Leadership Conference July 14 in Raleigh, N.C., National Agents Alliance President and CEO Andy Albright announced today.

Tracy, the author of 50-plus books, just released his latest effort Kiss That Frog, a book that was co-written with his daughter Christina Tracy Stein.

Tracys appearance also happens to coincide with the beginning of a celebration: the 10th anniversary of National Agents Alliance.

Ive been a big fan of Brian Tracys for many years, Albright said. Ive read his books, listened to a number of his audios and Ive had the pleasure of seeing him speak in person over the years. With us coming up on our tenth anniversary, we thought it would be fitting to find a big-name speaker to address our team. I cant think of a better person that fits that bill than Brian Tracy. We are very excited to have him coming to our conference.

In addition to Tracy, motivational speaker and war hero Clebe McClary and his wife, DeAnna will speak at the conference, along with The Goads and the top leaders of National Agents Alliance.

Tracy is the chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations. He has consulted more than 1,000 companies and has addressed more than 5 million people in more than 50 countries. In 2011, he spoke to more than 250,000 people.

Now, hes ready to speak to The Alliance.

I am very much looking forward to being a part of a great event focused on building corporate culture, growing people, and making a difference, Tracy said. This can be the turning or take-all point for each person. In Perform at Your Best, my 90-minute seminar, Ill give you some great ideas to be even more successful than you already are.

Tracy has studied, researched, written and spoken for 30 years in the fields of economics, history, business, philosophy and psychology. He has written and produced more than 300 audio and video learning programs, including the worldwide, best-selling Psychology of Achievement, which has been translated into more than 20 languages.

Prior to founding his company, BTI, Tracy was the Chief Operating Officer of a $ 265 million dollar development company. He has had successful careers in sales and marketing, investments, real estate development and syndication, importation, distribution and management consulting. He has conducted high-level consulting assignments with several billion-dollar-plus corporations in strategic planning and organizational development.

Tracy has traveled and worked in more than 80 countries on six continents, and speaks four languages. Brian is married and has four children and three grandchildren. He is active in community and national affairs, and is the president of three companies headquartered in Solana Beach, Calif.







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Strives Work Cited in White House Council for Community Solutions Report as a Leading Example of Community Collaborative Success

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Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) June 07, 2012

The White House Council for Community Solutions has cited the Strive Partnership in a new report, recognizing the Partnerships success in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky in increasing high school graduation rates and college-attendance rates over a six-year period.

The report, titled Community Solutions for Opportunity Youth, is meant to highlight successful strategies to empower Americas youth, particularly those between ages 16-24 who have become disconnected from both school and jobs. The report, presented to President Obama this week, identified a dozen communities across the country where multiple sectors have pulled together in order to increase progress by more than 10 percent on a community-wide metric, and more than 100 additional communities that are making progress in this direction.

Specifically, the report recognized KnowledgeWorks, the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, and the University of Cincinnati for creating Strive in order to strategically address ways to solve the problem of high school graduation and college enrollment rates, among others.

A shared vision, deep research, and data-driven planning and evaluation were several important factors that made the program succeed. Strategically aligning existing resources against cradle-to-career needs has led to 40 of the 54 identified indicators moving in a positive direction with several including college enrollment rates, the report said about Strive.

Jeff Edmondson, Managing Director of the Strive Network that is now expanding the cradle to career approach nationwide, said the White House report validates that communities must be strategic to find ways to solve longstanding problems related to improving student achievement.

We realized, as are so many other communities that we have to stop being program rich and system poor. A spray and pray approach to improving outcomes for children does not work, Edmondson said. Once a community begins to focus their collective efforts to improve specific outcomes, the dial on student achievement will really start to move. Thats what our work is all about and that is what this report affirms. Over the long-term, the social and economic payoff is substantial for communities who do this well.

Greg Landsman, who heads the Strive Partnership in Cincinnati, said he was honored that the partnerships work was recognized.

This is really a testament to the contributions of all of our partners on the ground that carry out the work, apply the data, and seek to continuously improve outcomes for kids, Landsman said. If our community is seen as providing lessons others can draw from to improve, that makes us proud.

President Obama created the White House Council for Community Solutions in December 2010 by Executive Order to encourage the growth and maximize the impact of innovative community solutions and civic participation. The Council was charged with: identifying key attributes of successful community solutions; highlighting best practices, tools, and models of cross-sector collaboration and civic participation; and making recommendations on how to engage all stakeholders in community solutions that have a significant impact on solving the nations most serious problems.

The report comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Educations recently announced Race to the Top district competition, which awards school districts for developing partnerships that lead to Cradle to Career Results, Resource Alignment and Integrated Services. In essence, it gives districts working with partners a path to shift from loosely defined collaboration to concrete goals and expectations for performance and accountability among all those who are investing time, talent and treasure in the success of children.

To read the full White House Council for Community Solutions report, please click on this link.

New Orleans Scores Big in TripAdvisors TripIndex that Reveals Southern U.S. as Top Region for Travelers Looking for Domestic Deals

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New Orleans, LA (PRWEB) June 17, 2012

This is the second year TripIndex has named the south as the top region for travelers looking for deals. New Orleans scored in the top four of the ten most affordable U.S. destinations, along with Dallas, Atlanta, and Orlando. Based on a nights stay, dinner for two, drinks, and a taxi ride, the four cities averaged between $ 283 and $ 309.

We have long known that New Orleans is a great bargain, said Mark Romig, President and CEO of the New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation. Not only is the price point right, but you get an authentic experience found nowhere else in America.

The U.S. list comprises 15 popular, editorially selected U.S. cities, focusing on large and popular tourism markets in the U.S. International destinations were also measured. An illustrated graph is attached.

“New Orleans is both an affordable and attractive destination,” said Stephen Perry, President and CEO of the New Orleans CVB. “Our city exposes business and leisure travelers alike to our culturally- significant dining, music and nightlife experiences all while providing the practicality of budget-friendly travel.”

TripIndex priced out the following items in each destination to represent the cost of an evening out for two people:

PublicRelay Expands Executive Analytics with Actionable, Quality Share of Voice.

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RESTON, VA (PRWEB) June 14, 2012

PublicRelay, the transformative PR software solution for communications professionals in the Fortune 500, government, and non-profit sectors, today announced the expansion of its reporting and analytics capabilities with its new actionable Quality Share of Voice.

This new analysis approach, coupled with CEO-caliber charting shows the segments comprising share of voice by key topic or company. Other SOV offerings on the market frequently include large volumes of erroneous mentions from weak sources and value them equally with prominent coverage from branded, national publications. PublicRelays approach extracts and analyzes the relevant coverage from the outlets and influencers that matter most to an organization

By measuring content across a focused, strategic set of online, print, social media, and broadcast outlets, teams can now benchmark their communications outreach results with confidence against only the outlets that are priorities. This can also help teams definitively prove their impact to management. PublicRelays technology-human hybrid approach to measurement and monitoring guarantees the accuracy of these results. Easily customizable reporting outputs add a final level of polish to the precise underlying data.

Eric Koefoot, Managing Partner of PublicRelay, commented on the value of the new feature for organizations that actively manage their reputation. He stated, Quality Share of Voice provides our customers with another great tool to focus their teams on the media relationships that really matter and prove their value against a metric they can actually influence each and every day.

Quality Share of Voice joins PublicRelays suite of analytics and executive reports that deliver the most insightful, yet easiest to use, media intelligence for PR and corporate communications professionals.

About PublicRelay

PublicRelay is the premier PR media monitoring and analytics solution for communications and marketing professionals. Known for its ease of use, superior data quality, and actionable information, PublicRelay delivers accurate business intelligence, drives proactive influencer engagement, and proves PR impact for the worlds most prominent corporations, associations, and government agencies. For more information, visit http://www.publicrelay.com







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Intrepid Hires John Hathaway, Innovative Learning Technology Pioneer

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Seattle, WA (PRWEB) June 12, 2012

Intrepid Learning (http://www.intrepidlearning.com), an award-winning provider of corporate learning services and learning technology designed to accelerate productivity and growth for businesses worldwide, today announced that John Hathaway has joined the company as Director of Product Management.

Hathaway will be responsible for the management, oversight and execution required to ensure the success of Intrepids technology-enabled learning solutions, including product planning, product marketing, and product governance.

Technology-enabled learningand increasingly informal technology-enabled learning–represents a sea change in the learning industry, and Intrepid will play a leadership role in this shift, says Sam Herring, Co-Founder and CEO of Intrepid. John is an industry veteran who has been pioneering learning technology innovation for over 15 years. I know his creativity will help us innovate cutting-edge learning technology solutions that solve pressing business challenges for our clients.

Hathaway created groundwork for todays SCORM standard as architect of Oracles Reusable Content Object Strategy and, jointly with Macromedia, created the first JavaScript API for communication between learning content and an LMS. Earlier in his career as CTO of Headlight.com, he led design and development of the first e-commerce portal for e-learning, which aggregated more than 3,000 courses from 36 publishers. And at GeneEd, he refined the production process and created XML-based Flash templates to enhance interactivity and reduce production costs of high-end e-learning content for bioscience and pharmaceutical companies. At Autodesk, where John was an Intrepid client for several years, he worked closely with the Intrepid team to create a custom performance support platform to aid Autodesk channel partners in consulting and sales efforts.

As co-founder and President of VelocityMG (VMG), John led strategy, content, and technology projects, including e-commerce learning portals and social learning communities. Following the acquisition of VMG by Appirio, he provided user adoption and training strategy consulting for clients such as LOreal, TIAA-CREF, Proctor & Gamble, and Suntech.

Intrepid has created a unique learning platform that no traditional learning technology can matchit provides real and meaningful value to companies and organizations. I look forward to continuing and advancing my innovation focus at Intrepid the company is clearly at the forefront of 21st century learning and the transformation of the workplace, says Hathaway.

Adds Herring: Weve known John well over the years as a client, partner and friend. We respect his many talents and are thrilled to welcome him to the Intrepid team as our colleague. We are excited that John is continuing his innovative career at Intrepid.

About Intrepid Learning

Intrepid Learning is an organization of 270-plus learning professionals who design and deliver strategic learning consulting services and technology-enabled learning solutions, and provide expert execution and management of learning operations. These solutions and services adapt to how individuals learn best, and they also scale to meet an organizations business needs and challenges. Intrepid believes that learning can empower individuals and transform organizations. The company is committed to the idea that learning, when expertly designed and delivered, can drive business performance and growth. Founded in 1999, Intrepid is passionate about learning and exclusively dedicated to it.

For Additional Information

http://www.intrepidlearning.com

For Inquiries on Service Offerings

Darin Hartley, Vice President of Sales and Business Development http://www.linkedin.com/in/darinhartley







Healthcare Market Resources’ New Data Negates Assumptions on In-House Home Health Agencies

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Dresher, PA (PRWEB) June 15, 2012

In the Post-Obama Care realm, post-acute providers feel pressured to integrate services and optimize partnerships and alliances. Todays home health agencies, jockeying for position in order to become a preferred provider for their services, often feel like second class citizens to in-house or captive agencies.

Healthcare Market Resources, (HMR) a leading provider of custom market data for hospices and home health agencies, announces a new set of metrics to dispel the myths associated with hospital-based home health referrals.

Theres a commonly held belief in the home health industry, particularly among freestanding organizations, that hospital-based and hospital-affiliated home health agencies(HHAs) monopolize all the in-house referrals, Richard Chesney, HMR CEO said.

Healthcare Market Resources set out to examine that myth with a new analysis by linking Medicare hospital inpatient claims to home health admissions or readmissions within a four day window.

Based on an analysis of 2009 Medicare claims data, HMR was able to determine the specific home health agencies that patients went to from each hospital. The research goes beyond the boundaries of previous analysis which was limited to examining competition within a geographical area, explained Chesney. Our analysis gives insight into the referral patterns established by specific hospitals bringing market share analysis down to the micro level. More than 67% of the hospitals did not have a dominant provider.

Whether you operate in the state of Alaska with over 86% of high market share hospitals that year or in Louisiana with just over 6% of hospitals considered to have a dominant agency in 2009, the research details how hospitals behave in a particular market.

Healthcare Market Resources offers a glance at the state data used for its analysis with a comprehensive chart at http://www.healthmr.com/resources/highmarketsharehospitals. The data is an effective tool for home health agencies to discover referral opportunities to support their goals with strategies for growth in market share. Healthcare Market Resources new market research is inclusive of any hospital and can be leveraged by any home health agency.

A review of the data in a particular market can reveal that while some of the states in the highest quartile have CON restrictions on access, that regulatory-limited provider base did not automatically lead to a high percentage of single-agency dominated institutions.

Our data analysis can take into account that a hospital may attract patients beyond the service area of the captive agency or even go as far as to make note that in many metropolitan areas, patients can easily cross state lines to get care, while agencies cannot, Chesney explained. The research identifies the hospitals that have a dominant agency, with more than 70% market share, but this HHA may not be a captive organization

By effectively connecting our research with a custom report on your market, Home health agencies looking to expand their market share can now take their sales strategies to a micro level, Chesney said.

A sampling of the detail inherent in the state-specific report can be found at http://www.healthmr.com/resources/highmarketsharehospitals and additional descriptions of specific reports can be obtained by calling 215-657-7373.

The consistent takeaway from all of our data, regardless of the state you operate in, is that home health agencies that look at their market share based on assumptions or myths will be off the mark when it comes to meeting their quotas, Chesney stated.

About Healthcare Market Resources

Healthcare Market Resources, Inc., a leading provider of reliable data enables home health agencies and hospices to make market decisions based on data and not perceptions. Its customized local market reports give healthcare executives a competitive edge for business development and strategic planning initiatives. http://www.healthmr.com.







NET(net), Inc. Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire The Copperwood Group

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Holland, Michigan (PRWEB) June 11, 2012

NET(net), Inc., a leading global provider of comprehensive IT Investment Optimization Services, announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Copperwood Group. The US-based Copperwood Group specializes in Executive IT Advisory Services for health systems, hospitals, providers and payers.

NET(net) will merge the services of the Copperwood Group into its NET(net) Healthcare division under the leadership of Matt Hartzman, Executive Vice-President. Key Copperwood Group Principals, Hal Fontinelle and John Barr, will join NET(net) as Senior Vice Presidents of Value Creation and Value Delivery for healthcare respectively.

The Copperwood Group acquisition adds considerable experience, while enhancing NET(net) Healthcares scope of services. The Copperwood Group has been delivering Executive IT Advisory Services to healthcare organizations since 2003, helping clients navigate the growing complexity of IT supplier relationships. These services have included technology assessments, solution design and implementation, contracting assistance, supplier management and governance, service level agreement development and management, and interim IT management.

Because of the way healthcare organizations plan for, deploy, and consume information technologies, they are particularly susceptible to sub-optimization, says NET(net) CEO Steven C. Zolman. Healthcare is at the top of industries that significantly overpay for IT. NET(net) has a long track record of success in helping clients significantly lower costs, improving the value of their technology investments. With the acquisition of the Copperwood Group, we are acquiring nearly a century of experience that has been exclusively focused on the healthcare industry, and an organization committed to serving the unique and demanding needs of healthcare clients for nearly a decade.

Copperwood Group co-founder and Principal and NET(net) Healthcare SVP of Healthcare Value Creation, Hal Fontinelle, says, Having been involved in the healthcare IT business for over 4 decades I have always felt that many healthcare organizations struggle with procurement of technology and related services. When I co-founded The Copperwood Group I wanted to create leverage for healthcare organizations in their procurement and negotiation of technical services and products and we were highly successful. NET(net) shares this core belief and brings a wealth of experience from other market sectors that will advantage healthcare IT buyers. I believe that that combined solution we are offering in NET(net) Healthcare can and will have a dramatic impact on optimizing health IT related expenditures by leveraging our collective strengths and experience.

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BG Medical Welcomes Vertical Farming Expert Nick Brusatore to Scientific Advisory Board

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Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 11, 2012

BG Medical Technologies, Inc. (OTC:RIGH) announced today that a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) has been established to guide progress for the companys BG Vision and BG Health Services programs. The function of the SAB is to provide advice and guidance in developing new solutions for natural medicinal production, diagnostic device design, and telehealth naturopathy services. The initial focus of the SAB will be on technology acquisitions to facilitate Internet-based solutions for the 50 million uninsured patients in the USA, and patients looking to augment traditional health care packages with cost effective nature-based practices.

BG Medical Technologies is pleased to announce that technology expert and pioneer in the vertical farming industry, Nick Brusatore, has agreed to join the SAB.

Mr. Brusatore is the CEO of Vertical Designs, Ltd., a firm for designing vertical farming technologies related to food and natural medicine production. Nick is the designer of TerraSphere systems and several well-established technologies for cloning and plant tissue propagation. He is an innovative eco-entrepreneur, natural capitalist, mechanical designer, and inventor. Nick has presented on the benefits of vertical farm production facilities and energy saving technologies upon the international stage, including Vancouver, Haiti, New York, and various college universities. Mr. Brusatore also serves as the Chairman of the British Columbia Institute of Technologys Centre for Applied Research and Innovation Advisory Committee.

BGMT is creating a world-class think tank of leaders in green health technologies, commented Angel Stanz, CEO. Mr. Brusatore will lend his experience and thought leadership in selecting and improving the best available technologies for use in our naturopathy health care systems, natural medicine, and nutraceutical production.

About BG Medical Technologies

BG Medical Technologies develops ancillary support services for natural health treatment, patients, and professionals, including its flagship research laboratory and website portal, BudGenius.com. BG Medical Technologies, Inc. currently trades under the symbol OTC:RIGH. Symbol and name change pending.

http://www.BgMedTech.com

The foregoing press announcement contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by such terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “plans,” “suggests,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “intends,” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. In particular, management’s expectations could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties relating to our success in completing acquisitions, financing our operations, entering into strategic partnerships, engaging management and other matters disclosed by us in our public filings from time to time. Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they are made. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.

Contact:

Angel Stanz

Chief Executive Officer

pr(at)bgmedtech(dot)com

(855) 723-3283

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Five Months Ahead of Schedule, Sagitec Delivers Pension Solution to the Denver Employees Retirement Plan

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St. Paul, MN (PRWEB) June 14, 2012

Sagitec Solutions, LLC, the Minnesota-based IT firm specializing in tailor-made pension administration systems, successfully delivered an integrated line-of-business solution for the Denver Employees Retirement Plan (DERP) of Denver, CO five months ahead of schedule. Despite a flood of early retirements that forced DERP staff to take a three-month hiatus from the project, dedicated teams from both parties collaborated on an innovative solution to the potentially serious setback and drove the project to successful completion. The new system, called CRIS, is live and currently supporting all of DERPs core business functions.

Sagitec demonstrated a true commitment to the success of the CRIS project. We felt confident trusting them to continue with system development during our hiatus, said Steve Hutt, DERPs Executive Director. This enabled us to focus our efforts on the surge of early retirements and continue to deliver outstanding service to our members without sacrificing our timeline for completion of the project. Together, we achieved our goal of a new pension administration solution and actually did so ahead of schedule.

DERPs sudden surge in workload came after the City of Denver unexpectedly offered eligible city employees an incentive for early retirement. To avoid a project delay, Sagitec proposed to accelerate the project schedule instead. Sagitec would continue with system development while DERP focused on the new retirements. The two organizations agreed on a revised schedule and an amended contract. As a result, CRIS was delivered successfully within budget and five months ahead of schedule.

The successful implementation of CRIS is a perfect example of what can be accomplished when business partners share mutual trust, honesty, and commitment, noted Rod Sheppard, Senior Partner for Sagitec. Sagitec strives to achieve the same level of confidence with all of our business partners, because we know what an important part it plays in driving a successful outcome.

CRIS is a browser-based pension administration system based on Sagitecs Neospin pension administration software framework solution. In addition to serving DERPs core business functions, it provides business users and DERP members with enhanced customer service capabilities, including self-service web portals. The system is hosted by Sagitec from the companys data center, also located in Denver, CO.

About Denver Employees Retirement Plan

Established in 1963, the Denver Employees Retirement Plan is a defined benefit plan. Its purpose is to provide retirement benefits to qualified members of the City and County of Denver and Denver Health and Hospital Authority. DERPs mission is to provide promised retirement benefits and exceptional service to their members, through prudent investment and administration. DERPs vision is to be fully funded, to exceed evolving customer service expectations, and to be recognized as best in class among public retirement systems. More information can be found at http://www.derp.org.

About Sagitec Solutions, LLC

Sagitec Solutions, LLC is an innovative IT firm that designs and delivers tailor-made pension administration systems for public and private retirement funds. With broad industry experience, Sagitec empowers retirement systems to realize their strategic service visions and drives those visions into action. Sagitec is headquartered in the Twin Cities, MN. They have additional domestic offices in Denver, Co and Topeka, KS, and international offices in Pune and Chennai, India. Sagitec has been implementing IT solutions successfully across the United States since 2004. Further information can be found at http://www.sagitec.com or by contacting Rick Deshler at (651) 335-3406 or at service(at)sagitec(dot)com.







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