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MegaPath Enjoys
Recognition for Fast Growth, Products of the
Year
By Nicole Zaro Stahl This has been a banner year for MegaPath, a leading provider of managed IP communications services in North America. It started back in January, when the company, which has a large office in Hacienda on Gibraltar Drive, received a Product of the Year award from Internet Telephony Magazine for its Duet™ voice and data service. Two more products of the year followed, in April and June. The company was recognized as one of North America’s top technology integrators. “The recipients of these awards are very well regarded in the industry,” comments Rich Sabin, MegaPath Director of Marketing. “We are very appreciative of this third-party validation.” The product accolades also translate into business success, as exemplified by MegaPath’s September inclusion in the Inc. 5000, the magazine’s annual list of fastest-growing companies in the U.S. MegaPath ranked 1,446 on this year’s list. Then, in early November, MegaPath appeared on the 2009 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, in position number 364. This list rates North America’s fastest growing companies in five different sectors based on revenue growth over five years. The company is well positioned to meet the growing business demands for Internet connectivity. In an era when so many companies have multiple sites, often geographically dispersed, the need for reliable connectivity has never been stronger. “These locations require a service that enables employees to share real-time data and communicate instantly via a secure connection with headquarters, branch offices, retail locations, mobile workers, and business partners,” Sabin points out. MegaPath’s wide selection of broadband connectivity, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), Voice over IP (VoIP), and security technologies deliver exactly that, enabling businesses of all sizes to reduce costs, increase security, and enhance productivity. “We manage the full gamut of a company’s voice and data communications. Our value proposition is being able to consolidate and converge all these services so our customers can focus their IT resources on core business initiatives,” says Sabin. “With our managed services, they only have to deal with one vendor.” As an example, he cites retailer Family Dollar, which needs to get real-time, point-of-sale information on what customers are buying from its 6,600 stores. “All stores are connected to corporate headquarters through a wide area network (WAN). This is the same WAN technology that just won Unified Communications’ Product of the Year award,” he comments. Homewood Suites, Shell operator Truenorth, and Select Staffing are other multi-site companies in a customer base of approximately 20,000. MegaPath’s Hacienda office is home to approximately 130 employees, including the sales staff and several corporate support functions. It also houses the technical support team, which works in a high-tech, round-the-clock center with restricted access. According to Sabin, “These people are on the front line to our customers, and they are a critical part of our success.” Like many of the businesses it serves, MegaPath is also a “distributed organization,” Sabin notes. In addition to corporate headquarters in Costa Mesa, California, the company has a network operations center in Austin, Texas, and several satellite offices in cities throughout the U.S., including Seattle and Wallingford, Connecticut. For more information, visit www.megapath.com. Tri-Valley Business
Council Pursues Innovation Initiatives from New Hacienda
Office
By Nicole Zaro Stahl After several years in an office a few blocks away, the Tri-Valley Business Council (TVBC) now has a home in Hacienda, in Suite 199, 3825 Hopyard Road. The organization, which champions regional economic vitality initiatives, occupied its new quarters in September, co-locating with new tenant One Risk Group, an up-and-coming financial services company (see NETWORK, October 2009). Sharing space in an entrepreneurial environment is fitting for an organization committed to nurturing innovative businesses in the Tri-Valley, an area that encompasses Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and San Ramon. The TVBC has just launched two major initiatives, the Tri-Valley Innovation Network (TVIN) and the Workforce Development Strategy for the Green Economy. The TVIN, more than two years in the making, is devoted to helping entrepreneurs start, manage, and grow their businesses. With the help of city and corporate sponsors, the program, launched in April 2009, offers a series of networking and educational events that allow entrepreneurs to engage with business experts, investors, and fellow entrepreneurs. “We’ve been able to reach out to an entirely new audience through this effort. Often, entrepreneurs work out of home offices, so their names don’t show up on any lists,” observes TVBC CEO Toby Brink. One promising company the TVBC has identified is nuAlerts.com, a start-up aiming to transform the Tri-Valley into a smarter, more connected community whose residents can quickly find out about the latest news via text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, email, widgets, and more. “Residents can be the first to know about important business updates from TVBC by going to www.nualerts.com/clubs/trivalleybusiness/ or texting to 41411 the message nuAlerts 357,” says Brink. “This company has great potential to carve out a niche in the marketplace.” The strategy to develop a new workforce for the green economy is the product of the TVBC’s Education Policy Council, chaired by Jim Caldwell, Executive Director of Workforce Incubator. As companies grow, they have very specific workforce development needs that can either impede or foster their progress, Brink points out. The TVBC has spent considerable resources developing a workforce plan for the emerging energy industry. Right now, an initiative designating the Tri-Valley as an innovation zone for transportation--specifically, research in alternative fuels, battery, and transportation center technologies—has already made the first cut at the state level, Brink reports. “The designation would allow several types of incentives to be offered to innovation companies that decide to locate, grow, and stay in the Tri-Valley. It would also brand the Tri-Valley as a technology innovation region, which, when coupled with the quality of life and educated professional workforce, positions the Tri-Valley as a great place to do business.” In addition to these two initiatives, the TVBC is also active in a variety of venues to highlight the Tri-Valley as an important economic center. For more information about services and membership in the TVBC, contact Brink at (925) 575-0615 or visit www.trivalley.org. |
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