Innovative Businesses 2 June 2012

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This supplement was produced by The Gazette of Politics & BusinessAdvertising Sales Department. Unless otherwise noted, portions of thissupplement were gathered by Karen Finucan Clarkson, Bill Holleran andArchana Pyati. None of the copy was written by The Gazette of Politics &Business editorial staff. All photos were supplied by the specific corporateentity, unless otherwise stated.

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Special Advertising Publication | June 2012

ContentsFREDERICK COUNTY

Berrywine Plantations/Linganore Winecellars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Canam Steel Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Frederick Regional Health System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Lonza Bioscience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Swift Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

More Innovative Businesses in Frederick County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

BroadSoft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

ClickMedix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

KoolSpan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

LiveHealthier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Neuralstem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

More Innovative Businesses in Montgomery County . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

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There is no single initiative drivingbusiness innovation in Frederick

County but, rather, a combination ofpartnerships, programs, and a uniquesense of place that fuels the de-velopment of new products, processesand practices.“One of the neat things inthis community is the collaborationbetween businesses in associated fieldsor related industries,” said Richard G.Griffin, director of the Department ofEconomic Development in the city ofFrederick. Such collaborations, whichpromote innovation, are encouragedand supported by local governmentsand the private sector.

Providing like-minded companies—whether start-ups or established—a placeto collocate has paid dividends when itcomes to research, product developmentand commercialization in FrederickCounty. This is “one of the primaryinnovation techniques being employedby the county and city to help get thosefirms—the innovative companies of thefuture—established and growing in ourcommunity,” said Griffin.

Of the 15 companies that havegraduated from the Frederick Inno-vativeTechnology Center Inc. (FITCI),94 percent are still in business,7 percent above the national average.The nonprofit FITCI, a public-privatepartnership, was established eight yearsago to support early stage bio-technology, information technology andrenewable energy start-ups. “When wego to trade shows, we tell people, ‘If youwant to put a footprint in the UnitedStates or state of Maryland, ourincubator is an easy way to get started,’”said Helen Riddle, acting director of theFrederick County Business Develop-ment and Retention Division.

The National Cancer Institute’s

new 332,000-square-foot AdvancedTechnology Research Facility (ATRF)at Riverside Research Park will serve asa hub of innovation, attracting syn-ergistic biomedical research institutionsand life science companies. Throughstrategic research-and-developmentpartnerships, firms will have access toworld-class technologies, capabilitiesand scientific expertise.

ATRF will consolidate operationsnow housed in more than 30 outdatedbuildings on Fort Detrick. “There’sbeen a long-standing commitment atFort Detrick to move technology fromthe lab to commercialization,” saidGriffin. “This new cancer facility takesthat initiative to a whole new level.”ATRF’s novel business/research modelis expected to accelerate the delivery ofnew cancer and HIV products.

Fort Detrick’s annual Spring Re-search Festival, which was held May 9and 10 in partnership with the Fred-erick National Laboratory for CancerResearch, promotes innovation throughinformation sharing and hands-ondemonstrations of the latest biomedicalequipment, services and technologies.More than 175 scientists shareposters—many featuring diagrams,

graphs and photos—and explain theirwork to colleagues and visitors.

Less formal but more frequentevents—including the 10-year-oldManufacturers Roundtable,Tech Fred-erick’s Networking Happy Hour,monthly BioBeers and, for thoseinterested in sustainability, FrederickGreen Drinks—encourage collabor-ation and spark innovation. “They talkabout changes in business practices thatincrease efficiency or result in costsavings,” said Riddle. “Networkingleads to partnerships, which, in turn,lead to innovation.And, when resourcesdwindle, it’s all about the partnerships.”

To increase its appeal to knowledge-based firms, the city of Frederick isconsidering regulatory changes. “Thecounty has done this and the city isabout to put in place job creation andinvestment tax credits that are attractiveto technology businesses,” said Griffin,“and will be based on jobs retained orcreated and investments in newfacilities and equipment.”

Recognizing that vibrant commun-ities are a draw for knowledge-industryworkers, the city and county areinvesting in projects and infrastructuredesigned to increase amenities. “While

it may not be thought of as innovative,it will support the innovative culture wehave here in Frederick,” said Griffin ofa proposed downtown hotel andconference center.The city is looking atdevelopment of a full-service, 200-plusroom facility with some 15,000 squarefeet of meeting space.

“Tech companies want cool space—something unique and funky that fuelstheir creativity,” said Riddle. “FrederickCity has one of the best offerings ofrehabilitated properties, many of whichfeature things like open beams andinteresting staircases or floor-to-ceilingwindows with really great views. And, itdoesn’t hurt that you can walk out of abuilding and into one of many greatfood places.”

Thurmont and Brunswick also offerunique spaces along with an outstand-ing quality of life. “Brunswick has atowpath. Folks can just grab a canoeand get on the river,” said Riddle.

Ensuring a steady supply of inno-vative thinkers is part of the mission ofthe Frederick County Business Round-table for Education. A partnership of theFrederick County Chamber of Com-merce,Frederick County Public Schools,Frederick Community College, FortDetrick and economic developmentagencies, the roundtable promotes aca-demic excellence and links classroomlearning with real-world experience.

With a group of nationally andglobally recognized technology and lifescience companies currently within itsborders, Frederick County is poised tobecome a hotbed of innovation.Cooperative ventures between the publicand private sectors coupled with newinitiatives and investments are expectedto expand the depth and breadth of cor-porate ingenuity and resourcefulness.

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Fostering INNOVATIONin Frederick County

BY KAREN FINUCAN CLARKSON

“One of the neat things in this community is thecollaboration between businesses in associated

fields or related industries.”-Richard G. Griffin,

director, Department of EconomicDevelopment, City of Frederick

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Known for its innovative engineer-ing and fabrication teams, Canam

Steel Corporation designs and craftssteel components for bridges, schoolsand sports facilities, such as YankeeStadium and the new Florida home ofthe Marlins. Sustaining that ingenuityhas required innovations in training andoperations as the Point of Rocks plantcontinues to grow.

Facing a shortage of experiencedwelders, Canam joined forces withFrederick Community College (FCC)to provide skills training to a dozencounty residents, some unemployed.The idea was to create a pool of qual-ified job applicants. “We worked withthe college to design a curriculum thatwould allow program graduates to godirectly on the line without additionaltraining,” said Rose M. Davis, theplant’s human resources manager.

Some welders-in-training qualifiedfor state grants; those that did notreceived scholarships from Canam.While there were no job guarantees

associated with the 80-hour training,the company has hired six graduates.“Our goal is to…offer this program onan ongoing basis, not only to fulfill theneeds of Canam but to help thoseunemployed within our community,”said Davis. “It’s a win-win for all of us.”

Recognizing that effective commun-ication fosters teamwork and innova-tion, Canam has implemented a newLunch ‘N Learn program, in partner-ship with FCC, for 25 supervisors andsuperintendents at Point of Rocks. “Thiswas a new concept for the college and agreat opportunity for us,” said Davis.The six weekly sessions cover topics suchas listening to understand, speaking to beunderstood, nonverbal communicationand the power of positivity.

There is a community buildingaspect to the Lunch ‘N Learn program.“The goal is to offer these classes toother businesses in the county,” saidDavis. “We can hold them here at Can-am or another employer might host thesessions. We see this opening up the

lines of communication between localcompanies.”

Canam’s continuous improvementprogram, which started about a yearago, encourages open dialog betweenemployees and management. A steeringcommittee prioritizes employee sugges-tions and delegates implementation.This program has led to several innova-tions in operations that save time andeffort and increase productivity.

A production area vending machinereduces employees’ time away from theline. “Employees enter their numberand receive a tool, gloves or otherrequired equipment right there on theline. No longer do they need to walk toa tool crib to pick up what is needed,”said Davis.The vending system also hasimproved accountability, reduced wasteand enhanced the tracking of materials.

Tracking a product’s progress alongthe line has become infinitely easier dueto Canam’s production planner, a pro-prietary software program.“We can trackeverything in terms of production,” said

Davis. “Should an issue arise, the guys inthe shop can see where everything is inthe chain and make changes.”

The effect of these innovations atCanam is almost palpable. “We are veryexcited about the work being done hereat our location,” said Davis. Innovationis not confined to one department orlevel of employee. “It spans our oper-ations.There are lots of people with lotsof ideas that are making a difference.”

Canam Steel Corporation BY: KAREN FINUCAN CLARKSON

Berrywine Plantations/Linganore Winecellars BY: KAREN FINUCAN CLARKSON

For more than three decades, Berrywine Plan-tations/Linganore Winecellars has been utilizing

green practices not just to enhance the quality of itswines, but “because it’s the right thing to do,” saidcompany president and winemaker Anthony Aellen.“It’s a constant evolution,” said Aellen, proud of hiswinery’s embrace of sustainability.

December’s opening of two electric-vehicle (EV)charging stations at the Mount Airy winery continuesthe company’s tradition of innovation in environ-mental stewardship. “You need a group of firstadopters who will stick their necks out and proof thesystem to see if things work,” said Aellen.

What sets Linganore’s EV charging stations apartfrom others in the state is that there is no cost tocustomers to “fill up.” Solar energy fuels the stations.“When the solar panel isn’t being used to power cars,it feeds into the rest of the power I need here at thewinery,” he said.

The rest of that power is wind generated. WhileLinganore’s wind-energy contract with CleanCurrents saves the winery just a penny a year, itreduces greenhouse gas emissions by 160 metric tons,the equivalent of taking some 30 cars off the road eachyear, according to Aellen.

Keeping deer out of his vineyard is what set Aellen

on the path to sustainability. After they devoured hisgrapes in 1984, the winemaker began offering the deergrape pulp to hold them at bay.The rest of the pulp iscomposted, eliminating the company’s reliance onchemical fertilizers and promoting hearty vines. “Thewine quality can’t be any higher than the quality of thefruit from which it started,” said Aellen. “If the plantisn’t healthy, it won’t produce high quality fruit.”

Recognizing that “a healthy plant tends to bedisease and pest resistant,” Linganore altered itsapproach to eradicating insects in the ‘80s after aphids

infested the vineyard. “We decided to only spray asneeded,” said Aellen. “About four years after westopped, we found ladybugs eating aphids off the vine.Turns out we were killing these natural predatorsalong with the aphids.”

Reducing waste is a priority. Linganore donatescream-of-tartar crystals, a by-product of fermentation,to preschool teachers who use them to make playdough. The winery also offers empty cardboard winecases to affiliated businesses and recycles its bottles.These combined efforts keep as much as 30 tons oftrash from entering the waste stream annually,according to Aellen.

Next up is construction of a “net-zero warehouse,”said Aellen, who plans to use groundwater—“which is55 degrees, ideal for a wine cellar”—to maintain thetemperature and solar panels. “It will be a totally off-the-grid, workable warehouse.”

While Aellen appreciates the support of thoseinclined to buy green, his approach is not designed to“rake in extra dollars.” It is, however, intended toimprove the health of the vineyards and, as a result,the quality of Linganore’s award-winning wines.Aellen’s ultimate goal is to make a greater impact—leading by example and “teaching the next generationto do better.”

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Lonza Bioscience BY: KAREN FINUCAN CLARKSON

Frederick Regional Health System BY: KAREN FINUCAN CLARKSON

Referring to Walkersville as “the regenerativemedicine capital of the world,” Jeff Boyd views

Lonza Bioscience, a Frederick County life sciencefirm, as “a global player with Walkersville at ourcenter….We are the world’s leading contractmanufacturer for cell therapy,” said the company vicepresident and global head of operations.

Cell therapy utilizes cells—either one’s own orthose from donor tissue—for the treatment of disease,according to Boyd. Cancer, diabetes, burns andParkinson’s disease are among the ailments cell therapyis used to combat. “Regenerative medicine has the po-tential to impact each one of us and our families in thefuture,” Boyd said.

Lonza Bioscience partners with companiesworldwide that have developed advanced therapies,supporting the rapid clinical development andcommercial manufacturing of these pioneeringproducts.The firm combines its unsurpassed expertisein working with cells with technological innovation.

“We’re constantly developing new technologies toscale up production and move from a more manualprocess to a more automated one,” said Boyd. Theresulting processes are less variable and more robust.“Tomorrow’s ProcessToday,” notes the company’s celltherapy brochure.

Lonza Bioscience has a process for innovation thatstarts with the identification and analysis of markettrends. “Then we bring our innovation team togetherin different ways to discuss what is next. What is thenext generation of cell therapy? Where are our clientsgoing? How can we help them move products morequickly through the system so they can completeclinical trials more rapidly?” said Boyd.

With cell therapy manufacturing plants on threecontinents, Lonza takes a global approach toinnovation. Its team crosses geographic anddepartmental boundaries and utilizes a variety ofbrainstorming tools in its quest to stay a step ahead.New ideas “are challenged before we determine whereto invest,” said Boyd.

Lonza continues to invest in its strong suit—knowledge of and expertise in cells. “It is the technicalexpertise and process development here in Walkers-ville that makes us special,” said Boyd. “We have built asuccessful and very value-added business from thestandpoint of transforming and enhancing lives.”

That ability to transform a life—such as that of asoldier severely burned on a battlefield—further fuelsinnovation amongst Lonza employees. “To know thattechnologies we’ve worked on…have helped sustain alife or enhance a life is really amazing,” said Boyd.

Recognizing the need for technologicallyadvanced facilities to sustain innovation, Lonza hasinvested more than $100 million in itsWalkersville siteover the last five years, according to Boyd. “Thecommercial impact in Frederick has been quitepositive,” he said. The firm employs roughly 500people inWalkersville.

As the “headquarters of the unquestioned leader incell therapy, we recognize the tremendous potential [ofregenerative medicine] to change medical practice as awhole,” said Boyd. Lonza will continue to invest infacilities, research, technology and partnerships “as weseek to revolutionize health care.”

Avariety of innovative technol-ogies—both informational and

medical—are helping Frederick Re-gional Health System transform patientcare.These advanced technologies havepositioned the system at the cuttingedge of health care delivery and itshospital, Frederick Memorial (FMH),as the treatment facility of choice forpatients in several states.

Selected to serve as the region’skeeper of health information, FMH iscreating an electronic medical recordsystem that will allow medical pro-fessionals access to vital patient datawith the click of a mouse. “This healthinformation exchange—the cloud—willenhance patient care and save an enor-mous amount of money,” said HarryGrandinett, director of marketing andcommunications at FMH. “Say, for ex-ample, you’re sitting in a specialist’soffice. That physician can log into theinformation exchange and get yourentire health profile—office visits;diagnoses; medication in the prescribeddosage, including if it was filled; and test

results. Such marvelous interactionregion wide will cut down dramaticallyon duplicate tests and imagingprocedures.”

While Grandinett admits that it maysound “a little big brotherish” forphysicians to know whether aprescription was filled, it’s important interms of the continuum of care. “Ifthere are barriers, such as a lack oftransportation, we can find ways to helpovercome them. Health care of thefuture will follow patients into thecommunity and make sure they adhereto treatment protocols,” he said.

While there is not an official launchdate, FMH’s IT department is “work-ing round the clock to get cued up,”said Grandinett. “We’re loading thedatabase with patient information andgetting physicians on board….Becausesecurity is a top shelf issue here, we’reexamining best practice data andencryption technology.”

While the health informationexchange will primarily serve patients inFrederick and counties to the west, two

advanced treatment technologies areattracting patients not only fromMaryland, but Pennsylvania andVirginia as well. The da Vinci SurgicalSystem uses a robot to performminimally invasive procedures. “Sur-geons can access hard-to-get-at sites anddo surgery with much less trauma to thesurrounding tissue,” said Grandinett.“As a result, recovery is better.”

Specially trained surgeons havebeen using the da Vinci robot at FMHfor about year. While the system cantreat a range of conditions, FMH usesit for gynecological surgeries and lungand thoracic procedures.

Another “remarkable technology” isthe CyberKnife system. “It is the mostadvanced, state-of-the-art cancer treat-ment available today,” said Grandinett.This intelligent system treats tumorsanywhere in the body with sub-millimeter precision. “CyberKnifefocuses incredibly high doses ofradiation with amazing accuracy ontumors, hitting only the cancer cells andleaving the surrounding tissue

untouched…. When folks are told atumor is inoperable, CyberKnife canexcise that tumor, even if it is wrappedaround the spinal cord or in the brain.”

Enhanced patient outcomes, in-creased patient safety, reduced costs,and a more comprehensive andintegrated approach to medical care arethe results of FMH’s adoption oftechnological innovations. “At FMHwe are doing more than just treatingpatients,” said Grandinett. “We arereshaping health care.”

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Swift Systems BY: KAREN FINUCAN CLARKSON

MORE INNOVATIVE BUSINESSES

Aregional IT services provider, Swift Systems Inc.has differentiated itself by using innovative

approaches to manage projects and buildrelationships.“Most small service providers run by theseat of their pants,” said Vaughn Thurman, companypresident. “They rely on human competence to makeup for a lack of systems. We developed a product thatallows us to manage every lead or request and track itevery step of the way.”

JobTraQ®, enterprise task management and workflow software, allows Swift Systems to collaboratemore effectively with clients and to bring projects inon time and at reduced cost.“Every project we’ve donesince 2008 has been under budget. Anyone who hasever dealt with an IT provider would find thatinnovative alone,” saidThurman.

The software enables Swift to identify areas ofconcern. “If we spot something that is going over, wecan stop it right there and decide if it really isimportant or if it is something that should be shavedoff in order to get the greatest business value out of itfor our client,” saidThurman.The ability of customersto access “real-time updates as to the status of everyprocess” enhances transparency.

JobTraQ has been “so effective that it warranted the

spin-off of a separate company, Swift Software Inc.,” hesaid.Today, the company has clients around the globe,including major corporations, such as Lockheed Martin,and government agencies, such as NASA.

The development of innovative hiring criteria hasallowed the company to identify creative andpassionate team members. “We look for folks whowould be doing this work even if they didn’t have ajob. Every network engineer we hire has a network—servers up and running—in their house,” saidThurman. “These are people who, when they punchout, can’t help but play with the stuff some more.”

Swift’s entrepreneurial environment encouragesinnovative thinking. “We provide people with a sense ofownership of the business. They have a significantamount of influence over their accounts,”Thurman said.Monthly meetings unearth new ideas and solutions.

Swift’s culture encourages open dialog, amongstemployees and management and between thecompany and its industry partners. “We’ve built ourreputation on telling the truth,” said the companypresident. “It’s often easier for companies not to beaggressive or assertive in telling the truth. Our openapproach has allowed us to survive two significantdownturns in the economy.”

It also has allowed Swift to begin to capitalize onan evolving market trend. The rise of the businessanalyst “in designing and delivering task and teammanagement solutions” means that increasingnumbers of nontechnical professionals will beengaging in IT projects, according to Thurman.Swift’s transparent operations and open commun-ications provide a level of comfort and assurance tobusiness analysts unfamiliar with the intricacies of IT.“We are working to leverage technology to empowerthe business analyst.The industry is just beginning totouch on this, while we’ve been figuring out how to getin front of it.”

Acela Technologieswww.acelatechnologies.comThe Frederick technology company pro-vides “convergence based wireline/wirelessnetwork and information technologysolutions and consulting nationwide.”

American Microwave Corporationwww.americanmic.comThe Frederick corporation is “dedicated toproviding state-of-the-art technology as wellas uniformly high quality microwave com-ponents and subsystems.”

CaerVisionwww.caervision.comThe Frederick-based health care mediacompany “provides digital media networkand content service to health care facilities toturn waiting time into educational moments.”

Downtown Piano Workswww.downtownpianoworks.comThe Frederick piano company offers “pianosales, piano service and piano lessons” inthe music school, and is “committed to pro-viding world-class performances free to theFrederick community...”

DynPort Vaccine Companywww.csc.com/dvcThe Frederick vaccine company “managesproduct development programs for U.S.government agencies, and provides con-sulting, technical and project managementservices to companies in the biotechnologyand pharmaceutical industries.”

Fairchild Controlswww.fairchild-controls.comThe Frederick-headquartered aerospacecompany “provides environmental, elec-tronic, and pneumatic control systems forcommercial aircraft and military platformsaround the world.”

Life Technologies Corporationwww.lifetechnologies.comThe “global life sciences company” with aFrederick office offers an “extensive range ofproducts and services, from instruments toeveryday lab essentials,” to ensure “qualityand performance for every lab, everyapplication.”

National Museumof Civil War Medicinewww.civilwarmed.orgThe Frederick museum “is the premiercenter for the preservation and research ofthe legacy of Civil War medicalinnovation.”

Nexus EnergyHomesHomes at NorthPointewww.nexusenergyhomes.comThe Stevensville, Md.-based companydesigns homes “built to optimize therelationship between power production andpower consumption.…Nexus EnergyHomesnow has 59 units under development in theCity of Frederick…”

Someone Withwww.someonewith.comCEO Paula Jagemann founded the company“to help women with breast cancer byproviding e-commerce and social mediatools to ease the personal and financialburden of disease management.”

STULZ-ATSwww.stulz-ats.comThe Frederick Air Technology Systemscompany is “responsible for product dev-elopment, manufacturing and distributionof data center cooling equipment, precisionair conditioners, ultrasonic humidifiers anddesiccant dehumidifiers for the North Am-erican arm of the international STULZGROUP.”

UR Solar Powerwww.ursolarpower.comThe Frederick solar power company “devel-ops, implements and manages residentialsolar programs for utilities and nationalretailers.”

VOLTwww.voltrestaurant.comThe downtown Frederick restaurant is where“Executive Chef Bryan Voltaggio's seasonalentreés showcase classic flavor combinationsprepared with fresh, local ingredients.”

Welocalizewww.welocalize.comThe Frederick translation services company“provides next-generation translation supplychain management that delivers market-ready, translated content—when and whereyou demand—at a higher output, a fasterpace and an affordable price.”

WGS Systemswww.wgssystems.comThe Frederick-based electronic and engi-neering company provides “products andservices to the United States intelligence,military, and homeland security organi-zations.” It is the “premier developer ofintegrated surveillance and reconnaissancesystems on manned and unmanned air-borne, ground, surface, and man-packableplatforms.”

Innovative Businesses 8 June 2012

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Anational leader in fostering business innovation formore than 30 years,Montgomery County is poised

to continue its leadership role in the decades ahead.“The future economy is the innovation economy,”

said Steve Silverman, director of the MontgomeryCounty Department of Economic Development(MCDED).“It’s no longer about large manufacturingplants or huge companies locating in the Washington,D.C. area. In Montgomery County, we want to cul-tivate the next MedImmune and Human GenomeSciences. We are aiming to do that by supportingstart-up companies.”

The county has an exceptionally strong innovationtrack record on which to build, according to KristinaEllis, MCDED’s communications manager. “Whe-ther it’s strategic planning, zoning, land developmentor incubator facilities, Montgomery County has beenahead of the innovation curve for more than threedecades,” she said.

According to Ellis, the county’s early innovationefforts were focused on the life sciences because of thepresence of federal scientific and technical agencies,such as the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Foodand Drug Administration, and National Institute ofStandards and Technology.

“We realized that the scientists and researchersworking in federal labs were going to come out ofthese agencies to create their own businesses andbring products to the market,” said Ellis. “In terms ofworkforce talents and skills, the life sciences had by farthe most to offer.”

But Ellis points out that the current focus of thecounty’s innovation programs and activities hasbroadened beyond bioscience to include informationtechnology (IT) and professional services.

A Network for Business InnovationThe nexus for business innovation in Mont-

gomery County is the MCDED-operated network ofincubator facilities. Known as the Business InnovationNetwork, it was founded in 1999 with the opening ofthe 50,000-square-foot Shady Grove InnovationCenter. Recently expanded by 10,000 square feet, theShady Grove incubator supports 46 companies,according to John Korpela, director of the MCDEDBusiness Innovation Network.

In the 13 years since, MCDED has added fourmore business incubators—Silver Spring, Wheaton,Rockville and Germantown—offering flexible,modern office and lab space coupled with on-site

legal, accounting, banking, intellectual property andother business support services.

“We have 38 wet labs and 250 offices at all fivefacilities, totaling 150,000 square feet,” said Korpela.“At last check with the National Business IncubationAssociation in 2011, we are the largest program in thecountry with 139 companies in residence.”

According to Silverman, a partnership agreementwith the state of Maryland and NIST “should resultin a (sixth) incubator housed in the National Cyber-security Center of Excellence, adjacent to NIST.”Thisnew facility, says Silverman, will provide incubatorspace for early-stage cybersecurity companies.

Since its inception, says Korpela, the BusinessInnovation Network has worked with more than 250teams of entrepreneurs and graduated about 115companies. “Ninety percent of these companies havestayed in the county, moved into commercial officespace and hired more people,” he said.

Incubator Success StoryLiveHealthier, founded in 2005 by president and

CEO Mary Moslander, is a global provider of healthmanagement programs tailored to individuals andcustomized to corporations. The Bethesda-basedcompany is a 2010 graduate of the BusinessInnovation Network.

The county’s incubator program, said Moslander,“absolutely has been a critical component of thesuccess of our 7-year-old company.”When Moslandermoved into the Shady Grove Innovation Center in2005, “it was just me and my idea in 200 square feet.”Moslander’s company later moved to the Rockvillecenter, and altogether, she says, was in the incubatorprogram for around five years.

According to Moslander, graduating from theincubator program meant her company was “wellfunded, with a good revenue stream, and able to takeon a commercial lease and create jobs.” Initially, thecompany moved into 3,200 square feet of commercialspace at Bethesda Metro Center. “We have grown soquickly,” she said, “that we just signed a seven-yearlease to move in June into 15,000 square feet,” also indowntown Bethesda.

“The incubator allows an entrepreneur to focus onhis or her business model and target market,” saidMoslander. “You can put your head down and con-centrate on building your business. Also, since you arein a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, youcan find opportunities for synergy.”

Start-up companies in the incubator program alsobenefit from the financial resources provided by theMCDED staff who, Moslander said, “have been thereas entrepreneurs.” For example, says Moslander, shelearned that the county has small loan and grantprograms for start-up companies.

Beyond IncubatorsMontgomery County’s next step in providing

business innovation impetus, said Ellis, “is to focus ontechnology transfer, which means helping the early-stage companies in our incubators and elsewhere inthe county get their products to market.”

According to Ellis, this involves “dealing withintellectual property issues, hooking up firms with thecorrect business information sources, findingpartnerships and collaborating with our universitiesand federal agencies to move things along.”A monthlyTech Transfer Speakers Series featuring top localbusiness leaders in biotech, IT and professionalservices “helps get the word out,” said Ellis.

The Business Innovation Network also conductsmore than 100 “Lunch and Learn” seminars andtraining sessions each year for its client companies ona wide spectrum of topics, as well as CEO roundtablesand networking events—all at no cost to the attendees.

In addition, says Ellis, MCDED is reaching out tofind more procurement opportunities for emergingbusinesses with federal agencies and big companieslocated in the county.

Looking to the future, “Montgomery County willremain in the forefront of the business innovationeconomy. When it comes to getting start-upcompanies off the ground, this is a partnership rolegovernment can and should play,” said Silverman.

Montgomery County: Setting the pace in the

INNOVATION ECONOMYBY BILL HOLLERAN

“The future economy is theinnovation economy...

In Montgomery County, we wantto cultivate the next MedImmuneand Human Genome Sciences.”

- Steve Silverman,director, Montgomery County

Department of Economic Development

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ClickMedix BY: BILL HOLLERAN

BroadSoft BY: ARCHANA PYATI

If client relationships are the lifeblood of a company,then its telephone system is the circulatory pathway

through which these relationships are nurtured, oneconference call at a time.

Recently, businesses have been abandoning theirfiber-optic landlines in favor of Internet-based phonecalls, known in the industry as VoIP, or Voice overInternet Protocol. VoIP offers companies endlesspossibilities for real-time communications via voice,video, text, email and instant messaging.

Gaithersburg-based BroadSoft Inc. got in early onthe VoIP revolution, and has spent the past 14 yearsperfecting its software, BroadWorks, for VoIP commu-nications. Unlike its competitors, BroadSoft focusesexclusively on software development. Othercompanies—known as network equipment providers—are just now getting into theVoIP game.

“We’ve had 11-12 years ahead of them, and it willtake them some time from a feature and functionalitystandpoint,” said Leslie Ferry, BroadSoft’s vice pre-sident for marketing.

BroadSoft sells BroadWorks and its other servicesto global telecommunications providers, like Verizon,that, in turn, sell them to business and personalconsumers. Consumers pay their provider a monthlyfee to use the software, which is embedded into theirbroadband networks. Since BroadWorks operates on

existing phones and hardware, there are no extrainstallation fees or infrastructure costs.

“With the growth of [Internet Protocol], serviceproviders, economically, are not going to be able tosustain two network types, voice and com-munication,” said Ferry.

An employee accesses the BroadWorks softwarethrough a Web browser or email program, such asMicrosoft Outlook.They can listen to voice messagesthrough their email, forward messages, set upconference calls, and redirect incoming calls fromtheir desk phones to their mobile device.

Only one phone number is necessary and a callerdoes not know when an employee is switching devices,creating seamless communication between a businessand its clients. “We enable individuals to always be

connected using their preferred communicationsdevice,” said Ferry.

An increasing globalized and fragmented work-force allows for company growth. By allowing bothsmall and large companies to integrate communicationbetween their desk phones, mobile phones, tablets anddesktops, BroadSoft is setting the bar higher forbuilding and maintaining client relationships.

“Small businesses can’t afford to miss a callbecause each call represents a revenue opportunity,”said Ferry. “The biggest request we get from them is‘reachability’ and that they can always be reachable.”

For many large businesses managing a multi-national workforce, cloud-based tools like documentand video sharing help to complete assignments andprojects. BroadCloud is BroadSoft’s hosted in-frastructure service, which offers tools for high-definition video conferencing, web collaboration andinstant messaging.

BroadSoft has more than 500 employees in 25countries. Employees from London to Gaithersburgto Sydney are accessed through a simple four-digitextension as if everyone worked down the hall fromeach other.

“We’re a classic example of a how a multinationalorganization can benefit from a hosted service,”said Ferry.

As a graduate of the Mass-achusetts Institute of Tech-

nology, Ting Shih, CEO ofRockville-based ClickMedix, amobile health care company,shares a useful real-world tech-nical skill.

“An MIT grad can open abeer bottle anywhere in theworld, with no bottle opener insight,” said Shih. MIT grads,according to Shih, are equippedwith problem-solving skills tofind, make or adapt a tool toremove that cap.

Armed with advanced de-grees and training, Shih decidedto apply her problem-solvingskills to the delivery of healthcare services. “I had beentrained to help manufacturersproduce perfect products everytime at the fastest possible rate,”said Shih. “I felt that replicatingthis approach to health carewould be a way to enable faster

care and improved health out-comes.”

Today, Shih is guidingcreation of a suite of mobiletelemedicine and remote train-ing products that enable medicalexpertise to be projected world-wide. According to thecompany’s website, “Click-Medix’s patent pending mobiletelehealth platform enablessecure, HIPAA-compliant andreliable transmission of patientinformation necessary for aremote medical specialist orexpert to provide a diagnosis andtreatment plan.”

The major innovation atClickMedix, said Shih, “is thatwe look at the problem of healthcare availability from a com-pletely new perspective.” Ac-cording to Shih, not being ahealth provider by trainingenabled her to look “with fresheyes at why sick patients need to

go through so many doctors tofind care, why patients wait solong for appointments and whyare there so many constraintsthat delay health care.”

The engine for innovation atClickMedix—the bottle open-ing tool, if you will—is mobilephone technology. “Mobiletechnology is an especially ef-fective agent of change, becauseit’s pervasive,” said Shih. “Sincedoctors in every part of theworld are already using cellphones for communication pur-poses, we’ve found that mobiletechnology is a perfect way tointroduce change in delivery ofhealth services.”

To stimulate innovation,Shih has “put together a teamwith widely different exper-iences in telecommunications,software education, medicaltechnology and even mediaentertainment. We look at

problems in health care de-livery from a cross-industry,worldwide perspective...”

According to Shih, this freethinking problem-solving ap-proach led to the creation oflearning modules on the Click-Medix system. “By enabling anurse or other caregiver onbehalf of the patient to trans-mit and receive information ontreatment advice via a mobiledevice, we realized that ourtechnology can help themlearn how to do diagnosis and

treatment,” she said. “As we’reseeing common symptoms, wepackage this information intolearning curricula that ourconduits can reference with amobile menu app.”

Looking to the future, Shihsees senior health care as thenext opportunity at Click-Medix. “When we apply ourmobile applications in seniorcare situations, we’ve seen thatthey can reduce the cost of caresignificantly,” she said.

Presidents of foreign nations. CEOsof Fortune 500 companies. The

military’s top brass. They compose theactual and coveted high-profile customerbase of Bethesda-based KoolSpan Inc.,maker of the TrustChip, an innovativemobile phone security device.

Each day, these leaders transmithighly sensitive information throughtheir mobile phones. Unlike many ofthe software products in the mobilesecurity marketplace, theTrustChip is ahardware-based solution to the prob-lem of phone security. KoolSpanofficials say hardware is the morereliable and foolproof choice.

“Hardware stands a much betterchance of securing secrets from anattack,” said Bill Supernor, the com-pany’s chief technology officer. “Phonesthat are on the market are so easilycompromised in terms of gettingcomplete control. Software keys arecompletely vulnerable.”

TrustChip looks and acts like thememory card you slip into the back of

your phone to store contacts,voice messages and other data,but it also houses the security keyof the phone’s user. The security itoffers is independent of the all theplayers in a mobile phone’s“ecosystem,” said CEO Gregg Smith.“You have the device, the operatingsystem, the carrier network, then youhave applications. Each vector has theopportunity to have a threat attack it.”

Compared to smart cards thatprotect the confidentiality of mobilephone conversations, the TrustChip isless cumbersome since it slips into theback of a phone. Smart cards require aspecial reader that is either attached tothe mobile phone or tethered by aspecial Bluetooth connection. Bothtypes of readers require charging,making it “difficult to use multipledevices at once,” said Supernor.

The TrustChip is also transferrablefrom one device to another, making itportable between users, and works on avariety of devices including Android,BlackBerry and Windows Mobile.

Smith and Supernor say products liketheirs are indispensable in an era wherehackers set up fake cell towers, monitorconversations and even assume controlover phones.

“There is no security left in phonecalls,” said Supernor, adding thathacking is commonplace on the GSM,or Global System for Mobile Com-munications. “[GSM] has beencompletely compromised. All the en-cryption is gone.”

To expand on the company’s tech-nology, KoolSpan has built a suite ofsoftware products that use TrustChipas an anchor. TrustCall is an ap-plication that allows a user to place asecure call, while TrustText does thesame for instant messaging. Trust-Groups can be set up between cohorts

of individuals who need tocommunicate confidentially. And,

TrustCenter is a tool for network ad-ministrators within companies tomanage employee devices with Trust-Chips in them.

KoolSpan, founded in 2003, iseager to expand its reach within theranks of the federal government, butfinancial services and health carecompanies where “integrity of com-munication is of the utmost im-portance” also make up its clientele,said Supernor. AT&T EncryptedMobile Voice combines the TrustChiphardware with One Vault Voice, asoftware developed by Fairfax, Va.-based SRA International, to offer itsfederal and business customers thephone security they need.

KoolSpan is also building partner-ships with overseas telecommunicationscompanies. KoolSpan is enjoying strongpenetration in the South American andEuropean markets with forays into Asia,Africa and the Middle East, accordingto Smith.

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LiveHealthier BY: ARCHANA PYATI

KoolSpan BY: ARCHANA PYATI

R ewarding healthy behaviors by giving employeesa discount on their health insurance premiums is

a rising trend among companies eager to controlspiraling health care costs.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Actincludes a provision that increases the portion ofemployee health insurance premiums that employerscan incentivize from 20 to 30 percent, according to a2010 research brief published by the NationalInstitute for Health Care Reform.

Bethesda-based LiveHealthier Inc. is a 7-year-oldcompany that builds customized Web portals forcompanies and their employees to manage participationin health management or wellness programs.LiveHealthier offers 24/7 access to dietitians, diabeteseducators and other credentialed health coachesthrough email, instant messaging and phone calls.

“The focus on prevention will continue to bemuch greater as a result of the [PPACA],” saidCEO Mary Moslander. “The only way to preventcosts from going up is to get individuals to changetheir behaviors.”

LiveHealthier’s innovative and aggressive use ofnovel technologies gives workers and employers fastand accurate health information, and allows them tobe more proactive about reducing health care costs.

LiveHealthier’s secure websites allow employees tostore personal information gathered from screeningsand tests while maintaining their privacy. They aredesigned using the client company’s brand identity toprovide a seamless experience for an employee. Anemployee creates an account to record changes inblood glucose and cholesterol levels, weight, andtobacco use, for example, and can refer back to itwhen applying for a premium reduction.

Multinational businesses employ people across theglobe, and LiveHealthier can create customizedwebsites to fit each population. LiveHealthier alsodesigns portals for spouses, union members, thosewho speak Spanish, and even employees who haveopted out of company health insurance.

LiveHealthier has forged two partnerships todeliver faster results to its client companies and theiremployees.

The first is with FitLinxx, a Connecticut companythat produces devices to measure caloric output,distance traveled, and walking or running strides whenexercising. LiveHealthier websites collect this datathrough an access point, making it immediatelyavailable to them and their health coach. Live-Healthier then reports the data collected on theirportals—in aggregate, not on a specific individual—

to the employer. This allows the company todetermine the success of the wellness program.

LiveHealthier has also contracted with theUniversity of Michigan’s Health ManagementResearch Center to produce detailed reports, or healthrisk assessments, for an employee and coach to createspecific interventions for health problems.

“We leverage technology to reach employeeswhere they are at and how they want to interactwith us,” said Moslander. “We’ve been aggressive inpartnering with these technologies, and it usuallyresults in a higher engagement,” in a healthmanagement program.

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Neuralstem BY: BILL HOLLERAN

MORE INNOVATIVE BUSINESSESAqleowww.aqleo.comThe Germantown-based water informationmanagement company’s “mission is todevelop and deliver high value informationand analytics for water managementsystems.”

Bethesda Greenwww.bethesdagreen.orgBethesda Green strives “to make a positivedifference for our environment by promotinga strong local economy that supports greenbusiness initiatives and creates green jobs andby advancing sustainable living practices thatenhance our quality of life.”

Blue Torch Medical Technologieswww.bluetorchmed.comThe Rockville medical technology companyprovides “nerve sparing technology tosupport surgeons in patient outcomeimprovement.” The “CaverMap Surgical Aidis available to assist physicians in preservingvital nerves during prostate cancer surgeryand colorectal procedures.”

BrainScope Companywww.brainscope.comThe Bethesda medical neurotechnologycompany is developing “a new generationof handheld, portable, simple-to-use,noninvasive tools to rapidly and objectivelyassess brain function at the initial point ofcare,” with a focus on military use to aid intraumatic brain injury.

GenProMarkersgenpromarkers.comThe Rockville-based biotechnology company“conducts research and development andprovides unique, cutting-edge, affordable,and satisfying products and services forbiomedical research entities, clinical diag-nostic laboratories, and pharmaceuticalcompanies to advance their basic andtranslational research programs and projects.”

Grodowww.grodo.comThe Rockville-based program is a “cash-back loyalty service that works withconsumers’ existing credit and debit cardsto provide automatic cash-back savings oneveryday purchases like gas, groceries andpharmacy items.”

HeMemics Biotechnologieswww.hememics.comThe Rockville product development andmanufacturing company “provides in vitroreagents to the health care and pharmaindustries.”

Honest Teawww.honesttea.comThe Bethesda-based beverage company“seeks to create and promote great-tasting,truly healthy, organic beverages.”

Moxie Informaticswww.moxieinformatics.comThe Rockville informatics company’s “focus isin the areas of enterprise applicationdevelopment, project management andproviding innovative-value added informa-tion technology services to our customers.”

Novavaxwww.novavax.comThis Rockville “clinical-stage biophar-maceutical company” creates “novelvaccines to address a broad range ofinfectious diseases worldwide.”

OPNET Technologieswww.opnet.comThe Bethesda technology company is a“leading provider of solutions for applicationand network performance management.”

Patton Electronicswww.patton.comThe Gaithersburg-based electronics compa-ny “is a leader in the production of networkaccess and connectivity products includingVoice over IP,” broadband transmission,access servers, modems and more.

TapIt!tapit.comThe Rockville mobile advertising company“leverages a complete arsenal of mobileadvertising solutions, technology, exper-ience and friendly staff to get your campaignto produce results for your brand.”

United Therapeutics Corporationwww.unither.comThe Silver Spring biotechnology companyfocuses “on the development and commer-cialization of unique products to addressthe unmet medical needs of patients withchronic and life-threatening conditions.”

VOLUNTISwww.voluntis.comThe software company, with a U.S. branchin Rockville, specializes in Online PatientRelationship Management.

In a November article in Newsweek, science editorSharon Begley reported on a new development in

the search for a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosisor ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. “Today,if all goes as planned,” Begley wrote, “the first ALSpatient will receive an injection of stem cells into theupper part of his spine—the first step towarddetermining whether the experimental therapy cansave ALS patients from dying when their motorneurons, which control muscles, become too weak tomaintain breathing.”

The Rockville-based company behind thetechnology in this clinical trial is Neuralstem Inc.According to the company’s website, Neuralstem’stechnology “enables the ability to produce neural stemcells of the human brain and spinal cord incommercial quantities.” These “regionally specific,”specialized cells are able to “integrate with, andprotect, the patient’s spinal cord” because they are“already suited to the task.”

Since that first clinical step, an April University ofMichigan Health System news release said, “The firstpublished results from an early-stage clinical trial showthat spinal cord stem cells can be delivered safely intothe spines of patients with the condition commonlyknown as Lou Gehrig’s disease, opening the door forfurther research on this innovative approach.”

What role does innovation play at Neuralstem?“Innovation is what Neuralstem is all about,” saidCEO and President Richard Garr. “Normal stem celltechnology pushes cells to act like spinal cord andother cells in the central nervous system. But they arenot quite the real thing.”

“Our technology,” said Garr,“has enabled the firstintraspinal injections of real human spinal cord cellsdirectly into the gray matter of the spinal cord, whichis where we believe they can be most effective inprotecting and integrating with the patient’s spinalcord neurons.

“This is a completely different, and better,generation of neural cell technology,” he said.“It opensa unique window on the central nervous system.”

Garr says innovation is strategically important atNeuralstem because “we only treat fatal or incurablediseases.” In addition to ALS, according to thecompany’s website, Neuralstem is also targeting centralnervous system conditions including spinal cord injury,ischemic spastic paraplegia and chronic stroke.

Another innovation made possible by Neuralstem’stechnology is the discovery of what Garr calls “anentirely new class of drugs to treat depression.”According to Garr, “Because our physiologicallyrelevant cells already have the information they need to

grow up to what they are supposed to become, we canput them in a petri dish and treat them with toxins.Then drugs can be applied to see how thesecompounds will interact with the neurons.”Thanks tothis discovery, “we are able to test thousands ofcompounds on these cells.”

As a business,not a lab, said Garr,“being innovativeis all about discovering new therapeutic products andcreating drugs that can meaningfully improve thequality of life in patients with incurable diseases.”

When it comes to stimulating innovation atNeuralstem, Garr said, “We bring a start-up sense ofurgency to everything we do. When you are in thebusiness of developing products for patients who aregoing to die, the sense of urgency is heightened. Ourjob is to find cures. That’s a strong enabler ofinnovation.”

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Call Number on Meter orDownload ParkNOW App

Available at all Montgomery County metered parking spots

ParkNOW! is a new and convenient way topark your car at metered locations inMontgomery County. Searching for dimesand quarters is a thing of the past with thispay-by-cell service provided byMobileNOW!, which is located in theRockville Innovation Center.

This innovative parking system has been successfully implementedin many European cities since 2000, and in the U.S. since 2008. Thekey to the success of this versatile service is its convenience forcustomers. Users can receive a warning text message when parkingtime is about to expire, and even extend parking remotely. Driversonly pay for time parked, and can view parking transactions online.

To park, simply call the local pay-by-cell phone number posted onmeters, parking lot or street signs and follow the instructions. Youcan also start and stop parking sessions using our ParkNOW! appon your iPhone or Android phone, and, at specific locations, you canuse the ParkNOW! app to scan the QR code on the top of the meterto start your parking session.

“We are introducing new technologies to parking and finding that itmakes parking much more convenient for motorists and bringsefficiencies to our clients, the parking operators,” said MobileNOW!President Krista Tassa.

Prior registration, required at some locations, can be done online atwww.parknow.us or by calling the help desk at 1-866-951-7275.Fund your prepaid wallet in the ParkNOW! system, and every timeyou park, your wallet will be debited accordingly. A 35-centconvenience fee will apply to each session on top of the regularparking fee. Customers can check their account balance and historyof parking transactions on their personal web page.

ParkNOW! offers accounts for an individual or a business.ParkNOW! Business is for customers who desire increasedfunctionality, as well as multiple phones—up to 1,000—per account.This allows you to assign limits to each user and/or user group,define a company’s car fleet and limit usage for company cars only,and create a report of parking system use during work hours bycompany and private cars and get this information in real time.

Currently, it is available at approximately 12,000 parking meters inBethesda, Silver Spring, Wheaton, Montgomery Hills and NorthBethesda, with additional garages expected to be available soon.Participating meters are labeled with parking instructions. Thesystem is also available in several states, including New York, NewJersey, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin and Nebraska, with manyother locations to be added soon.

If you wish to learn about signing up your business or are amunicipal or private parking operator considering the system, pleasevisit us at www.parknow.us or call 301-526-2211 to learn more.

No quarters,no problem!

Park byCell Phone Simple and

User Friendly!Visit

www.parknow.usto learn how

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With its innovative approach to both business anddining, Founding Farmers is quickly becoming knownas the “greenest restaurant in Montgomery County.”Opened in November of last year and centrally locatedin Park Potomac just off Interstate 270 at MontroseRoad West, the 8,500-square-foot restaurant bringsthe authentic, award-winning concept ofinternationally renowned true food and drink from thedowntown flagship location to residents andbusinesspeople in the area.

“We strive to offer a productive environment for bothbusinesspeople and families alike, while also being apositive player at the local community level,” saidFounding Farmers Concept Developer and ManagingPartner Dan Simons.

With a business center and ample seating open from7 a.m. to 11 p.m. the restaurant accommodates busypeople who host and take meetings, meet potentialclients, or entertain current ones. Whether it’s a quickweekday breakfast meeting, a coworker’s retirementparty, or an individual catching up on email, FoundingFarmers has an extensive menu, helpful service, and agreat setting to get things done.

The on-site business center offers complimentaryprinting and faxing, as well as assistance and mailingsupplies from the front desk business concierge.Major accounting companies and top law firmsoccupy the same building, creating a blend of

Founding Farmers’ Montgomery County Location Makes Business a Priority

residents, businesspeople, and other retailers.“Coming to Founding Farmers in Montgomery Countyis always a good visit for me—I schedule meetingsbefore and after lunch, have some great food, use theWiFi to stay ahead of email,” said Jennifer Motruk Loy,a marketing and communications consultant.

“Inevitably, I’m running into a professional contact anduse that as a good opportunity to network.”

Designed and built as a LEED Bronze certifiedcommercial space, the restaurant showcases recycledand reclaimed materials, operates as a Certified GreenRestaurant, and utilizes business practices to ensurethat the restaurant focuses on the sustainability of thebusiness as a positive profit center, and as one thathelps to keep the environment as green as possible.

A new patio offers al fresco dining seven days a weekand features a living green wall and an adjacent chef’sherb garden. The lush green setting provides a vibrantaddition to the landscape and offers seating on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founding Farmers strives to be a good neighborthrough community engagement and strong ties tothe neighborhood. Managing Partner Dan Simonslives in Garrett Park with his young family and is activein the local sphere. With approximately 200employees, the restaurant proudly contributessignificant tax revenue and quality service jobs backinto Maryland’s economy.

Finally, the ample free parking and spacious seatingmake Founding Farmers a lively and practicalenvironment in which to do business—in a reallydelicious way. For more information, call 301-340-TRUE (8783) or visit WeAreFoundingFarmers.com.

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