The Dot.commonwealth Road Show Travels West; Western Massachusetts Highlighted as 'Pioneering the Next Generation of IT Companies'.

Business/Technology Editors

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2001

The Dot.commonwealth Coalition today traveled to Western Massachusetts, making its fifth stop in a series of statewide road shows positioning Massachusetts as a center of technology leadership and innovation. This stop highlighted the Pioneer Valley for making a substantial contribution to Massachusetts and the new economy as it converts its old industrial sites into centers for high technology businesses.

The half-day event, which was held at Springfield Technical Community College, featured a keynote speech by Raymond C. Kurzweil, 2001 winner of the Lemelson-MIT prize, the world's largest single award for innovation and invention, for "the breadth and scope of his inventive work - and for his commitment to enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities through technology."

The program also featured a panel discussion on what it will take for the next generation of IT companies to succeed, as well as a series of invited speakers and CEO presentations from the area's hottest companies.

"I'm pleased to be part of the Dot.commonwealth Coalition's highlighting of Western Massachusetts as an important region for technology innovation. It is a region blessed with natural beauty as well as one exploding with companies who are playing an active role in the new economy," said Kurzweil.

The 1999 winner of the National Medal of Technology, Kurzweil is known for being a pioneer of pattern recognition technologies and has produced a lengthy list of achievements and innovations over the past 35 years including: advancing artificial intelligence technologies; founding, developing and selling several successful companies; and writing two best-selling books. Kurzweil is best known for the Kurzweil Reading Machine, a device he invented which converts print to speech. The Kurzweil Reading Machine made it possible for blind people to read text from books and magazines as well as various other types of printed documents.

The president of Springfield Technical Community College, Andrew Scibelli, was pleased to host the Dot.commonwealth Coalition and emphasized the abundant intellectual and workforce resources prevalent in Western Massachusetts. "We possess substantial intellectual capital, a result of the 14 colleges and universities located here. This community has distinguished itself by putting its efforts behind such initiatives as the STCC Technology Park, the Telitcom Development Corporation and the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Initiative."

Allan Blair, president of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts, also provided welcoming remarks, commending the Dot.commonwealth for singling out the Pioneer Valley as one of the noteworthy technology pockets

across the state. "We are thrilled that you have discovered that our region has all the characteristics needed by technology based businesses," Blair said. "The combination of 65,000 college students, world class university research and excellent telecommunications capacity create a competitive environment to sustain the Commonwealth's high tech growth."

Congressman Richard Neal (D-2nd District) was on hand to welcome the Dot.commonwealth Coalition in celebrating his district as one of the noted technology centers in the state. "I am very pleased to welcome the Dot.commonwealth Road Show to Springfield," said Congressman Neal. "In the past decade, the economy of western Massachusetts has been fueled by the growing high technology sector. By bringing leaders of the business and education communities together at STCC, I am confident that our region will continue to be on the cutting edge of this important industry."

David K. Scott, Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, moderated the panel discussion on what it will take to grow the next generation IT companies. Participants included: Dr. James Kurose, Chair, Department of Computer Science, UMass Amherst; Tripp Peake, Managing Partner, Long River Ventures and William Hanley, President and CEO, Millitech. Each spoke about a variety of issues impacting the area including the importance of regionalization, various initiatives to spur homegrown entrepreneurship and access to capital.

In a surprise announcement at the Road Show, regional leaders announced the formation of the Technology Enterprise Council (TEC) to create the Pioneer Valley's largest comprehensive network for users and providers of Information and Communications Technology. Chaired by panelist William Hanley, TEC is the product of a merger of two regional initiatives: the Regional Technology Alliance (RTA), founded last year by Umass Amherst, STCC and other partners to administer networks of business, professionals and academics who share a focus on core technologies, ranging from IT to advanced materials and electronics; and the Western Massachusetts Technology Business Council, the region's first technology association founded in 1995. The RTA is supported by a National Science Foundation grant of $600,000, the only such grant to a New England partnership.

The half-day event culminated with several new economy CEO entrepreneurs who shared information on their respective companies and a tour of Springfield Technical Community College's Technology Park, recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce as the most innovative urban economic development project in the nation. Presentation companies represented included: Court Square Data Group, Inc.; Cyberlore Studios, Inc.; Equal Access Networks; Profile Systems and Video Communications, Inc. The event culminated with a tour of Springfield.

"Locating Cyberlore, a world class computer game company, in Northampton has been extremely helpful for employee recruitment and retention," said Joe Minton, CEO of Cyberlore Studios, Inc. "Whether graduates from the area, or relocating from California, new employees have found a great area to live, an easy commute and housing they can afford."

"As the Dot.commonwealth Coalition successfully concludes its statewide Road Show series, we would like to commend all involved in the growth of technology and innovation in each of the five regions," said Larry Weber, Chairman and CEO, Allied Communications Group and co-founder of the Dot.commonwealth Coalition. "As we have `connected the dots' across the state one thing remains clear - Massachusetts is unquestionably a technology leader."

The Dot.commonwealth Road Show has stopped on Cape Cod (May 2000), in the Berkshires (September 2000), on the North Shore (December 2000), in Central Massachusetts (March 2001) and Western Massachusetts (June 2001).

About the Dot.commonwealth Coalition

Formed in 1999, the Dot.commonwealth Coalition is comprised of the State's five major information technology associations. The Coalition's mission is to highlight the Commonwealth's leading role in the new information economy and the "dot-com" world and convey that Massachusetts is an ideal place to start and grow technology companies, conduct research and development, invest in technology products and companies, and access world-class technical and business talent. Sponsors include: Alpha Industries, FleetBank, Informix Software, Lotus Development Corporation and Verizon.

For more information on the Dot.commonwealth Coalition, see: www.dotcommonwealth.com or contact the following representatives:

Joyce L. Plotkin
Massachusetts Software & Internet Council
www.msicouncil.org
[phone]

Katherine Raphaelson
Massachusetts Telecommunications Council
www.masstel.org
[phone]

Leslie Cushing
Massachusetts Interactive Media Council
www.mimc.org
[phone]

Anne Doherty Johnson
AeA, New England Council
www.aeanet.org
[phone]

Tom Hopcroft
Massachusetts Electronic Commerce Association
www.massecomm.org
[phone]