GOV. RIDGE LEADS ‘VIRTUAL’ RIBBON CUTTING WITH MICROSOFT
AND PENN STATE AT NEW E-COMMERCE CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE
State-of-the-art center highlights importance of dynamic, growing sector of new digital economy
Alliance forged during Gov. Ridge’s one-on-one meeting with Microsoft’s Bill Gates on 1999 West Coast technology mission
HARRISBURG (March 20) —- Following through on an announcement he made last fall after meeting with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Gov. Tom Ridge today led a "virtual" ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new E-commerce Center for Excellence —- a joint effort bringing together software leader Microsoft, Penn State and the Commonwealth.
With the "click" of a computer mouse, Gov. Ridge triggered a 3-D animated ribbon cutting in the state-of-the-art E-commerce computer lab, symbolic of the high-tech nature of the new E-commerce Center.
"In Pennsylvania, we are embracing technology and the benefits that come with it -— most notably good, family-sustaining jobs," said Gov. Ridge. "Companies and governments that want to stay competitive in the 21st century must move toward E-commerce for conducting business. This center will provide a resource for educating Pennsylvanians on the latest trends in E-commerce and the benefits of doing business over the Internet.
"By drawing on the high-tech expertise of both Microsoft and Penn State, this facility quickly will become a vital tool for better preparing our citizens, employers and government in the productive use of E-commerce."
"Electronic commerce" is broadly defined as web-based business processes supporting the sale of goods and services over the Internet. It is a dynamic, growing sector of the new digital economy.
In December, Gov. Ridge signed model E-commerce legislation to help assert Pennsylvania as a global technology leader. With the Electronic Transactions Act, Pennsylvania became the first state in the nation to enact the recommended version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, which gives an electronic signature the same legal standing as a signature on paper.
Gov. Ridge had called for Pennsylvania to pass model E-commerce legislation to help to establish Pennsylvania as a leader in this critical sector of the digital economy.
The E-commerce Center -- in Penn State’s Eastgate Center in downtown Harrisburg —- builds on Pennsylvania’s historic partnership with Microsoft. During a West Coast technology mission last fall, Gov. Ridge met one on one with Microsoft founder Gates. Afterward, they announced plans to open the E-commerce Center.
"It is exciting to see this project come to fruition," said Microsoft President and CEO Steve Ballmer. "We have chosen to do this with Pennsylvania and with Penn State because of their leading-edge approach to E-commerce and information technologies."
On Feb. 8, Ballmer joined Gov. Ridge via teleconference during the Governor’s budget address to highlight the high-tech partnerships between the Ridge Administration and Microsoft.
Gov. Ridge today was joined by Penn State President Graham Spanier; Phil Moyer, Acting General Manager for Microsoft’s Greater Pennsylvania District; Paul Roos, President and CEO, Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania; and representatives from DELL Computers and Unisys Corp.
Microsoft will support the E-commerce Center by providing hands-on demonstrations. In addition to E-commerce subjects, Microsoft and Penn State will offer certification courses for students interested in careers as Microsoft Certified Solution Providers or in jobs that extensively use Microsoft software.
Microsoft and the Commonwealth are joined in this effort by faculty from Penn State’s new School for Information Sciences and Technology (IST). In addition to supplying space for the E-commerce Center in its Eastgate facility, Penn State’s faculty will lead E-commerce courses for IST students and for public- and private-sector groups. The center also may provide students with internships offering real-world work experience.
"The E-commerce Center is an excellent example of Penn State’s role in workforce education and economic development for Pennsylvania," Spanier said. "In keeping with Penn State’s commitment to focus on the needs and priorities of the Commonwealth, we have made information sciences and technology a special focus for the university.
"The partnership will help equip Pennsylvania businesses with the skills necessary to compete successfully in the new digital economy."
Penn State’s IST program launched last fall with the goal of preparing leaders and managers for careers in the global digital economy, to undertake world-class research, and to position the Commonwealth and Penn State as leaders in information technology.
Penn State Harrisburg, through its Office of Continuing Education, already has scheduled an ambitious list of technology-based certification and training programs at the E-commerce Center.
Basic and Intermediate Word 2000 for Windows courses now are being delivered with Excel 200 and PowerPoint 2000 instruction on line for April. Also coming to the center in April will be certified electronic-commerce technician training and, in June, Microsoft certified systems engineer instruction will begin. A summer schedule of Microsoft Office classes is being developed now for teachers and school districts participating in the PA MOUS 2000 program. Additional programs to serve the region’s technical and training needs currently are under development.
Facilities at the center include a state-of-the-art training lab, server lab, and a Penn State lab linked to the university network. Along with Microsoft, DELL Computers and the Unisys Corp. have committed products and services in support of the E-commerce Center. DELL has invested/donated 33 new PCs and four servers to support two classrooms and the E-commerce lab. Unisys Corp. installed the PCs, servers and network cabling, and has committed to providing ongoing hardware maintenance to the center. The Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania also helped to make the center a reality.
The center has scheduled open houses for the public at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, and Wednesday, May 31. In addition, an Executive E-business Briefing, "Do You Know How E-business is Changing your Industry?" has been scheduled for 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 20.
For information on any E-commerce Center offering, contact Penn State Harrisburg Continuing Education at (717) 948-6504.
Over the next year, Microsoft will increase its midstate service and technical support staff to four people, and it expects that number to at least double again over the next few years. The new staff will be housed in Penn State’s Eastgate Center and will heighten Microsoft’s support for its corporate clients in the region.
"This commitment by Microsoft and Penn State —- along with DELL, Unisys and the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania -- proves yet again that Pennsylvania is fast becoming a high-tech leader," said Gov. Ridge. "We first entered into an agreement with Microsoft in 1998 -- a partnership that will save Pennsylvania taxpayers millions of dollars. This new alliance builds on that success, and will help make Pennsylvania a world leader for the 21st century in E-commerce and technology in classrooms."
Today’s announcement builds on the accomplishments of the Commonwealth’s ongoing strategic partnership with Microsoft. In February, Microsoft’s Ballmer joined Gov. Ridge live during his budget address to announce the PA PowerPort -- a first-in-the-nation partnership with Microsoft to power up Pennsylvania’s award-winning website into a dynamic, new 21st century resource that will help Pennsylvanians with everyday life and will help make Pennsylvania employers quicker than their competitors.
In June 1998, the Commonwealth announced that, over the next three years, it would standardize at least 40,000 state-government personal computers on Microsoft software for handling primary desktop functions, such as word processing and e-mail.
The use of different software packages by state agencies had been identified by the Governor’s Office for Information Technology as a drain on productivity and a barrier to interagency communications. Software standardization also had been shown to offer considerable potential cost savings.
By standardizing state agencies on Microsoft software, the Commonwealth will save at least $9.3 million over the three-year life of the partnership.
Another outgrowth of Gov. Ridge’s meeting with Gates is Microsoft’s first-ever partnership with a state to equip an estimated 20,000 Pennsylvania high school students with technology training and certification on Office 2000, Microsoft’s desktop software.
The Pennsylvania Microsoft Office User Specialist 2000 program (PA MOUS 2000) will train and certify more than 1,000 high-school business teachers to teach students on Office 2000 applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases and presentations, making Pennsylvania the first state to offer standardized technology training on Office 2000 —- and one of only four states to offer this pilot program statewide.
Since 1995, Gov. Ridge has worked to make Pennsylvania a world technology leader, and a place where technology companies will want to locate and grow. The PA PowerPort and the E-commerce digital signature law are the latest steps Pennsylvania has taken to boldly meet the opportunities of the 21st century.
For more information on Gov. Ridge’s technology initiatives, visit the Pennsylvania homepage, www.state.pa.us. Information on Microsoft and its strategic partnership with Pennsylvania can be found at www.microsoft.com/greaterpa. Details on Penn State’s new IST program, and its collaboration with the Commonwealth and Microsoft, are available at www.psu.edu/ur/news.html.
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Contact: Alan Janesch 814-865-7517 or e-mail at
