InnovaTech News
April 11, 2008
Our rapid growth has created opportunity for additional member to join our team and contribute to our success.
We are actively seeking candidates for these positions:
- ETL Developer
- Java/ J2EE Developer
- OLAP Developer
- Data Quality Analyst
Please visit our Careers Page for more information.
February 27, 2008
Our company blog on Information Visualization, Simple Complexity, got a fresh look during upgraded.
The blog points to interesting Information visualizations on the net, all of which intend to make better sense of the information at hand through unique and often interactive presentation methods.
February 5, 2008
InnovaTech has named Blake Youngblood Program Manager, Texas. Youngblood will report to Neal Levene, president/CEO of InnovaTech. Blake joins InnovaTech from the Texas Office of Attorney General where he was Sourcing Manager
Levene commented: “Blake Youngblood brings over 14 years of diverse experience in providing organizations with strategic and hands on management of information technology.
As a Project Management Institute (PMI) Certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Blake provides overall structure and vision, leading, managing, and ensuring project successes in the Texas marketplace.
InnovaTech is thrilled to have Blake Youngblood join our team.
January 25, 2008
We have moved locations!!
Our commitment to providing our clients with the highest customer service has led to a change in location to be closer to our clients as well as upgrade our facilities to provide a more modern, productive, and fun work environment
We are now located at:
1800 Diagonal Rd., Alexandria, VA 22314
View Larger Map
November 27, 2007
In conjunction with InnovaTech’s renewal of its GSA Schedule 70, InnovaTech received a rating of “Exceptional” from GSA’s Administrative Compliance Report Card Audit. No deficiencies, but many excellent recommendations, came from the process. We are extremely proud of this audit result.
November 15, 2007
Sean Toon, InnovaTech’s Texas Account Executive, volunteered On Oct 20th for the TASSCC/VAG Community Service Event to help The Austin chapter of Habitat for Humanity with their Brush with Kindness program. This project was a great way to assist in the volunteer effort and was also a great networking opportunity!
EVENT DETAILS!
Habitat for Humanity takes applications from needy families for exterior renovations that includes painting, caulking, masonry repair, yard cleanup, landscaping, etc., depending on what the family needs. 30 individual volunteers were needed who could work for either a full or half day sift.
“It was fun working with other Vendor Advisory Group (VAG) members on such a noble cause. We were able to help out a local Texas family by painting the exterior of their house, replacing outside doors & window trim. We also put up a brand new wooden fence in their backyard…”
October 12, 2007

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is one of the most vital contributors to the vibrant American economy. By offering legal protections for the intellectual property created and owned by inventors and businesses, the USPTO and the U.S. patent and trademark systems offer a powerful incentive for innovation and technological progress. While this Agency dedicates itself to reviewing the next, new thing in all areas of technology, the USPTO in one instance was struggling due to the use of an old, outdated process. John Doll and David Freeland have led a team at the USPTO that has helped bring the Agency into the 21st century by establishing the first-ever Internet-based electronic filing system for U.S. patent applications, which is good for businesses, good for consumers and even good for the USPTO itself.
Each year, more than 400,000 patent applications are filed with the USPTO. For 25 years, people at the Office talked about creating a system, which would allow people to file patent applications electronically. The USPTO actually had an electronic filing system in place, but it was cumbersome and did not meet the needs of the patent customers, as evidenced by the fact that less than two percent of all patent applications were being filed electronically through the use of this initial system.
Commissioner for Patents John Doll and Chief Information Officer David Freeland put together a team to create a new system for filing patent applications and related patent documents electronically. Within six months, a prototype was ready for piloting with public users. A few months later, the system was made available to the general public.
The response to the new program has been overwhelmingly positive! A little more than a year after implementation, the percentage of patent applications being filed electronically on a weekly basis has increased from 1.5 percent to more than 60 percent.
Inventors and businesses love it because they can file applications and related documents virtually anytime and anywhere. Filers may use their existing software and submit documents simply by attaching PDF files. Filers may also pay fees online. In addition to the added convenience, businesses now save significant amounts of money on staff overtime and courier services. The patent applicants also save time and money because they no longer have to review documents for data-entry errors made by the USPTO. Applicants receive immediate confirmation when a submission is received, and the USPTO provides instant notification if a document was improperly filed and should be resubmitted. Filers can also go online and check the application’s status within
hours of filing.
The system has been a win for the USPTO for a number of reasons as well. Besides data entry mistakes due to USPTO clerical errors being greatly reduced, the up-front on-line edits of incoming data and documents help save time and ensure greater accuracy and completeness, which is critical in helping the USPTO initiate the submission process and reduce time to action of pending patent applications. In the past, when all applications were received via paper, the applications had to be scanned into the USPTO’s electronic database of patent applications, and information provided by applicants was manually entered into USPTO systems.
Commissioner Doll says the most significant key to the success of the new electronic filing system is that the USPTO set out to design a system that was helpful to the customer first and the Office second. The team worked extensively with patent applicants, holding many working meetings with them to solicit requirements and input to build a system that would be user-friendly. More than 80 corporations, law firms and independent inventors participated in a pilot program and provided invaluable feedback and suggestions to make the system even better.
One more testament to the success of the program is that it is being reviewed by other nations and is likely to be replicated internationally. John Doll and David Freeland’s program, by making the patent system accessible to Americans everywhere, takes the uncertainty and tedium out of filing a patent application and gives U.S. inventors enhanced ability to
protect their inventions. Sounds like an idea worthy of a patent.
Source: Services to America Medals
September 24, 2007
We are pleased to announce the addition of 5 new employees over the past 2 weeks.
With the addition of our newest members, all highly accomplished technical resources, we continue to offer expert data management services to our clients.
Since becoming a prime contractor to our largest client, InnovaTech has continued to increase its roll at the Patent and Trademark Office. With new contracts to build custom dashboards for executives, InnovaTech ramps up and continues to provide expert technical services.
We welcome our new employees!
August 17, 2007
Sean Toon and Nathan Danforth of InnovaTech attended the 3-day Texas Association of Counties (TAC) Annual Conference and Trade-Show in Austin, Texas on August 14-16, 2007.
The theme of the conference was ‘Develop. Connect. Progress.’
Some of the presentations at the conference included:
- Tuesday August 14
- Doing Business With Local Government, Speaker Roy Orr
- Wednesday August 15
- 2007 Texas Legislative Session - Transportation, Speaker Mike Heiligenstein
- Thursday August 16
- Mental Health Crisis Services Redesign, Speaker Joe Lovelace
- Mental Health Crisis Services Redesign, Speaker Jim VanNorman
- Redaction - The Laws, opinions, issues, and reality, Speaker Dianne Wilson
- Understanding your TCDRS retirement plan, Speaker Howard Miller
- 3 Steps to plan your retirement income, Speaker Fred Jackson
- Grants: Effective ways to get more, Speaker Leticia A. Jones
- Lessons from the Field - Best Practices for Harris County Library Collections, Speakers: Mike Stafford and Theresa Chang
- Emphasis on Leadership: I AM AJ Foyt, Speaker: Mark Warren
“More than 30 years ago, the Texas Association of Counties was formed to represent county interests in the legislative process and inform counties of issues that affected them.” http://www.county.org/
August 9, 2007

InnovaTech hosted a booth at the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications (TASSC) Annual Conference held in San Antonio, Texas, on August 5-8, 2007. TASSC was extremely well attended. Sean Toon and Angela Dempsey took full advantage of the opportunity to talk about InnovaTech’s capabilities in Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence.
Some of the presentations at the conference included:
- General Sessions
- “License to Lead”, Presenter: Don Phillips, Bestselling Author
- “For Your Eyes Only: Sensor Based Networks”, Presenter: Ebrahim Keshavarz, AT&T
- “The Real World is not Enough”, Presenters: Thomas Crab, Novell; Mike Forsyth, Holland & Davis; Chuck Hamilton (Brief & Video), IBM; Jill Valentine, Steelcase
- “The Man with the Golden Gun”, Presenter: Harry Raduege, Deloitte
- “From DIR with Love”, Presenter: Brian Rawson, Texas Department of Information Resources
- Breakout Sessions - Monday Morning
- “There Can be Only One Badge”, Presenter: Ryan Walters, Director of Security Services, Northrop Grumman Corporation
- “Google… More than Just a Search Engine”, Presenter: Weldon Floyd, Extension Specialist-Regional Information Technologist, Texas Cooperative Extension - Texas A&M University
- “Implementing an OpenSource CMS Web Site”, Presenter: Michael Jones, Web Site Team Lead, Texas Lottery Commission
- “Generalizing the Calculating of Large Formulas through Web Services”, Presenters: Diane Harvey, Project Manager, Texas Education Agency Rick Goldgar, Deputy CIO, Texas Education Agency
- Breakout Sessions - Monday Afternoon
- “Developing Wireless Mobility Services”, Presenters: Chad Woolwine, Consulting Systems Engineer, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Keith Nelson, Director, Information Technology Services, The University of Texas at Austin
- “Executive Sponsorship: Why you become an Ape in the Corner Office”, Presenter: Gary Gumbert, Chief Information Officer, Health and Human Services Commission
- “The World is not Enough - Bringing Higher Speed Networks to the State Hospitals”, Presenters: Chris Guerrero, Director of IT Operations, Texas Department of State Health Services; Jerry Martin, Senior Account Manager, Calence LLP
- “Working Out Together”, Presenters: Martin Garza, Development Support Services Supervisor, Office of the Attorney General
- Breakout Sessions - Tuesday Morning
- “Security is Forever”, Presenter: Walter Wilson, Assistant Director, Network Security Services, Texas Department of Information Resources
- “Framework - Shaken, Not Stirred”, Presenter: Rose Wheeler, Program Lead, Texas Department of Information Resources
- “Electronic Legal Discovery - The IT Impact”, Presenters: Rudy Montoya, IT Director, Administrative and Legal Division, Office of the Attorney General; David Halpern, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General
- “Disaster Recovery - How to Walk on Water”, Presenter: Lynn McMahon, TXSDU Project Director, Affiliated Computer Services (ACS); Tamara Oliver, Accounting Manager, Harris County District Clerks Office
On a light note, Angela and Sean attended Casino Night and had a blast. The Annual Conference’s motto was “License to Lead” with a James Bond theme.
They make a pretty good Bond and Bond girl…
