US Channels News
WESTCHESTER COUNTY TO HOST LAUNCH OF "U.S. CHANNELS"
County is the charter sponsor of "virtual trade mission" website
Jan. 16, 2007 (White Plains, NY) - As the latest step in a continuing effort to help local firms increase their share of the growth in global trade, Westchester County today helped launch a first-of-its-kind portal that will allow local technology firms to promote themselves to a global network. The new site, www.US-Channels.com, is also available to regional economic development groups and business associations interested in making connections and promoting their regions.
As both a "virtual trade mission" and "the first social network for business," U.S. Channels is a web-based community that promotes trade into and out of the U.S. market by connecting key stakeholders in the global technology market. Government and economic development groups, business and trade associations, and their constituencies of technology vendors are invited to join U.S. Channels to build strategic relationships and promote themselves to the rest of the world. Similarly, business technology users are invited to promote their technology needs to the global network.
Because Westchester County's Office for Economic Development and the Department of Information Technology are the charter sponsors in the U.S., the county's technology firms are invited to join Westchester's "vendor zone" - a self-managed communication channel - at no cost for the first year.
The site was developed and will be operated by Group Intelligence, a U.S.-based 'web 2.0' firm that specializes in business collaboration for the technology market and has been operating "eCommunities" since 2000.
"Technology is one of the main drivers of today's global economy," said Sal Carrera, the county's director of Economic Development and Real Estate. "U.S. Channels is an innovative way for us to promote Westchester as an attractive place for investment and help our local technology firms make the connections they need to 'go global.'"
The County has a history of leveraging technology in support of its global trade efforts. In addition to publishing websites for four of its past trade missions to China, the county has used the Internet and global videoconferencing technology on an ongoing basis to connect local firms with counterparts in such far-away places as China, Chile, Italy, Ireland, Russia and Germany. In just the past few months, the U.S. Channels initiative has led to links being established with key Australian regions with large technology and R&D bases, plus Microsoft in the Asia-Pacific region.
Firms interested in learning more about how they can join the U.S. Channels community, should visit www.US-Channels.com or contact Scott Fernqvist, Special Assistant to the CIO, at sef1@westchestergov.com or (914) 995-3078.
