Harmony is currently a consulting and hardware client of ITS, and will now be tapping additional ITS resources for wireless infrastructure, storage solutions, firewall/content filtering and laptops for each 7-12 staff member and student.

Superintendent Dennis Phelps thanked the technology committee members and school board members for their dedication to the Harmony students, “The committee spent many hours discussing and reviewing the options that would give each 7-12 student an opportunity to increase his/her 21st century skills…this initiative displays a board that is thinking about what will give our students the best chances to learn and be productive as they graduate from Harmony.”

Harmony chose the HP ProBook 4530S for their device, and will begin rolling out to staff this spring and students in the fall.  ITS Account Manager Jason Marshall, a former teacher and school technology director, will also continue to participate in Harmony’s Technology Planning Committee.

ITS, with two licensed teachers on staff, is also poised to deliver timely inservices to teachers, facilitate discussions regarding technology standards and benchmarks, and serve as a resource for technology integration needs.

Harmony Community School District serves the communities of Bonaparte, Farmington and Hillsboro in Van Buren County, Iowa.

ITS is a full-service IT company serving needs of educational institutions across Iowa.  They provide managed services, data recovery, network support, new computer sales, server hosting and web services from their state-of-the-art data center located in Monticello, Iowa.

MONTICELLO, Iowa, August 29, 2011 — ITS President Joel Althoff and four other rural Iowa small business owners spent an hour having breakfast with President Barack Obama on August 16 to discuss economic growth in Rural America.

It was the second day of the President’s Iowa bus tour; breakfast with the five Iowa small business owners was held at Rausch’s Café in Guttenberg, Iowa. The breakfast was an opportunity for the President to hear directly from rural small business owners about their experiences and highlight the steps his administration has taken to assist them.

“It was exciting talking with the President one on one – a once in a lifetime event,” said Althoff. “He seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say.”

“The White House contacted me on Friday, Aug 12th, to see if I was interested. My name and business were brought to the attention of the White House through the Venture Award we received in 2008, thanks to the Iowa Area Development Group (IADG) and the USDA,” explained Althoff. “They asked about our business to determine whether our experiences could help stimulate conversation regarding growing the economy in rural America.”

The President, Althoff said, asked the small business owners how their businesses were doing and the biggest issues they were facing. Althoff shared his thoughts on broadband, entrepreneurial coursework in schools, initial startup credit and funding, and cloud computing.

Following breakfast, Althoff was also invited to participate in the economic forum held at NICC in Peosta, Iowa. In his welcoming remarks and in the small business breakout session, President Obama shared thoughts conveyed by Althoff and the other small business owners during their morning breakfast and conversation. President Obama and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Karen Mills also announced an increase in financial support for rural businesses through the SBA and the creation of a series of Rural Private Equity and Venture Capital conferences to develop private funding sources for small, rural businesses.

About ITS
ITS is an Eastern Iowa Managed Services company located in Monticello. We firmly believe in delivering solutions to our clients instead of simply selling them a product. Our satisfied clients will confirm that we stand behind our work and provide trusted, IT solutions in a timely and professional manner.

ITS is a Meraki Gold Partner, and has been installing Meraki Wireless Networks in schools across Iowa since 2009.

“RISK: Raising Your Information Security Knowledge” strives to inform IT managers and CIOs about the dangers of an under-protected network, including:

– The greatest threats to your information—they may not be what you think!

– Why social networking sites like Facebook have so many hidden dangers

– How your organization can defend against data loss

– How government data privacy laws can impact your business

…and much more

You will hear some amazing stories about true network adventures, and learn about real data security threats and real solutions for network, email, Web, and remote access security.

SonicWall develops advanced and intelligent network security and data protection solutions that are adaptable to the evolution of organizations’ technology needs and the threats surrounding their network.  SonicWall solutions are scalable, cost effective, and promote productivity and efficiency within your network and workplace.  Learn more about SonicWall.

Infrastructure Technology Solutions is an Eastern Iowa technology firm specializing in Data Center Solutions and Technology Consulting.  Their office and data center, located in Monticello, provides a secure and accessible hub for data protection and technology needs throughout Iowa and the Midwest.  Learn more about Infrastructure Technology Solutions.

The event will be held on Wednesday, September 1, at Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano.  Registration is from 11:30-12:00, and the seminar will run from 12:00-1:30.

Register here.

Infrastructure Technology Solutions is hosting “46 hours of N64″ this weekend in our war room. The event was organized by Dillon Stockman on behalf of the Monticello Rotary Club, and raises money for its PolioPlus Campaign. Visit the website below to view streaming coverage or make a donation – gaming begins Friday at 10 AM.

http://24hoursofrock.webs.com/

The Iowa Area Development group (IADG) on behalf of Iowa’s rural electric cooperatives and member municipal electric systems honored eight distinguished Iowa companies with the Iowa Venture Award. The Iowa Venture Award ceremony began in 1988 and is among the most enduring and notable business recognition events in Iowa. IADG recognized and honored over 170 of Iowa’s finest business leaders and companies with the prestigious Award.