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A New Software Platform for Lighting Manufacturers by David Shiller

William Attardi on September 2, 2026

I recently learned about a new type of software for lighting manufacturers that startles many of the typically siloed configurators, CRMs, PIMs, spec sheet generators, AI analytics, branded portals for reps and specifiers, and product spec search. Electrify Connect is positioning itself as a unified software platform for lighting manufacturers seeking to modernize the path from product configuration to quotation, submittal, order visibility and channel support. Rather than offering a standalone quoting tool, the platform combines CPQ, CRM, product-information management, analytics, specification search, automated document creation, AI assistance and ERP integrations in a single manufacturer-controlled environment. At its core is a rules-based configurator designed for the complexity familiar to architectural and commercial lighting suppliers. A New Software Platform For Lighting Manufacturers | LightNOW More information is available at: Electrify

Teching Up: The Future Is Here, and a Technologist Can Help You Embrace It by Jared Christman

William Attardi on October 15, 2025

Without someone on your team to evaluate, pilot and implement new software tools in real world conditions, you risk trading money for more confusion. Enter the construction technologist, a role rapidly moving from luxury to necessity in today’s fast-paced electrical contracting industry. Enter the construction technologist, a role rapidly moving from luxury to necessity in today’s fast-paced electrical contracting industry. Technologists help contractors navigate the sea of innovations, avoid costly missteps and align technology adoption with actual workflows on-site and in the office. There are several ways a technologist can contribute to your work.

  • Tech scouting and filtering
  • Process mapping
  • Champion identification
  • Testing and return on investment evaluation
  • Implementation and training

Teching Up: The future is here, and a technologist can help you embrace it | Jared Christman – Electrical Contractor Magazine

 

It’s Back to School – How Some of Our Most Acknowledged Universities Got Their Name – Who were the true visionaries who would donate half of their estate to sculpting the minds of the future. These stories are monuments to history and culture. Let’s take a stroll through academia’s memory lane and uncover the origins of these storied university names!

  1. Ah, Harvard! The Ivy League giant was once a small college in the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlement called New Towne. But where did “Harvard” come from? Enter John Harvard, a clergyman who, in 1638, decided to bequeath half his estate and his library (a whopping 400 books!) to the fledgling college. Grateful for this generous gift, they promptly named the institution after him.
  2. A gem of New Haven, Connecticut, Yale is another Ivy League powerhouse known for its prestigious law and drama schools. It owes its name to Elihu Yale, a wealthy merchant who, in 1718, donated a modest shipment of goods (including portraits, books, and textiles) to a struggling collegiate school. Those goods were auctioned off, raising a much-needed £562 –a small fortune at the time.
  3. Dartmouth is renowned for its beautiful rural setting, nestled in the picturesque town of Hanover, New Hampshire. It was named after the Earl of Dartmouth, William Legge, a British nobleman who supported the college’s founding –despite never actually setting foot in America!
  4. Brown, this Rhode Island Ivy University, known for its open curriculum and emphasis on student choice, was founded with a mouthful of a name – the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was renamed in 1704 for Nicholas Brown, Jr., a prominent merchant whose family donated generously to the school.
  5. Perched atop a hill overlooking Ithaca, New York, Cornell is celebrated for its diverse academic programs and its stunning natural surroundings. Founded by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, this university was unique for its commitment to practical education, allowing students the freedom to choose their own course of study. It was a revolutionary notion at the time, which would guide a curricular reform across the country.
  6. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford is renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit and its close ties to the tech industry. But this California powerhouse has a touching origin story. Leland Stanford, Jr., the founder’s son, tragically died young from typhoid fever. His father Leland Sr., railroad magnate and former state governor, and his mother Jane, founded the university in his memory, ensuring his legacy lived on through the pursuit of knowledge.
  7. This North Carolina research giant, known for its strong medical and law schools, underwent a bit of a name change in its history. Originally called Trinity College, it was renamed Duke University in 1924 after James Buchanan Duke, a tobacco and electric power industrialist who founded the American Tobacco Company. He established The Duke Endowment, to which he donated throughout his life and left half his estate after his death.
  8. Nestled in Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt is a renowned research university with a vibrant campus life. It owes its name to “The Commodore,” Cornelius Vanderbilt, a shipping and railroad magnate, who provided the initial gift to establish the university.
  9. Texas businessman William Marsh Rice provided the initial funding for this Houston university, but did not live to see its opening. He was murdered by his valet as he slept, in a plot to forge the man’s will. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Rice University flourished through the years, becoming an institution known for its strong engineering and science programs.
  10. Who was Harvard named after? Origin of university names