The document proposes the establishment of a virtual trade mission portal for Ohio to enhance international trade with a focus on Latin America, utilizing technology to facilitate trade missions more efficiently. The initiative aims to provide targeted information and collaboration tools for Ohio companies and potential partners abroad, while showcasing a public-private partnership approach. Semantech Inc. seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept through a proof of concept project designed to support trade development activities.

1. Concept Proposal:
Ohio Virtual Trade Mission Portal
Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc., All Rights Reserved
Presented by Stephen Lahanas
Sept. 27, 2010
Overview of proposed technical solution,
integration with trade development
efforts and coordination with Latin
American trade expansion.

2. 2Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
• The State of Ohio owes much of its prosperity to
international trade. The State has made significant
investments already in helping to expand that
trade to encourage further growth.
• However, the State of Ohio has limited resources.
Establishing Trade Missions to foreign nations is a
costly and time-consuming venture.
• What if technology might help simultaneously
reduce some of those costs while expanding the
scope of potential trade missions?
The Premise

3. 3Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
A Virtual Trade Mission
• We are here to explore the possibility of establishing a
new approach towards facilitating trade missions for
Ohio. We believe that this approach will allow Ohio to
do more with its limited resources.
• The Virtual Trade Mission concept represents both
technology and process elements – at its heart is the
idea that web technology can help make the
connections between potential trading partners here in
Ohio and abroad.
• We are advocating a proof of concept project
dedicated to expanding trade to Latin American.

4. 4Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
What the Virtual Trade Mission is
• The Virtual Mission itself is a web portal. It’s
dedicated to providing several fundamental
capabilities:
1.To provide targeted information to potential
trade mission participants.
2.To provide online collaboration mechanisms
for those participants.
3.To help facilitate the development of in-
person meetings and events.

5. 5Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
The Value Proposition
• The Virtual Trade Mission project is a Win/Win
proposition for Ohio:
• It will be provided at no-cost.
• It is an example of how public - private
partnerships can solve problems.
• It will help to educate Ohio companies about
how to successfully export.
• It will help foreign nations learn more about the
benefits of doing business with Ohio.
• It will allow Ohio to target more Physical Trade
Missions by preparing expectations and lining
up participants…

6. 6Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
Who We Are
• Semantech Inc. is a small business founded in
2007. The company is located in Dayton, Ohio.
Since our inception we have supported clients in a
variety of industries nationwide. Our charter is to
provide enterprise solutions and to develop
innovative approaches to better solve Challenges
in both the Government & Private Sector.

7. 7Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
The Virtual Trade
Mission Proof of
Concept (POC)
Overview

8. 8Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
POC Solution Goals…
• The Virtual Trade Mission proof of concept project is
targeted to one near-term goal – supporting the
development of a trade mission to Latin America.
• Our goals with the Proof of Concept are as follows:
• Demonstrate that a Virtual Trade Mission Portal
can extend trade mission activities to markets
that do not yet have infrastructure support in the
targeted nations.
• Demonstrate that the technical solution can
meet the business development objectives.
• Facilitate 1 new trade mission for Ohio.

9. 9Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
POC Capabilities
• The Virtual Trade Mission proof of concept represents
a subset of foundational capabilities that would later
be applied to all other trade mission support activities.
These capabilities consist of:
• A Single Sign On Portal (User Interface) wherein
all other features can be accessed.
• A content management system that can be
accessed and modified by the State of Ohio.
• A customer relationship management (CRM)
system which can be used by participants.
• A set of Web 2.0 collaboration tools.
• A Wiki and / or FAQ system

10. 10Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
POC Project Structure

11. 11Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
Semantech Inc. POC
Solution Architecture

12. 12Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
• The Virtual Trade Mission proof of concept
architecture is designed to provide maximum
capability along with ease of maintenance.
• We are building the solution utilizing Open Source
tools hosted by a leading web hosting provider located
in Columbus, Ohio.
• We’ve chosen this approach in order to reduce cost,
increase delivery speed, allow for end user
modifications and to facilitate federated administration
(i.e. both us and State of Ohio Business Development
personnel).
Our Solution Approach

13. 13Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
OVTM POC Topology

14. 14Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
OVTM POC Architecture

15. 15Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
Conclusion
• This project represents a public / private
partnership built upon mutual interest.
• We believe in the future of Ohio and in expanding
economic development for the State and the Miami
Valley. We feel it is imperative to pursue
opportunities for economic expansion and that
these opportunities can be exploited through public
/ private partnerships.

16. 16Copyright 2010, Semantech Inc.
Contact Information
Thank You…
For more information, contact:
Stephen Lahanas
slahanas@semantech-inc.com
http://www.semantech-inc.com