11.   The emphasis this year is on the traditional information technology skills, like programming, software engineering, and network design and administration.

12.   The Minneapolis-based company provides programming and software services, including consulting and network design.

13.   This had various advantages over more traditional network designs, where a central computer was connected to other computers rather like spokes connecting to the center of a wheel.

14.   But demand is up in the areas of enterprise systems and network design and administration.

15.   Customers need to understand how their mission-critical applications can be directly impacted by the network design and configuration.

16.   The labs serve to validate new network designs, assess multi-vendor interoperability, and resolve potential conflicts between existing and proposed configurations.

17.   This simplifies the network design and reduces costs for the purchase and maintenance of equipment.