Concentric Sky

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Concentric Sky
Company typePrivately held company
Founded2005
FounderWayne Skipper
Headquarters
ServicesSoftware Design & Development
Websiteconcentricsky.com

Concentric Sky is a software development company located in Eugene, Oregon. The company was founded in 2005 by Wayne Skipper,[1] and has since grown to over 50 employees.[2] In 2015, Cale Bruckner was promoted to President of the company. Skipper continues to serve as CEO.[3]

History

Concentric Sky was founded in 2005.[4] In 2008, the company announced a partnership with GoldMoney to create an iPhone app to allow the transfer of digital units of gold.[5]

In 2009, the company formed a partnership with Encyclopedia Britannica to launch a series of iOS apps for the K-12 education market.[6][7][8] That same year, the company released the official iOS app for NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day[9][10][11] and also developed the website for film maker Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story.[12]

In 2010, Concentric Sky Founder Wayne Skipper was asked to submit expert testimony to the Federal Trade Commission regarding Google's acquisition of Admob.[13][14] That same year, the company partnered with the World Bank[15][16] to develop a series of data visualization apps and partnered with National Geographic to design and build a series of official study apps for the National Geographic Bee.[4] In 2010, the Internet Engineering Task Force voted to make the company a development partner.[17]

In 2011, the company partnered with the United Nations to develop a data visualization app to support the UN's annual reports.[18] In 2012, the company designed and built an iPad version of the Encyclopedia Britannica.[19] The app received widespread recognition,[20][21][22][23][24] including an Appy Award.[25]

In 2013, products featuring Concentric Sky's work for partner Cengage Learning won 2 CODiE Awards.[26] In 2014, the company joined the Open Badges movement and launched the Oregon Badge Alliance with partners including Oregon State University.[27] That same year, the company released an open source Android viewer app for Khan Academy content.[28] In 2015, the company launched the open source project Badgr with partner edX.[29] Badgr has since been integrated into Instructure's Canvas LMS.[30]

Culture

Concentric Sky is known for its creative company culture.[2][31] In 2012, the company dubbed its local metro region the Silicon Shire.[32] The company hosts events to promote the Silicon Shire region and facilitate dialog between the public and private sectors,[33] and also offers a shared working space for local tech entrepreneurs.[34]

References

  1. ^ "Wayne Skipper: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg.
  2. ^ a b "Creativity, beauty mingle at Concentric Sky". The Register-Guard. 7 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Business People". The Register-Guard. 5 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Tech company aiming high". The Register-Guard. 15 June 2010.
  5. ^ GoldMoney (9 March 2009). "Launch of GoldMoney iPhone Exchange Application".
  6. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. (14 September 2010). "New Britannica Kids Apps Make Learning Fun".
  7. ^ Britannica Apps. 24 February 2014 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "Britannica Kids apps now on iPad". Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 2 December 2010.
  9. ^ "Astronomy Picture of the Day (for iPad)". PC Magazine. 21 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Worth a thousand words: 6 beautifully designed tablet apps". VentureBeat. 25 April 2012.
  11. ^ "About APOD". NASA.gov.
  12. ^ "Web firm lands big contract". The Register-Guard. 10 October 2009.
  13. ^ "Merger Review in Technologically Dynamic Industries: An Analysis of Google-AdMob" (PDF). Cornerstone Research.
  14. ^ "Mobile app developers talk Google-AdMob". Google Public Policy Blog. 10 May 2010.
  15. ^ "INCHING UPWARD". The Register-Guard. 20 February 2011.
  16. ^ "Thanks to Mashable's Socially Savvy Supporters". Mashable. 9 December 2011 – via Yahoo.
  17. ^ "Minutes of the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee". IETF.org. 11 February 2010.
  18. ^ "Concentric Sky and U.N. Release UN CountryStats for iPhone and iPad". PRWeb. 27 March 2012.
  19. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica for iPad. 24 February 2014 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "Encyclopaedia Britannica Now Fits Into an App". AllThingsD. 28 September 2011.
  21. ^ "Encyclopaedia Britannica new iPad app". The Chicago Tribune. 24 November 2011.
  22. ^ "App Of The Day: Encyclopaedia Britannica For iPad". The Huffington Post UK. 18 April 2012.
  23. ^ "Encyclopaedia Britannica reinvents itself for iPhone and iPad". The Telegraph. 18 April 2012.
  24. ^ "Britannica App Can't Get No Love". Upstart Business Journal. 26 March 2012.
  25. ^ "Encyclopaedia Britannica App Wins Appy Award". Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 26 March 2012.
  26. ^ "Cengage Learning wins two SIIA CODiE Awards". Publishing Professionals Network. 9 May 2013.
  27. ^ "OSU joining "badges" movement, new concept in education credentials". Oregon State University. 7 August 2014.
  28. ^ Concentric Sky. "android-viewer-for-khan-academy/README.md". GitHub.
  29. ^ Mukta G (15 June 2015). "Digital Badges On the Open edX Platform". edX Blog.
  30. ^ "Instructure Partners with Concentric Sky's Badgr to Offer Digital Badge Compatibility within Canvas". Instructure. 6 October 2015.
  31. ^ "Eugene based Concentric Sky's creation gains notoriety through the International Year of Light". Silicon Florist. 17 March 2015.
  32. ^ KMTR Silicon Shire. 24 January 2014 – via YouTube.
  33. ^ "Local Tech Industry Hosts Free Talks at UO". KEZI.com. 25 August 2015.
  34. ^ Labor trends. State of Oregon Employment Dept. October 2015.