Business
Capitalist Sage: How to Set-up a Cyber Safe Home Teleworking Office [Podcast]
Published
5 years agoon

As we all get accustomed to online meetings and live-streamed classes, how do we find the same kind of IT solutions as we were used to in our business life? David Huseonica, the CEO of Rojoli Services is here with all of the answers we need to fix our home office workflow. Join Karl Barham and Rico Figliolni, and David in this episode of the Capitalist Sage as they discuss the IT solutions that will help you today.
Timestamp:
[00:00:30] – Intro
[00:03:37] – About David
[00:07:18] – Multi-factor Authorization and Security
[00:12:19] – Setting up Your Home Office
[00:21:18] – Remote Meeting Solutions
[00:28:53] – More Tools
[00:31:52] – Sharing Bandwidth
[00:38:59] – Get in touch with David
[00:40:45] – Closing
“I think there’s some silver lining to this dark cloud, is that some of the processes that we’re
David Huseonica
having to use today will have real benefits long term.”
Podcast Transcript
Karl: [00:00:30] Hello. Welcome to the Capitalist Sage Podcast. We’re here to bring you advice and tips from seasoned pros and experts to help you with improving your business. I’m Karl Barham with Transworld Business Advisors, and my co host is Rico Figliolini with the Mighty Rockets, Digital Entertainment and the publisher of the Peachtree Corners Magazine. Rico, how are you doing today?
Rico: [00:00:52] Good Karl. Hope you’re well. Hope everyone’s staying socially safe.
Karl: [00:00:57] We are, we are, we are adapting to the new world order and doing the best we can, help get through this. Why don’t you talk today a little bit about our sponsors?
Rico: [00:01:08] Sure. So I want to introduce one of our sponsors. A key sponsor actually is Hargray Fiber. They’ve been a big player here in Peachtree Corners and actually in the Southeast. So they’ve been in a lot of different cities like Lawrenceville and in and through the South of Georgia as well, they provide fiber optics to the business community as well as the consumer part. But the business community is really where they’re at. And as you can imagine now with everyone teleworking, this is a really big deal, which goes back to our guests today as well. But I want everyone to be aware that, you know visit HargrayFiber.com find out about what they can do, what services they can provide you, fiber optic services, and also about their rep promotion they’re running right now, which is free business incident for the next 90 days. So visit HargrayFiber.com/business and you’ll be able to see that and maybe take advantage of that.
Karl: [00:02:08] Who would have thought that the investments we’ve made over the last 30-40 years on fiber optics and internet capability is going to become so relevant and say, and as we’re making this grand shift into a different remote, technology-driven workforce in a way that we haven’t seen done almost ever. I’m really glad to have today’s guest, David Huseonica Is the CEO of Rojoli Services, a Peachtree Corners based IT and cloud service partner and providing collaboration as well as cloud hosting, helping businesses with business continuity and office management services for both small and medium size business. How are you doing today, David?
David: [00:02:53] I’m doing wonderful, Karl. How are you?
Karl: [00:02:55] Great. Great. Well, today we (want to talk about) having a role in what’s going on today in massive droves. People are moving to working at home as we are following the CDC guidelines and the government guidelines for social distancing. But I gotta imagine doing that, is bringing up challenges that small businesses and employees may not have thought of when they were thinking that they have to do a lot of their jobs from home. But I just wanted to spend some time exploring that with you today.
David: [00:03:34] That sounds great.
Karl: [00:03:37] Why don’t you start off with, just tell me a little bit about yourself, and how do you get into this business?
David: [00:03:45] Well, my background has been in IT and software and technology for 30 years and really kind of where we landed in this business today is, you know, years ago when cloud first started emerging. We really felt like it was a game changer and it was going to redefine the way that technology is used and deployed in businesses. And so we were early adopters of trying to learn, you know, how to leverage the technology, how to leverage it for business purposes. And, you know, it turned out to be a great bet because here we are today where, you know, it’s almost impossible to think about, you know, running a company, and doing the things that we do without leveraging cloud technology.
Karl: [00:04:33] Yeah. I mean, from the, you know, starting off with basic office services. I’m seeing more business implementing the internet of things, IOT strategy. So being able to manage data, flow, security, all these things has become a really important business consideration for a lot of folks. So, maybe you could tell me a little bit of, you know, since this has been happening, what are some, some of the things you’re seeing your clients, small businesses having to grapple with? And what are some of the things they’re doing that are you know, helping them manage this situation?
David: [00:05:13] Sure, sure. And if you don’t mind, I’d just like to, before I get into that. I just like to start off by, you know, offering my thanks and prayers to our nation’s frontline workers, who are essential in helping us push through this incredible situation. You know, all of us have family and friends who, because of our needs, must continue to serve the community, and many times putting themselves in harm’s way. And also like to have or ask everybody to pray for our nation’s leaders who are having to make decisions. You know, nobody was really prepared for, you know, the unique situation that companies are finding themselves in, you know, of having to make that transition from a working office to 100% remote work force in some cases has raised some pretty challenging concerns and, around technology and how you use it. And I think, you know, if I had to start anywhere, I think I would probably start in the, in the realm of a security. You know, how do you as a company, ensure that your, the data and the identities and the information that you’re needing to now access remotely, you know, is done in a secure fashion. And that, we’re not, you know, compromising, you know, information. And, so you know, what we’re seeing in our customers, first of all, one of our first recommendations is to enable things like multifactor authentication. Many of us have seen that in action with commercial applications that you use, where you go to log into a site and it sends you a text message or, you know, some other form of multifactor. And, and that really is probably one of the low hanging number one recommendations we can make for people is to, if their, if their solutions that they use for business, you know, have multifactor capability, enable that, make sure that that is on.
Karl: [00:07:18] Can I ask a question on that? I know on a lot of smartphones and different, they’re most companies starting to accent. Why is that so important? What is that doing versus what people conventionally do without two factor authorization?
David: [00:07:36] Yeah. Well the primary thing is that, you know, it’s beyond just a user ID and password to where it’s a private device that, you know, the good news is so far that’s been a protected type of set up to where, you know, people are not able to intercept those feeds. So it’s a, it’s another way of authenticating who you are, that your identity is truly who you say you are. And, and so if, you know, if multifactors are enabled it’s going to communicate with that individual through an alternative means. And, and again, it just reduces the risk that anybody could access your information, your systems without, having the proper authority to do so.
Karl: [00:08:23] Got it. Okay, thanks.
Rico: [00:08:24] Let me, let me ask you another question as well. I’ve been dealing with a couple of different companies that have all sorts of things going on right now. We’ve had to reset passwords on emails, sometimes just on the wrong things. All of a sudden they are getting a SharePoint email that’s not really from SharePoint. They think it’s an ad contract, let’s say when a contract, because their salespeople bless you at, you know, they want to get that sale. It’s that type of environment. Everyone’s started just clicking on things and she’s like, stop, stop doing that. How do you deal with that? What are you seeing out in the community when it comes to sales or operations of that sort remotely?
David: [00:09:08] Yeah. That’s, you know, the bad apples out there are seizing this opportunity. You know, even in good times, they’re at you all the time with these phishing emails, phishing a task, trying to get you to click on something, you know, and, and it’s, unfortunately, it’s even heightened in times like this. And so, you know, the recommendations that we have to avoid that. First of all, you know, if you weren’t expecting that, that communication, then you know, you need to double or triple verify that it’s correct. And, and, you know, the good old fashioned techniques of, you know, picking up the phone and calling somebody to verify, Hey Rico, did you just send this to me? You know, is really a great way of circumventing, you know, acting on something that is a scam. you know, we get these emails all the time about, you know, click on here to download a document or change your password. I would say don’t ever click on the links that are in the email, go to the website. So for instance, if a, if a service says that your password has expired, right? Rather than, you know, resetting it from the email, go to that services website and log in that way and see if it needs to be reset that way.
Rico: [00:10:34] Yeah. Well that would make sense to me. Cause if they’re going to send you an email and you probably have notification on the site itself. Get caught the wrong way. What about communications via like a VPN versus I’m doing it on, you know? So, some people think it’s too slow working on VPN. They just take things onto their own desktop or their own laptop, and then they bring it back up into someone’s server. What do you think about the workflow when it comes to that?
David: [00:11:04] You know, having, having remote access to files is vitally important for all of us in this mode. So, you know, having a secure way of getting to those files, and there’s multiple
technology strategies that you can deploy. To have that access, you know, VPN access into a file server on the, on the network. You know, it’s one method, you know, and at the speed at which this whole condition fell upon us. You know, not every employee was set up for VPN access from home. And, and so that has become, you know, a gap that many companies have been trying to fill in. But the fundamental guidance on that is, is that if you can avoid downloading, modifying, and uploading. Yeah, it’s better that way. If you have direct access to the files, either through a VPN or if you’re logging in through an office 365 SharePoint, one drive, which has two factor enabled, right. So that you’re having to do multi-factor, you know, in order to be able to get in and access those files. you know, that is absolutely the preferred way of doing it versus the uploading and downloading.
Rico: [00:12:19] You’ve had a company that, one of the companies that I think local here in Peachtree Corners that you helped set up. They’re, they work remotely. Is there special challenges to that setting? People’s home office infrastructure, maybe operating along those lines?
David: [00:12:35] Well, there are challenges and you know, again, speed at this came on us. Not everybody was set up the same way. So, you know, as far as home offices, first of all, our recommendation is if, you know, if you can avoid using your home computer to access corporate data you should do that. And the reason being is that if it’s a corporate device that you’re using, chances are it’s been set up a certain way there. You know, you know, many IT organizations are pretty diligent in making sure that, you know, the, the most up to date versions of all the operating systems are in play. That the most up to date versions of antivirus are loaded and active. And those are all things that, you know, traditionally will take place in, ahead of time. And, and so using, a corporate device is, is certainly typically more secure. If you don’t have that ability, then you know, you need to, you need to consider doing those same things for your home device. Meaning, you know, we all, we’re all guilty of it. We delay that Windows update or that, opposite day or you know, that antivirus update. I suggest you, you don’t do that and go ahead and make sure everything is current. Make sure you know, you have the latest and greatest, for that. And, and so that will certainly go a long way in helping protecting the underlying, you know, condition of the machine.
Karl: [00:14:04] When you, I know a lot of people they become complacent when it comes to those types of things because the corporate IT department automates so much of it. Now, as you get more disconnected, and let’s say someone worked for a smaller company where they don’t have a corporate ID, what can they do to help themselves secure their devices?
David: [00:14:27] Well. Yeah, so it’s a couple of things that we’ve already mentioned is, you know, ensuring that multifactor is enabled whatever you’re doing. Making sure that the office, you know, the, the windows or Mac or whatever OLS is, is updated and is current at the current levels and all the patches are applied. Making sure that your, the network, the wireless that you’re accessing is a secure wireless network, that requires, you know, secure authorization to get to it.
Karl: [00:15:02] Can, I can act on that point? For example, that’s one of the areas where most people on their home network get it installed and I don’t know that they checked it or they’re, what can they look for to know that they’re home? What would you look for to check if the home network was secure?
David: [00:15:19] Yeah. So the signal that you’ll receive will indicate whether or not it’s, so things like a hap or WEP or you know, enabled, which means that you have security turned on for that connection. And, and, and making sure that you’ve got a strong password. If you’re going to get onto the wireless, you know, don’t let it be your phone number. Don’t let it be, you know, other things that are easily, you know, determined by people outside of your, your, your home office. You know, so your neighbors or you know, literally somebody parked on the street in front of your home could potentially jump on your wifi network and get access to, you know, any other device that happens to be on that, including the, you know, the one that you’re on. So, you know, and you know, each of the wireless systems have slightly different things as far as how you configure it, but, just making sure that it’s secure, a password protection, connection that you’re, you’re accessing.
Karl: [00:16:20] I’ve got a follow up question along that line. As many especially smaller business freelancers, they use a lot of cloud sharing devices. You’ve got Google drive, Dropbox, all these different brands. Are those, are those okay for folks to use? For, for sharing documents and I know that different layers of security or what are some things they should be particularly cautious about when using those?
David: [00:16:51] Well, you know, again, secure, file share and access to files remotely is vitally important. And there’s a number of different brands out there. There’s some of the ones that you mentioned, you know, are, are very good solutions. We’re a very strong proponent of Microsoft teams and SharePoint and on One Drive, just because, we’re, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s the, the security around that has evolved to be where it is enterprise grade security that they have surrounding those. Not that, you know, those other solutions don’t have some levels of security, but, what I would suggest is that, you know, has come up with a standard for the organization. I would, I would say, you know, you’re much better off as an organization in the mode that we’re in today of saying, Hey for our remote files, access or sharing. If you don’t have other solutions, we’re gonna, we’re going to standardize on X and where we want everybody to use X. Because whenever you have two, three, four different applications that are being used by, employees, first of all, you know, ensuring the consistency of the security around those is very difficult. And, and also, ensuring that, you know, corporate data is not being shared, to people outside of the business in a fashion that’s going to violate, you know, corporate standards or compliance standards. So by settling on a single platform, you know that that will help you ensure that there are some levels of control because then you can begin to build in things like, role-based permissions. So if you and I, you know, we might have access to the same SharePoint site for instance, but we were able to control the files that you can access versus what I can access based on our role in the company. And that certainly goes a long way in helping making sure
that, you know, people are themselves viewing or sharing. It’s outside people’s information that should not be shared.
Karl: [00:19:05] Well, if I could shift a little bit and just start on understanding more. If you were to help someone, and I know many friends have set up home offices, when you start thinking about hardware and infrastructure and doing that and some of the things that you’ve seen people utilize effectively, are there things that you’d recommend for someone to make sure they put in place?
David: [00:19:30] So, you know, hardware, you know, there’s a lot of great brands, hardware. I would certainly stick with some of the, some of the better known brands from a hardware standpoint. You know, you know, from a configuration standpoint, if you’re able to, you know, for instance, my machine here, I’m home office, but you know, I’m not on my wifi. I’m directly connected into my router, via cable. So you even, you know, you do have the ability to, to do things linked up, you know, via cable versus always wifi. And so that, that would be something to consider. And a lot of times it has to do with, you know, where is the router coming into your home office located in comparison to where your computer is.
Karl: [00:20:18] Can I ask a question along that? So you just described something, I remember when Wifi wasn’t as prevailing as it is today, and people would have direct cable into their server. Is that a more secure method? If you are really concerned, you’re a financial professional or health care and you have some really high level, could hardware to allow you to direct line into your server be a worthwhile consideration?
David: [00:20:51] Absolutely. Absolutely. It just takes one more, one more layer out of the equation of how the, you know, what data it is flowing through. And, and so if you’re not having, everything is not going through your home office wifi, which again, can be potentially hacked. You know, if people have the credentials are sitting outside or other things, you know, it just removes another layer from the equation.
Rico: [00:21:18] Okay. When you were dealing with clients also that have to do like real time collaboration. You know, dealing with, you know, people out there on zoom. I mean, that’s not the only product you can use, obviously, where using something else that meant. For that topic, collaboration to submit more for broadcast, but how are you dealing with that? I mean, are you finding it easier for people to deal with it? Are you finding it becoming something that may become the norm after this?
David: [00:21:48] I think, I think there’s some silver lining to this dark cloud, is that some of the processes that we’re having to use today will have real benefits long term. You know, you had mentioned one of our clients that we’ve helped enable, from, a remote workforce standpoint. This is a, you know, a software development company that was high on collaboration. I mean, literally they were doing huddle meetings, you know, all day long, looking at code together, you know, having meetings, onsite and remote personnel. And so, that’s a, that’s a scenario where
we were able to deploy with them a product. And this is again, the Microsoft solution, Microsoft teams, which includes all the tools under one platform that allows them to do that so they can do, you know, chats, real time, chats back and forth. And you can do voice calls between each other. You can do video conferencing like we’re doing here. It has file sharing, a secure file sharing, so you can store your files and have access to it. And you can, you know, do, do all the things that a highly collaborative environment really needs, and you get it all underneath one brand or one label. And you know, I’m not saying that’s the only one out there. I’m just saying that is one that we have deployed, not only for those folks, but at a time and time again. We have, I think across the board, we’ve got about 175 companies that we work with customers, and I’d say a 75% of them, 80% of them have deployed a solution like that. And the good news is many of them there were already, you know, somewhere down that road before this, this hit, which gave them really a leg up and being able to. be able to respond to this as quickly as possible.
Karl: [00:23:39] So I have an interesting insight in that. I worked for a lot of years in large corporations and so Microsoft teams and some of these tools are available when I talk to small business owners, a lot less of them are familiar. So you’ve used a couple of terms. Can you describe for instance, what would be in the tool belt. Well, someone new collaboration that might be there. So like the example, what exactly is Microsoft teams and what does that do? And are there one or two other tools like that you think people may want to get familiar with?
David: [00:24:15] Yeah, so what Microsoft teams is, is really Microsoft’s collaboration. It’s a platform that is comprised of multiple pieces, multiple solutions. So, you know, it allows you and I right now, even though we’re looking at each other through the video, we could be chatting with each other offline. So I, I, you know, and that’s great for, if I just need an answer from Rico, I don’t want to necessarily have to call them or wait for an email response. I can, I can see that Rico’s online. I can ask a question and get an answer right away. So that real time chat capability is…
Karl: [00:24:52] Is that kind of like texting for somebody for an ed that would be used for an immediate response? You throw out a question and anyone on that chat can respond back quickly.
David: [00:25:02] Exactly. So you could do one on one, you could have groups. And so a way of, you know, again, collaborating, getting real time, you know, answers very quickly. Versus having to, you know, in, in an email mode you send it, but you don’t know that the person’s there or not. And this, this gives you that presence capability.
Rico: [00:25:22] You know, I want to ask you something because I’ve worked here in my teleworking out of my own office. My dining room was right there. My son, my high school kid is on a dining room table with his laptop doing his work. And I feel like we’re all in a fraternity house doing work. But when I passed by his laptop sometimes, and I talked to him about what he’s doing, I see this younger generation, I don’t only see doing the digital learning in their portal
environment, but he also has discord open, which is one of these chat type places with your friends, it’s mainly used for gaming and other things. Do you find any intergenerational, generational issues with people getting online and being able to do the work? Do you see any challenges there from your point of view?
David: [00:26:12] Well, you know, the younger generation, you know, the millennials and around the millennial, I mean, they certainly are more adept to these types of tools. And maybe some of us older folks are, I put myself in the older folks category. So yeah. Isn’t really something they grew up with. It’s something, you know, my, my, my parents now are finally texting. But it’s, you know, here we are in year 2020, and, you know, it’s just taken a long time for him to get to that point. So, you know, the younger generation grew up in a fashion where they’re. they, they’ve had these immediate communication protocols that they’ve been able to leverage, whether it be texting or, or chatting. And, you know, you know, a lot of this didn’t come out of the gaming environment to where they, they did this way before businesses, you know, really adopted these, these solutions.
Rico: [00:27:08] And I see creeping into business sometimes too, cause some younger employees don’t want to be on video camera. They’d rather just be, you know, do the audio, you know. But of course the upper management wants to see everyone on video cause it’s one way of keeping in touch and one on one and all that.
David: [00:27:27] Yeah. And I think there’s some, there’s definitely some value in, in doing that. I mean, like for instance, in our company we have a daily all hands meeting and a, and you know, when this all all came about, you know, we were, we would all be in a conference room together looking at each other. And then all of a sudden, you know, this cloud came over us. And, and now, you know, we began those where we were just, you know, voice only. But we began to turn on our videos too, as a way of, you know, particularly in the mode that we’re in, giving people that extra you know, social capability of, you know, I can show you something in my office if I need to or pick up, you know, so, you know, I think, I think that’s good. And the good news is these platforms like, you know, Microsoft teams and there’s others, you know, they, they allow you that, that, that extended level of collaboration that could go from chat to voice, to video to, you know, you and I can be, sharing a document right now, and both of us working on that exact same document at the exact same time, versus me having to, you know, do my work and then say, okay, Rico, take it over here. It’s yours now. And then you have to do your work. And then we have to figure out who did what. So these platforms have really accelerated that whole collaboration and it gives you an option as to what’s the best way to do it for that need and that team.
Karl: [00:28:53] We’ve got a couple of others. You mentioned in the SKUs chat as a tool. You talked about file sharing, and in that example with Rico where you could do live updates or two more, more than one person can do that, what’s the tool that facilitates that kind of file sharing?
David: [00:29:10] Yeah, so, that kind of file sharing is baked into a SharePoint in one drive, as an example. And a what, what people, the term for that is co-authoring. And, and so when you look at, you know, being remote. Trying to work with multiple people at the same time. You know that that’s a, that’s a feature that, you know, whatever platform you go to, you should probably consider, does it have that co-authoring capability? So you know, what that does is it, it basically gets you out of this a serial mode where, you know, I’ve got to do my work and then, then you can do your work, and then Alice can do her work. And, and so, you know, this allows all three of us to be in the exact same document. So we can have a word document, excel sheet open at the same time, and I could see where you’re working and as you, as you’re typing and you’re making updates, those would show up on mine. And I’m working in a different area of the document or the different part of the Excel sheet. So, you know, it just, greatly enhances that whole collaboration experience.
Karl: [00:30:17] So, I’ve got this video collaboration. I’ve seen more Skype, zoom, go to meetings, all of these platforms, people using some, well, some not so well. Tell me a little bit about platforms for that and, and some things that people can do to be, do you use those effectively? What’s the use case for that?
David: [00:30:45] Well, first of all, you know, there’s lots of good, good ones that are out there. The ones that you mentioned. You know, you know, have, have strong followings. You know, again, Microsoft teams has that built into it. So that’s the one that we standardize on it. But the most important thing I believe is that, you know, people have to get comfortable with using the tool. You know, there’s, you know, there might’ve been 10% since the company prior to a month ago that ever started and managed a video meeting, you know, web comms, meeting, screen share chat, voice video. Maybe 10% now that that 10% has gone to maybe 75% of your company needs to know how to do that and, and so that, that other percentage needs to be trained or maybe people need to be retrained and, and actually how to use it effectively and so that they are you know, able to conduct the meetings and collaborate the way that you want to.
Karl: [00:31:52] So does a currently the secondary on that follow on. So in the video I’ve noticed people struggling with video that’s doing a lot of demand on bandwidth versus what they might’ve done before. Are there tips and things that people can do to be able to conduct more of these media? Imagine four people in a household. Well doing a video meeting today because the husband, the wife, and both kids are all on some form of video. What can I do or what are some of the tips you might have for someone to be able to manage that? Or should they all be on it? Should they, so they change different resolutions? Any thoughts?
David: [00:32:34] You know, a lot of it has to do with the bandwidth, you know, starting from the street, coming into the house. So if you, depending on the carrier that you have, you might have certain bandwidth that they’re, that you’ve signed up for, you know, whether it be, you know, Hargray or whether it be Comcast or somebody like that. So, you know, that will certainly impact how many of those types of things you’re able to do concurrently. Then you have, you know, capability within the four walls, such as, you know, your wifi and, and the type of, you know,
bandwidth that has and capability. You know, you need to also, people need to have diligence. And matter of fact, you know, before this call, my daughter’s upstairs doing her homework, which has a lot of video. And so I just asked her, I said, Hey, I’m going to be on an important meeting here. Can you just hold off streaming for a little bit in the event that it does collide? But you know, the reality is you’re probably not going to know if four people can do it at once until you try it once or twice. And, and you may want to try that in a, in a mode to where it’s not going to disrupt you know, the other people and which is one of the advices we give people is that, Hey, if you’re going to start using things like web conferencing and video conferencing, and all that is, is try it out ahead of time. You know, get on it. Get somebody, you know, comfortable, a friend, family member, you know, with you. Make sure that the quality is there because you might have to make some adjustments either for your own home office technology or you may need to call your provider and say, Hey, I need to go from a hundred Mg to a gang type of bandwidth.
Rico: [00:34:21] You know, it’s interesting cause the, your zoom for example, is throttling a little bit on how they are streaming the video too. So they, depending on your membership with them or your package with them, you might be only doing it at 760 or something like that versus something higher. I don’t know about you all, but like for example, in my house we have, I typically have a 250 package. It’s like whatever the fastest packages we have, and I have four or five people online all the time doing stuff. And yes, I have 2,500 people through Comcast Xfinity went out. And we were out for an hour and a half. So everyone comes down to see me, to say I’m the IT guy. It’s out 2,500 people in Peachtree corners. That’s a spot somewhere. Shows it on the map, but everyone has the, you know, the data plan we have on our tablets and cell phones. Yeah, hot spot. That’s what we did for that hour and a half, we hot spotted this stuff. Granted, some of it could be low bandwidth, but there’s ways around some of that, I think.
David: [00:35:28] Yeah, that’s a great point. Rico, and you know, having an alternative, you know, it’s certainly something I always want to, you know, keep in back of your mind is that, you know, what, if this does break down, what am I going to do next? It was just like, like in the old days, whenever you’re doing a, you know, many people on this call or I don’t remember, but she had the, the projector where she put the transparency on, you know, in the meetings and, you know, and, and so, okay. What if the, what if the bulb on that projector went out during your meeting, you know, how are you going to continue, you know? Well, you know, that’s where you say, well, I also brought a hard copy that we can all pass around and, and go off of, you know, so they’re, they’re, you know, thinking through it a little bit. Certainly it helps to make sure that we’re doing.
Karl: [00:36:14] There’s one thing along that line, just the difference between how much data video uses versus audio. A lot of times, if everyone is streaming Netflix, running meetings, video meetings. There might be times where the right application is just an audio.
David: [00:36:33] Yeah.
Karl: [00:36:34] But you can almost, you can be full into videoing everything and you’re throttling bandwidth when, you know, for a period of time, you might say, look, maybe you go on audio only and you stop streaming the video. And then, you know, if you have a bandwidth problem, you can toggle some of that stuff.
David: [00:36:51] Yeah, that’s right. And you know, some of these tools do have the ability to where you can, you can choose to accept video as well as broadcast video. So, you can either or those. So, you know, being mindful that, you know, video is going to eat more bandwidth. There’s just no two ways about it.
Karl: [00:37:11] You also mentioned different plans. So I’m not familiar with all of them in particular. But, you know, the, the giga and the, how much bandwidth in this, in this next 60 day period with all the homeschooling and other things that are going on. What types of bandwidth do you think people would be safe with if they had, just so they have an idea they’re way below and they may need to be investigating. They’re talking with the providers.
David: [00:37:42] Yeah. You know, each case is going to be different, but I would say, as much as you can get is an easy answer, you know, but, you know, we, what we did personally in our house is we were, I think at about a 200 Mg type of plan with, with our provider. And knowing that we’re all going to be here and also did some other things with, with moving over to a streaming TV. You know, we just said we’re going to go up to get bandwidth and, you know, in the, and the increase in costs. While, you know, money is certainly important. You know, it was surprisingly inexpensive to make the jump. And, and so, you know, thinking about, you know, what is the alternative. You know, spending an extra, you know, 20 bucks a month for this. Is it the fact that my productivity and I can’t do the meetings, I can’t do all the work? You know, it seems like a pretty good trade off. And again, I’m not, not minimizing that. And, you know, money’s important, but, but so is productivity these days, so sometimes you have to sacrifice a little bit for higher productivity.
Karl: [00:38:59] I know that there’s a lot more we can talk about and, and just wanted to ask if people you know, had questions and wanted to reach out to you and, and your company, how would people get in contact with you?
David: [00:39:13] Yeah. So, again, we’re, we’re located right here in, Peachtree Corners in, Technology Park. And specifically, if you’ve heard of Curiosity Labs, we’re one of the tenants in that building, we have, you know, obviously a website, www.Rojoli.com. And, you know, our phone number and everything is listed on there, or you can just contact us at sales@rojoli.com. And I’ll, I’ll just, also make mention, you know, with the times that we have today, you know, in the situation going on, we have come up with some, what we, what we’re calling them is COVID-19 ITU relief packages, which are you know, services that organizations are faced with right now. That, you know, they, they need to adopt and they need to do it as cost effectively as possible. So we’re offering a number of different free services, such as migrations to office 365 for people who need to take advantage of that platform and teams and, and, disaster recovery
solutions and, and some other things. So, those are, we’re trying to do our part as a part of this to help, particularly SMBs, which are small, medium size businesses where we live, you know, get the technology that they need in order to continue running their business and also protect their data. You know, during these trying times.
Karl: [00:40:45] Well. I really want to thank you so much for spending some time with us because, I know people are talking about relief packages and people are talking about testing and social distancing, but this, this behavior shift that’s happening across industry where people are now, we’re working more remotely. We’ll start to unveil opportunities for people to do things, over computers and networks and just starting to think about it and make sure you harden yourself, is really important, but the tools that you outlined. Chat features, file share features, video software, et cetera, or new tools that we all can start using to maintain productivity at home. And in a lot of cases, this is now how our kids are learning for a few more months. So becoming familiar and comfortable with that is going to be really important as we navigate, beat ourselves to this, pandemic. So, we would like to thank David, for joining us today and talking about this and we definitely recommend people take advantage of some of the offers his company is doing. The Rojoli service is right here in Peachtree Corners. We’re trying to help each other. Businesses are stepping up to provide the tools for people to be successful through this. And I want to thank you and what your whole team is doing to help with.
David: [00:42:20] Well, thank you for having me on today and I’m looking forward to the other side of all this for everybody. Thank you.
Karl: [00:42:28] Amen to that. Well, we wanna thank the community for doing everything they were doing. Rico, I’d say social distance saying is being taken seriously here in our local communities. If you, if you go about, you see people taking it seriously and everyone that’s doing that is helping to make this go quicker and save lives. So we appreciate that. And the sooner we can get this under control and get back, to, to our normal activities, play and work, the better. Also wanted to, just mention we’re going to continue to do our podcast. We have guests that are coming in, and hopefully this format is working, but you could hear us on streaming on your local streaming service, the Capitalist Sage podcast, as well as we do post this live on Facebook. And what’s the, where would they find us online Rico?
Rico: [00:43:28] Sure. So go to LivinginPeachtreeCorners.com. you can also find the podcasts if you go to Apple podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, SoundCloud, any of those platforms has Google or just search for Capitalist Sage. And you’ll see the podcast there. Even if you Google Capitalist Sage podcast, you’ll see it online. It’s on YouTube. So this video will be on YouTube as well. So any of those places you can find.
Karl: [00:43:54] Awesome. Well, I’m Karl Barham with Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta Peachtree. Our business advisors are available to help people navigate through this.
We help people with buying and selling businesses, advising them how to increase value, and in this time, just making sure they’re able to survive through this, if not thrive in the future. And Rico, I know we have some stuff coming out.
Rico: [00:44:19] Sure. In fact, I should say that in the next four or five minutes, I have another podcast. We’re doing Peachtree Corners Life, and I’ll have the head of school for Wesleyan with me. We’re going to be doing talks about distance learning and going through that. So it will be sharing this podcast space shortly with that. So, but this hit the mailboxes or will hit the mailboxes. Today, tomorrow, tomorrow, Peachtree Corners magazine. You’ll find 21 different restaurants you can do your orders from for go-to or curbside pickup. Stories on digital learning, local schools, stories on faith, how the churches are reaching out to the communities online through zoom and other, other, avenues and a whole bunch of things like that as well. If you need any, any services when it comes to content marketing or podcast production or anything along those lines. Mighty Rockets is my company and we are more than happy, more than welcome to contact me. Rico@mightyrockets.com
Karl: [00:45:22] Thank you again for everyone for tuning in. Have a great day.
Rico: [00:45:25] Thank you everyone.
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Business
Two Peachtree Corners Business Leaders Named Finalists for EY Entrepreneur Award
Published
16 hours agoon
April 23, 2025Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are shaping the future
Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) recently announced the finalists for the prestigious Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 Southeast Award, and two local, Peachtree Corners business leaders — David Quirk, president and CEO of DLB Associates Consulting Engineers PC and Erin Hanson, founder and CEO of Guardian Sports — made the list.
Hanson’s Guardian Sports is a family-owned company dedicated to serving athletes through safety and performance improvements in sports equipment. Major products include the Guardian Cap, PEARL ball and Guardian Infill serving the sports industry.
DLB Associates is a U.S.-based consulting engineering firm specializing in mission-critical and complex built environments. With more than 40 years of expertise, DLB delivers innovative, technology-driven solutions in engineering, commissioning and operations worldwide.
Celebrating entrepreneurial leaders
Now in its 40th year, Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes the bold leaders who disrupt markets through the world’s most ground-breaking companies, revolutionizing industries and making a profound impact on communities. The program honors those entrepreneurs whose innovations shape the future and pave the way for a thriving economy and a hopeful tomorrow.
The Southeast program celebrates entrepreneurs from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
An independent panel of judges selected 36 finalists for their entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and lasting impact in building long-term value.
“This year’s finalists are leading examples of innovation, perseverance and resilience, illuminating paths to a brighter future for their industries and communities,” said Chevy Arnold, Entrepreneur Of The Year Southeast Program co-director.
“Their commitment to excellence transforms challenges into opportunities, inspiring us all,” added Kimberly Kicklighter, Entrepreneur Of The Year Southeast Program co-director.
Entrepreneur Of The Year honors many different types of business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit.
The program showcases original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company; transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory; and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future.
Including Quirk and Hanson, the 2025 Southeast finalists are:
- Marc Hodulich | 29029 | Atlanta, Georgia
- Damon Stafford | Alpine Intel | Charlotte, North Carolina
- Lou Hensley | Aspida | Durham, North Carolina
- Matthew Dent | Buffalo Rock Company | Birmingham, Alabama
- Melanie Little | Colonial Pipeline Company | Alpharetta, Georgia
- Will Bartholomew | D1 Training | Franklin, Tennessee
- Rene Diaz | Diaz Foods | Atlanta, Georgia
- David Quirk | DLB Associates Consulting Engineers PC | Peachtree Corners, Georgia
- Markus Scott | EyeQ Monitoring | Atlanta, Georgia
- Jon Gosier | FilmHedge | Atlanta, Georgia
- John Fitzpatrick | Force Marketing | Atlanta, Georgia
- Dr. Barry Patel | Galt Companies | Atlanta, Georgia
- Dr. Wade Smith | Galt Companies | Atlanta, Georgia
- Charles Gillespie | Gambling.com Group | Charlotte, North Carolina
- Kevin McCrystle | Gambling.com Group | Charlotte, North Carolina
- Mike Griffin | Griffin Brothers Companies | Cornelius, North Carolina
- Erin Hanson | Guardian Sports | Peachtree Corners, Georgia
- Dan Beem | Hissho Sushi | Charlotte, North Carolina
- Aaron Siegel | Home Team BBQ | Charleston, South Carolina
- Marc Murphy | Ignite Digital Services | Charleston, South Carolina
- Miller Chalk | Inglett & Stubbs, LLC | Mableton, Georgia
- Liza Rodewald | Instant Teams | Southern Pines, North Carolina
- Stephen Andresen | McClancy Foods & Flavors | Fort Mill, South Carolina
- Travis LeFever | Mission Mobile Medical Group | Greensboro, North Carolina
- Cyrus Mojdehi | Northway Homes | Charlotte, North Carolina
- Connor Ryan | NutraSky | Alpharetta, Georgia
- Fritz Owens | OTR Solutions | Roswell, Georgia
- Christopher Chuang | Relay, Inc. | Raleigh, North Carolina
- Kurt Jacobus | restor3d, Inc. | Durham, North Carolina
- Tom Kendrot | Shearwater Health | Nashville, Tennessee
- Teak Shore | Southern Lighting Source | Cumberland, Georgia
- Cindy Eckert | Sprout Pharmaceuticals | Raleigh, North Carolina
- Bryan Moore | TalkShopLive Inc. | Nashville, Tennessee
- Tina Moore | TalkShopLive Inc. | Nashville, Tennessee
- Igor Marinelli | Tractian | Atlanta, Georgia
- Joan Butters | Xsolis | Franklin, Tennessee
You can learn more about the finalists at ey.com/en_us/entrepreneur-of-the-year-us/southeast/winners-finalists.
Regional award winners will be announced on June 25 during a special celebration. The winners will then be considered by the national independent panel of judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies.
About Entrepreneur Of The Year
Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the U.S., and it has since expanded to nearly 60 countries globally.
The U.S. program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum® in November where national finalists and award winners are announced.
The overall national winner represents the U.S. at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ competition.
For more about the award, visit ey.com/us/eoy.
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Business
SCB Construction Group Partners with CGA Reps on New Peachtree Corners HQ
Published
1 week agoon
April 15, 2025SCB Construction Group, freshly rebranded from SteelCo, secures construction project with CGA Reps for new office HQ in Peachtree Corners
SCB Construction Group has announced a strategic partnership with CGA Reps to build a new office headquarters in Peachtree Corners. The project, encompassing approximately 26,000 square feet of innovative workspace, marks a significant milestone in advancing CGA Reps’ corporate vision while showcasing SBA Construction Group’s commitment to delivering transformative construction solutions.
In collaboration with Oakley Real Estate Partners — serving as developers of the project on behalf of CGA Reps — this venture reflects a united effort to bring cutting-edge design (from Smallwood architecture firm) and operational excellence to the commercial kitchen equipment industry.
The announcement follows several high-profile projects for SCB Construction Group in 2024, including a 72,500-square-foot manufacturing center and headquarters for Process Equipment & Controls, an impressive interior build-out for Courtesy Ford Conyers’ commercial service center and the Phase 1 completion for StoreEase Loganville — recently honored as a 2024 Smart Facility of the Year by Modern Storage Media.
A bold new chapter for CGA Reps
The new 25,890-square-foot headquarters is designed to be more than just a workplace — it is envisioned as an inspiring environment that serves both client engagements and employee creativity. CGA Reps is recognized as an industry expert in commercial kitchen equipment, representing leading manufacturers, warehousing, distributing and installing everything from fryers to commercial walk-in freezers.
The facility’s design reflects this expertise, featuring a dedicated approximately 9,000-square-foot showroom kitchen that will host equipment demonstrations, tradeshows and webinars. This dynamic space will allow CGA Reps to showcase its comprehensive product range and provide clients with hands-on experiences of the latest commercial kitchen innovations.
A standout feature of the project is its innovative approach to stormwater management. With the site comprising only three acres, sufficient space for a traditional detention pond does not exist. To overcome this challenge, the design includes an underground detention system located beneath the truck court to efficiently handle all stormwater runoff.
This solution not only maximizes the use of the available land but also reinforces CGA Reps’ commitment to sustainable practices.
“We are excited to embark on this project with CGA Reps,” said Jay Bailey, CEO of SCB Construction Group. “This partnership underscores our commitment to customer excellence in design and construction, and it is a testament to the trust our clients place in our ability to deliver projects that not only meet but exceed expectations.”
Delivering excellence through proven expertise
SCB Construction Group’s track record in 2024 has been nothing short of remarkable. Earlier in the year, the company completed a 72,500 square foot manufacturing center for Process Equipment & Controls, integrating office space within a dynamic production facility.
This project was celebrated for its innovative design that balanced operational efficiency with a modern aesthetic, utilizing IMP panels to mimic tilt-up concrete, setting new standards for manufacturing environments.
Similarly, the interior build-out for Courtesy Ford Conyers’ commercial service center demonstrated SCB Construction Group’s ability to transform conventional spaces into functional and attractive environments that cater to both customer and staff needs.
The company’s commitment to quality and precision was again evident in the successful Phase 1 completion for StoreEase Loganville. This project, which recently earned the distinction of a 2024 Smart Facility of the Year by Modern Storage Media, highlights SCB Construction Group’s forward-thinking approach to construction and design, incorporating smart technologies and design that enhance sustainability and operational efficiency.
A rebranding that reflects a vision for the future
In a move that signals its evolution and growth, SCB Construction Group has recently rebranded from its former identity, SteelCo Buildings, as it spins off its construction division. This strategic rebranding is not merely cosmetic — it represents a renewed commitment to capabilities, credibility and client-focused service.
The refreshed brand is anchored by a new tagline “Deep Expertise, High Expectations” and a clear brand promise that communicates the company’s mission: to craft exceptional construction experiences based on precision, innovation and trust.
“Our rebranding is about more than just a new name or logo; it’s a renewed promise to our clients and communities,” explained Robert Lee, marketing director at SCB Construction Group. “We believe that our updated brand identity, including our invigorated tagline and mission statement, encapsulates our dedication to pushing the boundaries of design and construction. It reflects our commitment to creating spaces that are as inspiring as they are functional.”
Transforming spaces to inspire and connect
The new headquarters for CGA Reps is expected to become a landmark facility in Peachtree Corners. Beyond its impressive architectural design and advanced construction techniques, the building is planned as a hub for innovation and collaboration.
The interior build-out will include dynamic client reception areas, interactive meeting rooms, and dedicated spaces designed to foster creativity and teamwork among employees. The layout is crafted to ensure that every area of the facility contributes to a productive and inspiring work environment.
“By investing in this state-of-the-art facility, CGA Reps is making a strong statement about the future of work,” said Bryan Young, VP of construction at SCB Construction Group. “Our team is dedicated to designing and building spaces that not only serve the immediate needs of our clients but also create environments that motivate and inspire. The new headquarters will be a testament to that vision.”
Looking ahead
The partnership between SCB Construction Group and CGA Reps marks a significant step forward for both companies. As SCB Construction Group continues to build on its legacy of excellence and innovation, this project is poised to set a new benchmark for modern office headquarters design in the region.
With a strategic focus on creating spaces that inspire, connect and drive success, the future looks promising for both SCB Construction Group and its esteemed partner, CGA Reps.
For more information on the new headquarters project or to learn more about SCB Construction Group’s portfolio, visit scbcg.com.
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How NetPlanner Systems powers businesses with tech-forward services and solutions
Anyone who’s been in business for more than a decade — maybe even less than that — can attest to the changes one must make to stay relevant. Such is the case with NetPlanner Systems.
During a discussion recently with Southwest Gwinnett magazine, CEO Clint Bridges explained that NetPlanner was an outgrowth of another company he started in 1983, initially in Mableton and later moved to the Peachtree Corners/Norcross area in 1985.
The first company manufactured printer and modem cables, which were in high demand during the early personal computer market boom. The company transitioned from manufacturing to providing networking services in 1987 due to the shift in the market and the desire to stay in a service-oriented business.
“Those cable assemblies sold for higher margins in the early days of the PC market. Rapidly, a lot of that manufacturing went offshore, and the margins went down, and a number of my competitors decided just to become brokers in that field,” said Bridges. “I didn’t really want to become a broker. I am very technical, very hands on, and so I sold that first business in 1986.”
Services and market reach
The contacts and trust he’d built with customers prompted him to go another route.
“Local area networking was starting to come into the marketplace, and so instead of manufacturing cable assemblies, we started to do networking, which involves putting network cabling and related hardware into commercial buildings,” he said.
NetPlanner built some of the earliest networks in the area.
“This was back in the days before there were any standards for this,” Bridges added.
Today NetPlanner provides complete design services, installation and ongoing maintenance of all communication systems in commercial buildings, focusing primarily on hardware. The company also runs a network services division that offers help desk support for small businesses without their own IT departments.
“That’s what really caused NetPlanner to be formed in 1987 — the desire to be in a service business and to provide a service that was still working with the same sorts of clientele in the computer marketplace,” he said.
NetPlanner works with a variety of commercial enterprises, as well as K-12 schools, colleges, universities and large hospital systems.
“Everything that wasn’t on the IP network in a commercial building before 1990 started to fall onto the IP network,” said Bridges. “Things that we never anticipated, including telephone systems, which were totally separate back in the 1980s, now all operate over IP-based systems.”
In addition, things like security and access control, video surveillance and similar systems all work on IP networks.
“So as time has gone on, NetPlanner has received requests from our customers to install these other systems, and we’ve embraced the other technologies that are now a part of almost all commercial buildings,” he added.
The company is now expanding its services to include nurse call services for hospitals — one of the newer markets for NetPlanner.
Security and access control systems
With ever-changing business technology needs, NetPlanner successfully keeps current with trends. With heightened security concerns everywhere, the company installs biometric readers and smart camera systems for access control.
“We provide a wide variety of smart camera systems, where they can do recognition, license plate recognition, facial recognition — all those kinds of intelligent systems for commercial spaces,” he said.
Building relationships with a wide variety of manufacturers who provide different types of software systems is how NetPlanner meets the needs of its clients.
“We work with whatever software system the particular enterprise feels is most appropriate for their needs, depending on whether they want to do license plate recognition or face recognition,” said Bridges. “We do a tremendous amount of security camera work in schools all over the southeast. And that is becoming more top of mind in school systems now.”
But there’s more. NetPlanner also provides distributed antenna systems (DAS) to improve cell phone coverage in commercial spaces.
“Cell carriers are concerned about not just signal strength, but also channel capacity — the ability to have a much larger number of users that might be around a particular cell tower at any given point in time,” said Bridges.
When installing a DAS, NetPlanner’s proficiency in coordinating with the carriers ensures compliance with carrier requirements and optimizes signal strength and coverage throughout the building.
Evolution of the technology-driven company
Anyone who knows Clint Bridges shouldn’t be surprised that he’s right in the thick of the technology boom. He started his first company at 19 and attended Southern Tech for a while before focusing on entrepreneurship.
“My passion for technology goes back to my earliest years. I’ve been fascinated by electronics and computers since I was very young. And I always had a home laboratory in the basement of the house as I was growing up,” he said. “I knew when I was in high school that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. During my time at Southern Tech, I started my first company and realized that’s what I wanted to do more than be at Southern Tech.”
NetPlanner is not only a local company. It operates fully-staffed branch offices in Augusta, Columbus and Savannah, as well as in Nashville, Tennessee; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Tampa, Florida. It has also provided services in every U.S. state, as well as parts of the Caribbean, Canada, London and Puerto Rico.
“We do projects all over the country, including some that are for companies that need to do national rollouts,” Bridges said. “A lot of our customers want to see the exact same approach used consistently throughout all their facilities across the country. So they’ll look to a company like NetPlanner to go and provide that consistent installation of all their communications technology needs in all their facilities across the country.”
Community commitment
Whether it’s working with manufacturing facilities and distributors, some of the largest big box organizations in the country, small retail businesses or anything in between, NetPlanner never loses sight of the local community.
With a home base in Peachtree Corners, the company has strong community involvement — including adopting a roadway section for clean-up efforts and participating in local chamber of commerce activities. NetPlanner has been active in several community events, such as shoe drives, food drives and charity walks, demonstrating its commitment to giving back.
“Since 2018, we’ve adopted a roadway section in the community through Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful,” said Michelle Bruck, marketing specialist at NetPlanner. “We go out about five times a year, clear debris off of that roadway and just make sure that it’s beautiful and that it’s safer for people who are walking or driving in the area.”
Nationally, NetPlanner participates in Toys for Tots and Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
“Not only [do we give back] in our headquarters location, but all of our branch offices look for ways to help, get involved and support our communities that we’re part of,” Bruck added.
NetPlanner’s marketing efforts include social media, direct marketing and trade shows, with support from Vox-Pop-Uli for branded materials and printed media.
“When we first started using Vox-Pop-Uli, we had just a straightforward vendor relationship, but they very quickly became a partner to us,” said Bridges. “Vox-Pop-Uli has actually set up a company store on our behalf where our employees can purchase branded material, branded clothing, ball caps and those sorts of things. And they also handle printed media — things that we would use at trade shows.”
Looking forward
With technology moving at a warp speed, NetPlanner relies on a lot of repeat business.
“Bandwidth requirements are increasing year after year,” Bridges said. “Fiber optic cabling that we might have installed 10 years ago won’t support the data rates that are needed today, so it needs to be changed out in many cases.”
Many of the customers that he’s been with for several decades use NetPlanner’s services over and over.
“We’ve gone into the same building and re-cabled it over and over again as the different category levels of copper cabling have advanced,” he said. “The demands on fiber are now way beyond what they were even five years ago because the capacity has increased so much.”
And as everyone is embracing artificial intelligence, Bridges said he’s working to keep up.
“Everyone is well aware of what’s happening in the artificial intelligence space. And what’s really amazing to us is the number of new data centers that are being built across the United States by all the major players,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to imagine even being able to keep up with all that. We do a lot of data center work ourselves, and are trying to engage with more of our customers to help build some of these newer data centers.”
He added that the artificial intelligence boom is causing so much additional strain on the network infrastructure across the country, there are concerns about how it’s all going to be powered.
“I think everyone’s concerned,” he said. “Everyone that’s involved in this is wondering how we’re going to meet the bandwidth demands, the capacity demands, the power demands to make all this work.”
Staying ahead of the curve
With decades of experience, Bridges offers advice for all types of businesses starting out — put technology needs into your business model early on.
“The companies that struggle the most with technology are the ones that wait until after everything with the building is developed and completely built before they realize that they need Wi-Fi or some other network installation done,” he said. “It’s just a much more efficient process if we’re involved as early as possible to help design the network, along with the building structure itself.”
He also emphasized the importance of staying ahead of technological advancements to avoid falling behind.
“As fast as technology moves, if you get behind the power curve, it’s really hard to catch up,” he added.
The Local Thread: This business profile series is proudly supported by Vox-Pop-Uli, championing local stories and the communities we serve.
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