Tech
Rojoli Provides Cloud and Managed IT Services with Strong Local Commitment
From his desk in the Rojoli Services, Inc. offices at the Curiosity Lab, Rojoli CEO Gentry Ganote can watch construction progress on more buildings to house self-driving cars.
To anyone familiar with Peachtree Corners and Technology Park — the city’s sprawling 500-acre center for engineering and technology companies — the sight of an autonomous shuttle going down the road still sparks interest.
Along with Tech Park’s 5G infrastructure and numerous prototypes for smart city devices, the shuttle is a symbol of the area’s commitment to innovation and advancements in high-tech.
High-tech can improve people’s lives and continue pushing the limits of what was previously thought possible.
And while Rojoli’s work may not be as visible to someone walking down the street, it’s no less impactful or important. A large number of small businesses in Peachtree Corners and beyond rely on it for cloud and IT services.
From burgeoning tech to established provider
In 2008, cloud computing was just beginning to take off. Amazon had only launched its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), two years earlier. Microsoft followed close behind in October 2008 with the launch of Azure.
Now, multibillion-dollar companies are responsible for the IT infrastructure powering large swathes of the internet.
Many industry experts were unsure if the services that companies like AWS and Azure sold — known as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in tech-speak — would catch on in the mainstream. But to Ganote, this emerging market seemed like a good opportunity.
Ganote worked as the chief information officer (CIO) at the PGA Tour Superstore before getting into cloud computing.
During his time there, he and his team began implementing some infrastructure virtualization — one of the main technologies that makes cloud computing possible.
“I really felt that [cloud computing] was going to be big and take off. I had some colleagues that were in the IT field looking to host stuff, and I just thought that it was an opportunity,” Ganote said. “I ended up starting with a couple of customers and started the hosting company in 2008. I was just one man for a year, year and a half.”
Over the next two years, Ganote steadily grew the business, going on to merge in 2010 with another local small business founded by Stan and Brad Allen.
Stan and Brad had some customers in need of IaaS and managed services, a type of outsourcing where a company hires a vendor like Rojoli to manage and monitor its IT network.
With the merger, Rojoli became a managed IT service provider (MSP) and cloud hosting company. The company took on bigger clients while continuing to serve the small business communities of Metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia.
In 2019, the company merged again. This time with a fellow Peachtree Corners-based company called Cloud AG, founded in 2013 by David Huseonica.
Today, Rojoli offers several services, from its original cloud hosting service to managed IT services to data backup and recovery as well as Microsoft 365 and Exchange implementation.
The company operates data centers in New York and Georgia, providing cloud and IT services to national companies in addition to many small businesses in the Peach State.
Local roots run deep
Rojoli originally started in downtown Norcross before moving to Technology Park’s Curiosity Lab around 2015, but the company has deep ties to the area. Ganote himself went to Norcross High School before earning his bachelor’s in computer science from the University of Georgia.
While a student at UGA, he got his first job as a software developer for a company based in Technology Park. Now, nearly 40 years later, Ganote is still happy to call Peachtree Corners home — both for him, his family and the business.
“I’ve had an affinity for this location,” he said. “I grew up here, I went to Norcross High School. So for me, it’s personal… I’ve been here for a long time, and I really appreciate the vibe and the whole area.”
For Rojoli, it’s especially important to be part of the Technology Park business community. Local real estate developer Paul Duke initially envisioned Peachtree Corners and Technology Park in the late 1960s as a close-knit community where people could live, work and play.
He also pictured it as a place to host technology companies to employ new engineering, technology and business graduates from Georgia Tech and UGA.
GE and Scientific Atlanta (now part of Cisco Systems) were some of the first businesses in the office park. It’s only grown since then and includes a number of technology companies, not to mention one of the country’s only roadways for autonomous vehicles.
There is also Curiosity Labs, a business accelerator for companies developing smart city technology. Tech Park has a rich history of technological innovation, and Ganote says it continues to change today.
“It’s got a good atmosphere,” he said. “There’s always something going on.”
Aside from participation in a culture of progress and innovation, being in the area also helps Rojoli provide excellent service to its customers.
Ganote described Rojoli’s cloud hosting business as “high-touch boutique hosting.” He said it provides value to local businesses that need help removing some of the complexity of large cloud service providers like Microsoft Azure and AWS.
Having a local presence makes it easier for Rojoli to help local businesses that may be facing challenges associated with aging on-premises IT infrastructure.
Tech help and peace of mind
As systems age and become outdated, maintaining them can become increasingly difficult and costly for the businesses that rely on them.
Rojoli helps alleviate these pain points for small businesses by either managing on-premises systems or by providing cloud hosting, which generally offers lower costs and better reliability.
This is especially important, Ganote said, for companies with large remote workforces who rely on collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom to stay connected.
“It makes a lot more sense to put [IT systems] into the cloud,” Ganote said. “It’s up 24/7, 365. The network connectivity is always on, so it provides a much more solid, secure and redundant system.”
This is Rojoli’s niche, and it’s where Ganote sees the company continuing to expand in the years ahead.
Because of its unique relationship with the local business community, Rojoli can provide more of a boutique experience than might be found elsewhere or with more nationally focused MSPs and cloud providers.
Like buying from a local shop versus a big box retail chain, the difference for Rojoli is about relationships and providing a personalized touch.
This approach makes it a unique member of the local business community in Peachtree Corners and across the state.
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Photos by George Hunter
Peachtree Corners marks May Mobility’s third driverless operation in the US and first commercial driver-out deployment
May Mobility, a leading autonomous vehicle (AV) technology company, recently announced the launch of its first commercial driver-out autonomous transportation service in the City of Peachtree Corners.
The company has transitioned its Peachtree Corners service to driverless operations, marking May Mobility’s third driverless deployment in the United States, following successful demonstration deployments in Sun City, Arizona and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In partnership with Curiosity Lab, T-Mobile and the City of Peachtree Corners, May Mobility has been offering public rides in its autonomous Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS (mobility-as-a-service) to visitors of Peachtree Corner’s Curiosity Lab — one of the country’s first smart city environments powered by real-world connected infrastructure and T-Mobile’s 5G — since September 2024 with safety drivers in place.
Now passengers will be able to ride the service without anyone behind the wheel. The service zone includes eight pre-determined stops along Technology Parkway at popular destinations such as hotels, restaurants, retail shops, office spaces, the Innovation Center at Curiosity Lab and Peachtree Corners City Hall.
“Peachtree Corners will be our third driverless operation, and we are excited to debut our first publicly available driverless service in the City of Peachtree Corners,” said Edwin Olson, CEO and founder of May Mobility. “This launch reinforces the importance of working with cities and communities everywhere to solve real transportation challenges.”
About the vehicles
May Mobility’s vehicles are equipped with its patented Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) technology that leverages in-situ AI reasoning models to continuously learn and adapt to new, complex and even unpredictable driving conditions to create a safer, more comfortable ride.
In doing so, MPDM solves the industry’s biggest challenge — adapting to unexpected, dynamic conditions or “edge cases,” and allows the company to scale quickly and efficiently to new environments.
“Curiosity Lab’s real-world, smart city ecosystem has provided May Mobility with a unique environment to both continue to develop and improve their operations over the past six months, which has only further prepared the May Mobility team for its third driver-out operation and first commercial operation in the U.S.,” said Brian Johnson, Peachtree Corners city manager.
“T-Mobile’s 5G is a key staple of our ecosystem and the driver-out transition, as it provides May Mobility with low latency, high bandwidth connectivity for a smoother rider experience and enhanced safety operations.”
“This will continue to be important as we work toward expanding the route towards Town Center to provide additional means of transportation for city residents and visitors,” he continued. “It is incredible to see how the May Mobility team has been able to achieve driver-out operations within six months of the initial launch in our city, and we look forward to having our residents and visitors experience it for themselves.”
The details
May Mobility’s driverless operations in Peachtree Corners are open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with each vehicle accommodating up to five passengers at a time.
Riders will be able to easily book trips to any of the service’s eight stops on-demand through the May Mobility app, powered by transit tech company Via, available in the App Store and Google Play. The app guides users on how to book a ride and access the vehicle, answers questions and more.
May Mobility is working with the City of Peachtree Corners on future expansions and has plans to launch autonomous vehicles in other parts of metro Atlanta in partnership with Lyft later this year.
Additional driverless operations in the U.S. will be announced throughout 2025.
May Mobility extended its leading portfolio of AV use cases with its recent announcement at CES 2025 of a partnership with Tecnobus, an established European electric minibus manufacturer, to introduce a new AV minibus platform able to seat up to 30 passengers, including wheelchair accessibility.
For more information about May Mobility, visit maymobility.com.
For more about the City of Peachtree Corners and Curiosity Lab, visit cityofpeachtreecornersga.gov and curiositylabptc.com.
City of Peachtree Corners
Peachtree Corners and ConnVAS Collaborate on Intelligent Crosswalk Technology
Live pilot in Georgia smart city showcases groundbreaking advancements in pedestrian safety and roadway technology
Peachtree Corners — one of the nation’s first smart cities powered by real-world connected infrastructure and 5G — has announced a collaboration for a pilot project with ConnVAS, an innovator in advanced traffic and pedestrian safety solutions.
The pilot launched outside of Pinckneyville Middle School, addresses the safety challenges of busy crosswalks by testing how real-time, AI-driven detection can reduce accidents and create a safer environment for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers by activating alerts, even when pedestrians do not activate crosswalk signals.
An AI-driven computing system
The pilot utilizes ConnVAS’s MAGIC (Multi-Access Generic Infrastructure Controller), AI-driven edge computing system, which incorporates cameras mounted on RRFB poles (Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon) to monitor pedestrian and vehicle movement, V2X transceivers for real-time vehicle-to-infrastructure communication and an integrated audio-visual alert system.
When the system detects a pedestrian or cyclist using the crosswalk, crossing outside of the crosswalk lines or a vehicle approaching the crosswalk, each of its technologies work together in real time to immediately activate alerts to both the users of the crosswalk and incoming drivers — even if the pedestrians did not press the crosswalk buttons.
The system also continually collects anonymous data such as felonies, near-misses and pedestrian and vehicle counts for ongoing analysis of crosswalk usage and traffic.
“Peachtree Corners is dedicated to implementing technology solutions that address real-world safety challenges for our residents,” said Brandon Branham, executive director of Curiosity Lab.
“The ConnVAS system provides an innovative solution to common safety hazards such as pedestrians crossing outside of designated areas, failure to press crosswalk buttons and drivers failing to detect pedestrians or cyclists in time,” he continued.
“By integrating advanced AI detection and real-time alerts, this ConnVAS pilot enhances safety in an area where our residents need it the most today, while also generating actionable insights that can guide our development of smarter, more responsive infrastructure in the future. We are excited to be continuing the pilot program to continue to gain insights in how we can improve our city for our residents.”
Collecting data and observing patterns
Preliminary results from the pilot program that were extracted from a midweek 72-hour period, show distinct patterns that can better help city managers ensure roadways are safe and efficient for VRUs (vulnerable road users) and drivers.
At the pilot location, ConnVAS reported over 220 pedestrian crossings for more than 70 crossing events, with only three false alarms. The system consistently and successfully activated flashing beacons and audio alerts in real time, ensuring those crossing the road and oncoming drivers were promptly warned.
Additionally, traffic data collected by the system is being used to evaluate the technology’s impact and will aid city officials in making informed decisions about improving road safety and urban planning in specific locations.
“The pilot we are conducting in Peachtree Corners has been instrumental in refining our technology and demonstrating its impact in a real-world environment,” said Danny Frydman, founder and CEO of ConnVAS. “Through continuous testing and data analysis, we’ve been able to improve the accuracy of our system’s AI detection, ensuring faster and more reliable activation of alerts. This has directly enhanced the safety of the area by addressing critical challenges, including missed warnings for pedestrians and cyclists or delayed driver awareness.”
“The insights gained from this pilot are helping us evolve the software to adapt to complex traffic scenarios and create safer, smarter intersections everywhere,” Frydman added. “We hope to scale this solution throughout the city as the pilot and technology continues to develop.”
Evaluating features
The ConnVAS pilot in Peachtree Corners is continuing to evaluate various features, including autonomous operation features that eliminate the need for manual button presses and reduce false alarms, cyclist-friendly designs and V2X connectivity to communicate with connected vehicles to alert drivers of crosswalk activity.
Additional capabilities such as dynamic illumination based on pedestrian location are also being explored to further enhance VRU safety.
About ConnVAS
ConnVAS is an innovator in advanced traffic and pedestrian safety solutions. At the core of ConnVAS solutions is the ConnVAS MAGIC — an AI-driven edge computing traffic detector. The MAGIC stands at the heart of ConnVAS enhanced RRFB, intelligent signalized intersection and traffic analytics solutions.
Providing edge computing solutions that include AI detection, V2X communication and diverse interfaces, ConnVAS enhances the safety and efficiency of the transportation environment.
For more information, visit connvas.com.
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