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.
Content supported by community-minded companies and organizations like Clearwave Fiber helps us produce editorially independent content. They are companies that underwrite us in additional ways beyond their print advertising.
Photos by George Hunter
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This year’s Sci-Tech Film Challenge runs September 20–22. Registration is open until September 6.
What does a global cloud infrastructure provider have in common with science fiction filmmakers? The uninspired may say, “nothing.” But those with an eye toward creative marketing, unique brand-building and innovative partnerships will understand right away that companies seeking new ways of reaching customers are willing to try different approaches. That’s why tech industry leader OVHcloud has partnered with Atlanta Sci-Fi Film Festival to sponsor its 48-Hour Sci-Tech Film Challenge.
Billed as “the free-style rap battle of filmmaking,” this competition is one of the most unique 48-hour film challenges in the world, according to Amanda Ray, founder and CEO of the Multicultural Sci-fi Organization (MCSFO) and organizer of the festival.
Press materials for the contest explain that participants have 48 hours to create a sci-fi short film from start to finish, incorporating cutting-edge technology into creative storytelling.
Tech company partnerships
The festival plans to partner with different tech companies for each year’s challenge in order to support evolving technologies. For two years in a row, OVHcloud has fulfilled that role. Similar to the way innovative tech has been introduced in shows like “Star Trek” over the years, the 48-Hour Sci-Tech Film Challenge enables festival partners to see how their products or services might be integrated into a narrative. This collaboration gives filmmakers experience working with brands in a legal, responsible and respectful manner while still being creative, according to the news release.
Registration is open through September 6 at filmfreeway.com. The competition begins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 20 and filmmakers have until 7 p.m. on Sunday, September 22 to write, shoot, edit and upload their completed film. Films will be judged according to categories such as: Adherence and Best Use of Required Element, Artistic Merit and Technical Achievement according to the release.
There will be a live screening of the finalists’ films during the sci-fi festival, held October 4 to October 6 in Peachtree Corners, with winners announced at the awards ceremony.
From Wu-Tang to AOL to OVHcloud
Sherin Baday, senior director of marketing for OVHcloud, has an extensive history of working with a diverse roster of companies.
“I worked in New York in the music industry for 10 years in marketing, management, promotions, all types of duties around the spectrum, working with a couple of record companies. Then from there, I moved to America Online,” she said.
One of her most noteworthy clients was rap/hip-hop pioneers Wu-Tang Clan.
“That was the hardest transition I think anyone can have culturally. And then from there, it was a string of SaaS companies,” she said. “It wasn’t as sexy as the music industry. … My first job after Wu-Tang I worked at a fixed asset software company.”
Even though it didn’t present the same excitement as working with performers such as Ghostface Killah, Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Method Man, Baday applied some of the same principles of branding she learned back in the late 90s.
“Regardless of the product, it needs a face. It needs that human element, a recording artist, a musician, a film — that’s all a product,” she said.
Unique brand building
In the same way that artists must connect to fans, a fixed asset company needs a way for potential customers to identify with it.
“How do I bring a personality into this product and let people relate to it or find it endearing, or be able to say, ‘Oh, I remember them because of this video that they did about this little mascot that caught my eye,’” she said. “I was always trying to think of ways to humanize it and that’s what I’ve been doing across all these SaaS companies.”
Baday came to OVHcloud when it opened its U.S. office nearly seven years ago.
“We’re in a field where the hyper scalers are huge,” she said. “We have AWS in our backyard here in Herndon. Google is here, so we’re not trying to really compete with them on paper — we know our space. We’re trying to build a name for ourselves, build some awareness and find our own group of customers.”
But building a brand isn’t an overnight thing, she admitted.
“I think working with people like Amanda [Ray of Atlanta Sci-Fi Film Festival] and programs like this help with the memory recall,” she said. “Because you remember programs like this instead of an ad or a website or an email that you get from a company you don’t know or that you’ve never heard of.”
So Baday is looking for different ways to build awareness.
“Whether it’s supporting a Formula One team or an English soccer club, how can we stick out and really get people to know who OVHcloud is and that we are a human company?” she said.
Measuring success
Baday didn’t seek out the partnership with the film festival. She and Ray met at an OVHcloud event.
“I met Amanda, heard about her program, what she was doing, what her plans were, what her vision was for the next five, 10, 15 years and I thought, ‘This is exciting!’” she said. “This is a group of innovators trying to break into the film industry and create these sci-fi films.”
Baday thought about the OVHcloud motto, “innovation for freedom” and realized that building new technology to help its customers fit perfectly with the vision of new technology that could be presented in science fiction films.
“A lot of these tech companies just try to target other tech companies right now, but everyone needs technology — the music industry, the arts industry, literature — they all need to put their films somewhere. They all need to back up their music,” she said. “So, when I spoke with Amanda, I realized … [the short film competition] could give us a face to show that we’re all about technology and improving people’s lives with it.”
OVHcloud is donating technology for the challenge and at the same time it’s building awareness about who the company is. The filmmakers get a demo of sorts of the technology that will keep their creative works safe.
Last year’s winner went beyond simple product placement to show how a service like OVHcloud fits with future tech. We won’t give away the plot, but those who are curious can check out the three-minute video online.
Beyond the traditional RoI model
At this early stage in the partnership, OVHcloud isn’t looking for a dollar-for-dollar return. It’s much more subtle than that.
“You don’t really realize the impact of a partnership or sponsorship like this until someone from a newspaper reaches out saying, ‘I want to do an interview because I think this is amazing,’” she said.
Of course, her bosses are looking to add to the bottom line.
“They’re like, ‘Well, what do we get from this? Did we get any sales? How many people came up and said they’re going to buy a server from us?’” she said. “To me, it’s not about that. It’s about building the awareness and partnering with this film community and growing our name as a supporter of the arts. And that’s a whole different level of return I can’t show, but I think it’s important when we do get interview requests or as the media grows around it.”
Right now, she’s asking her superiors to be patient. “I would say it’s going to all be worth it in the end.”
The Atlanta Sci-Fi Film Festival takes place October 4-6 and is FREE with advance registration. Visit atlantascififilmfestival.com for more information.
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