TechBirmingham thrives through its immensely talented and diverse group of member companies. Meet our Member Companies is an ongoing Q&A series highlighting this group of movers, shakers and makers in B’ham’s tech industry.

Meet Stephanie Anderson, CEO & Co-Founder of Doc24Seven. She was born in Jasper and has lived in Birmingham the last five years. Read on to learn more about Doc24Seven and the great things they are doing in Birmingham and beyond.

Hi Stephanie! Let’s get started — Tell us more about Doc24Seven.

Doc24Seven is a simple cloud based Healthcare Service Portal (focused on Tele medicine) that is user friendly, cost effective and secure – healthcare for everyone, anytime, anywhere.

We are a lean startup company with 3 employees based out of Innovation Depot. Each of us focus on different things ranging from software development to healthcare regulations.

Each day brings new challenges and opportunities from making presentations to a group of Healthcare Professionals or Investors to meeting with patients and getting their feedback on what we have built so far and how we can improve it. It is amazing to get an opportunity to work in a field we love and get to meet so many incredible people on a daily basis.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about your field?

The healthcare market is vast, about 2.9 trillion in healthcare expenditures in 2013 alone. The biggest misconception about the partnership between healthcare and IT sector is that it will lead to raised cost and failed ventures which is unfounded to say the least.

Telemedicine and healthcare IT companies are working hard to change peoples perspective. To set the matter straight, the job of telemedicine is not to replace the existing doctor-patient relationship but to extend that said relationship by recreating in-person experience for both patient and practitioner.

Not all doctors are available 24-seven, but we get sick regardless of standard office hours. When a hospital offers telemedicine service, patients can receive care from providers who can securely access their medical records and ensure patients records are promptly updated at the end of the visit. This is in the best interest of the patient and their ongoing care with their primary care physician.

What exciting news or product/service announcements does your company have on the horizon?

Doc24Seven was chosen as a semi-finalist for a national pitch competition at SUP-X: The StartUp Expo, the premier annual conference that brings together startups and investors from across North America.

We were chosen from among hundreds of online applications and via tech accelerators, angel groups and venture funds from throughout the US and Canada.

Doc24seven will compete for $50K in prizes against 50 startups from 28 North American Cities on February 16-17 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

How do you feel about B’ham’s tech scene?

Being born in Jasper, Alabama and having traveled to various parts of the world while proudly serving in The United States Air Force, I haven’t seen a tightly knit community as we have here.

Even though we are a young and upcoming city as far as Information Technology is concerned we are making huge strides, especially in the Southeast. Technology leaders, community leaders and the state/local officials should get credit for all the hardwork they have put in to get Birmingham where it is today. And we are excited to be part of this wonderful movement!

Anything else about you or your company you want us to share?

While designing our service we wanted to ensure that the needs of both patients and doctors are properly addressed and we exceed every user’s expectations.

The most important piece to remember is that this is about patient care and telehealth-related technology is simply another tool to be used to deliver quality healthcare services. Telemedicine is the delivery of patient care and it should be incorporated as much as possible into existing practices, policies, and procedures to help comply with standards and encourage easier adaptation.

Thanks so much for sharing, Stephanie! 

Follow Doc24Seven online here:

www.doc24seven.com

https://twitter.com/Doc24_Seven

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TechBirmingham thrives through its immensely talented and diverse group of member companies. Meet our Member Companies is an ongoing Q&A series highlighting this group of movers, shakers and makers in B’ham’s tech industry.

Meet AlanJones,Director of Security Services for Layer 3 Communications. He was born and raised in Birmingham and has been with Layer 3 Communications for 18 years. Read on to learn more about Layer 3 Communications and the great things they are doing in Birmingham and beyond.

Hi Alan! Let’s get started — Tell us more about Layer 3 Communications.

Layer 3 Communications is a value added reseller specializing in data networking and security. The truth though is that we’re a professional services organization masquerading as a reseller. I’ve been in the business for almost 20 years and this is the best all around technical team I’ve ever worked with. Sometimes its seems like we specialize in difficult problems. We generally work in the data networking space, so that means we’re primarily focused on the connections between systems, rather than the systems themselves. That can mean routing, switching, or wireless as well as application delivery and (my favorite) security. Our people take a consultative role, meaning that anything we do with our clients is a real solution to their problems rather than an opportunity to close a sale. Our security team works in vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, security architecture, and security as a service. In all of those disciplines, our team is constantly learning, growing, and improving their understanding of the current threat landscape.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about your field?

The idea that consultants and VAR’s don’t add any value is a pet peeve. Technology is a bit of a “wild west” industry in which to work, and it lends itself to individuals who are looking to make a quick buck at other people’s expense. Most of us work hard, provide a good service, and want what’s best for our clients.

What exciting news or product/service announcements does your company have on the horizon?

Layer 3 Communications offers extensive managed security services to our clients. This means that if an organization lacks dedicated security personnel, we can monitor their data networks for intrusion on a 24/7 basis out of our security operations center.

How do you feel about B’ham’s tech scene?

The tech scene in Birmingham is small. It seems like everyone knows everyone else. That can be a good and bad thing, depending on how good you are at your job! Our biggest strength here in the city is our educational institutions, and the talent that they generate. Our colleges turn out some sharp folks! Our biggest weakness is that many organizations still undervalue their technology personnel. Until technologists in the area can earn equivalent salaries to their peers in Tennessee and Georgia, we won’t see the growth in the area that we’d like.

Anything else about you or your company you want us to share?

I love talking about information security and believe that those of us in the industry should be talking more about it to those who aren’t. I’m always open to talking about security, whether it is over a cup of coffee or speaking in front of an audience.

Thanks so much for sharing, Alan! 

Follow Layer 3 Communications and Alan online here:

www.layer3com.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertalanjones

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alanjones19

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TechBirmingham thrives through its immensely talented and diverse group of member companies. Meet our Member Companies is an ongoing Q&A series highlighting this group of movers, shakers and makers in B’ham’s tech industry.

Meet Brian Jackson, President/COO of Abacus IT Solutions. He has spent over 30 years in Birmingham, with 15 years working at Abacus. Read on to learn more about Abacus and the great things they are doing in Birmingham and beyond.

Hi Brian! Let’s get started — Tell us more about Abacus IT Solutions.

Abacus IT Solutions is a full service technology solutions provider that primarily focus on small to medium size businesses in the Birmingham and surrounding markets. We offer managed network and telecom solutions to meet the needs of any size company across all types of industries.

What’s an average day look like? What kind of work are you doing?

There is never the same day in IT, which is one of the many reasons I love it. Somedays I am out visiting clients and networking in the community, other days I might be crawling through a crawl space reconfiguring a network. You just never know!

What do you think is the biggest misconception about your field?

The biggest misconception I see in our industry is the belief that IT professionals aren’t good communicators and shy away from face time with end users. The right IT professional should be able to communicate effectively with any end user to answer questions and resolve issues. I believe in the future that IT professionals are going to become key resources in bridging the gap between business processes and technology. In order to accomplish this we have to be able to effectively communicate with both business managers and other IT professionals.

What exciting news or product/service announcements does your company have on the horizon?

I am excited to share that we have begun offering specialized services around cyber security. Small to medium size businesses are increasingly becoming targets for cyber criminals. This drives a need to implement better IT controls and educate end users about threats. Abacus is now offering managed disk encryption, vulnerability assessments, user education and penetration testing as one-time engagements or an ongoing service.

How do you feel about B’ham’s tech scene?

Being that I was born and raised in the Birmingham area, it has grown leaps and bounds in the tech scene. I am constantly networking and getting involved with local groups and it excites me to see our city evolving to a tech hub.

Anything else about you or your company you want us to share?

IT is constantly changing, evolving and shaping our future for the better. We are constantly staying ahead of the game to make sure we are using the best products as well as understanding how Abacus can help our clients grow as a company. IT shapes businesses, if you get behind it can hurt your business. One of our main priorities for our clients is to find how we can help them. Whether it’s managing their IT department or helping them with their telecom systems we want to grow with them. This is not a one and done business, we are here to grow and better our clients for now and their future.

Thanks so much for sharing, Brian! 

Follow Abacus IT Solutions online here:

www.abacusit.com

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