TMCnet News
BEHIND THE LIST WITH DANIEL L. ROHRER [Central Penn Business Journal (PA)](Central Penn Business Journal (PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) president of Sage Technology Solutions Inc. Q: Who is your average client? A: Our typical client is an institution looking to improve communications by applying technology. It could be a health care institution moving from an old call-bell system to a workfiow optimization platform with touch screen terminals, integrated stafiassignments, asset tracking, in-building wireless phones, et cetera. It could be a school moving from a simple paging system to an operational scheduling and emergency response system with coordinated video. It could involve something simple like a local county government upgrading from a traditional phone system to a voice-over-IP solution unified communications platform with integrated mobility. How have customers' needs changed in recent years? Just a few years ago, schools were investing more in technology to help improve test scores and to engage students visually. The sad reality today is the increased emphasis on security. Emergency lockdown and response systems, security cameras and building door access control systems are where a lot of the education technology dollars are going today. For our health care customers, the emphasis is on improving patient satisfaction, which drives funding. We help them by improving patientto- caregiver communications, by minimizing the noise of notifications and delivering messages directly to caregivers carrying portable communication devices. What shifts in technology are you seeing now? What do you expect to see in the next thve years? Just like we see with our smartphones, the emphasis in facility communication technology is shifting from the hardware to the application software or the "apps." We expect that will continue. Much of what we are doing now involves custom integration to facilitate the sharing of information between disparate systems and to deliver instant information and reports to users. An example of this in health care is the secure delivery of patient health information to the screens of the appropriate caregivers. In educational facilities, these apps can turn on a projector and launch a media player, extend a call to a smartphone in an area without cellular service or trigger a recording by the phone system and a cascade of communications through the computer network, paging and security systems when a classroom phone dials 911. We expect to see continued growth in custom applications for smart personal devices. Are you noticing trends related to cloud-based or managed services? The cloud is growing beyond backup and storage. It's often the bridge between multiple sites in a customer's organization and between those sites and Sage Technology Solutions. We back up customer programs to the cloud, we remotely service and support the systems without leaving our desks, and we communicate internally and with our customers via cloud-based solutions. Managed services and cloudbased solutions provide our customers access to sophisticated communication technology at a greatly reduced cost because they don't need to own all the equipment. Also, as technology improves, customers can access upgraded features, often at no additional cost. Have there been any changes in requirements for certifications? The complexity of the technology is such that customers need really smart people to support it. At Sage Technology Solutions, we have been blessed with lots of really smart people. We are currently expanding our building for our growing team. We joke that we need a bigger building because we've run out of wall space to display the technical certificates our people have earned. The systems we support require ongoing specialized training from almost every manufacturer. Our training coordinator has the daunting task of keeping our support team trained and cross-trained, so there is depth to our certifications for each unique product. Daniel L. Rohrer, in front of construction at Sage Technology Solutions Inc.'s Lancaster County office, is president of the company. ABOUT DANIEL ROHRER Daniel Rohrer was born in California and now lives in Elizabethtown with his wife, Susana, and son, Christian, who also works at Sage Technology Solutions Inc. Rohrer earned a bachelor's degree in history from Wheaton College in Illinois and a master's degree in educational media from Temple University. Active in Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church, Rohrer also enjoys cooking and meeting people from around the world who have made Lancaster County their home. -Jennifer A. Fitch, contributing writer (c) 2014 Journal Publications Inc. |