Friday, July 04, 2008

By GINA HANNAH

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Growing demand now allows T&W to offer commercial services

Information technology professionals Tom Jarrell and Wayne Gardner started their business four years ago, but they weren't helping clients set up computer networks.

The pair's first business was buying repossessed and distressed homes and refurbishing them for sale. They did that for about a year.

"We made a whopping 50 cents an hour," said Gardner, now president of T&W Operations, an IT firm. "But it was fun. We took some really nasty and distressed properties and turned them into showcases."

A friend approached them about helping with IT needs and encouraged them to bid on Defense Department projects. The result today is a company that, in addition to providing IT services for the government, recently launched a commercial services division, NETWORx of Huntsville.

The irony: Gardner wasn't interested in becoming a government contractor.

"Unfortunately," he said, laughing, "we won the contract."

Jarrell and Gardner are both retired from the military: Gardner after a 25-year career in the Air Force, and Jarrell from the Army, where he worked for 20 years active duty as a logistician before doing similar work as a contractor for 10 years.

The two completed their initial contract successfully, and more work followed, including inquiries from small businesses.

"We got to be known around town, and commercial customers knocked at our door," Gardner said. NETWORx was born of this demand last fall and is growing because of "our technical know-how and empathy for small business," he said.

NETWORx has 15 employees. Staff certifications include Microsoft Gold and Microsoft-certified trainers, systems engineers, desktop support and other functions, as well as Cisco, Dell, CompTIA (Computer Technology Industry Association) and other industry certifications.

Commercial clients include medical and accounting offices and other businesses with anywhere from five to 50 employees and no dedicated IT staff.

"We want to take care of the customer better than anyone else," Jarrell said.

NETWORx has monitoring systems, he and Gardner said, that can detect problems on a customer's network before the customer is aware of it. Staff members have data-capable mobile phones, and customers can always reach a person with their tech support problems.

"They will get a person on the phone within five minutes," Jarrell said.

The firm recently added a salesperson and expects to generate revenue of about $1 million this year. Gardner also is looking to hire more IT professionals.

Gardner said the slowing economy has been good for business, as many businesses look to outsource more functions.

"It's much cheaper to hire us than it is to hire someone full time," he said.

NETWORx was born of this demand last fall and is growing because of "our technical know-how and empathy for small business," he said.

NETWORx has 15 employees. Staff certifications include Microsoft Gold and Microsoft-certified trainers, systems engineers, desktop support and other functions, as well as Cisco, Dell, CompTIA (Computer Technology Industry Association) and other industry certifications.

T&W supports robotic systems for Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal, the Air Force Research Laboratory, AMCOM Unmanned Aerial Systems and the Robotics Systems joint project office. Gardner also provides information assurance services for the Missile Defense Agency.