Jepp Walter is president of First Coast Online in Southpoint and the chair of the Chamber’s information technology business resource group. He met recently with Daily Record staff writer Sean McManus to discuss the need to be high-tech friendly.
Question: Why does the Chamber need an IT Group?
Answer: Because last May the Times-Union reported a study that said we were ranked 48 out of 50 for cities progressive in the area of IT. The Chamber recognized that in order to attract high-paying, environmentally friendly, tech-oriented jobs, we would need to focus on improving our infrastructure for IT.
Q: Why you?
A: I have been very active in the Chamber and knew Linda Wilson [the Chamber’s senior vice president for marketing and membership] and Bob Baldwin [who is in charge of the area councils] well.
Q: What are the goals of the IT Group?
A: We want to keep IT companies in Jacksonville and bring in new ones.
Q: What are some of the steps involved?
A: We are trying to get people in Jacksonville networked together so we can feed off each other’s knowledge base. We need to get people to think not so much in terms of competitiveness but instead to look at ways we can compliment each other. This also helps us facilitate strategic alliances among members. Our other big project is a website [www.itinjacksonville.com.] that will feature a matrix of services, white papers and lots of information on the technology industry. First Coast Online is hosting it and we’ve got over 12 people working on the design.
Q: What happens at the meetings?
A: We always do a couple company spotlights so we all know what IT companies in this area are doing. We allocate time before and after the meetings for networking. We want the bulk of the time to be used to disseminate helpful information to our members on how they can grow their business and improve technology in the area.
Q: What’s your background?
A: I’m from Jacksonville and worked for the Air Force as an air traffic controller before going to work for the now-defunct Champion Computers. I was doing extremely high-volume computer sales, selling sometimes as many as a half-million computers in one month. I was tapped by the president of First Coast Online a few years ago and eventually bought the company from him.
Q: What do you do exactly?
A: We host about 500 websites and provide Internet service and network integration.
Q: Who are some of your clients?
A: Reynolds, Smith & Hills, Presentation Resource, the Parts House, Marriott Sawgrass and MINT Magazine.
Q: What’s on the horizon?
A: We’re still in acquisition mode. We acquired AAPC Computers and CSI Computer Services one-and-a-half years ago and we’re looking to expand our networking integration capabilities.
Q: What can the City do to help make your job easier?
A: Everybody needs to get motivated to get to know each other. If we know what’s here and what’s going on, we can fill in the gaps. Alberta Hipps is doing a great job getting City Council motivated as chair of the telecommunications and technology committee. We just need more communication between government and business.
Q: Are you optimistic?
A: So many people are coming to the IT meetings that we outgrew the room we were using at the Chamber. Now we meet at the Small Business Center on Norwood Avenue. In terms of Jacksonville in general, when the Network Access Point (NAP) comes to Jacksonville, that will really put us on the map for IT Right now everything we do on the web has to be routed through Miami, Houston or Atlanta. Companies like Craig Insurance, which is really a technology company that helps insurance companies process claims faster, are really ahead of the curve and they are here. Maybe one day they’ll call us Silicon Beach.”