Midlands Business Journal • APRIL 12, 2019 •
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Technology A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal
April 12, 2019
Security, user-friendliness head tech industry’s list of imperatives by Dwain Hebda
Local technology industry experts say two of the most important priorities of the industry going forward will be the continuing struggle over security and refinement of the user experience. “Cybersecurity continues to become a greater concern, requiring more investments from our small business clients,” said Chris Vilim, president of CoreTech. “We are seeing significant advancements in the systems used to protect small business data and networks. With such a dynamic threat landscape, Vilim constant evolution and adaptation is necessary as the old tried-and-true systems and vendors didn’t keep up.” The issue of cybersecurity is problematic worldwide and has always been a concern in the tech industry. However, new guidelines adopted last year in Europe — General Data Protection Regulation — dictates what businesses must do to legally gather and handle the public’s data. These statutory guidelines mark a
Megan King, vice president of operations & customer success at LifeLoop. shift in the heretofore voluntary battle to behind GDPR and similar standards. I think our clients are going to start looking protect privacy. “With the GDPR rollout in Europe, it is for that to justify the increasing spend on only a matter of time before similar regu- cybersecurity.” Another issue on the spectrum of lations come to the U.S.,” Vilim said. “We are already moving clients into positions technology trends is refining the customer that are more aligned with the concepts experience. Technology must be simple in
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order to catch on with the wider public. Megan King, vice president of operations and customer success for LifeLoop said ease of use is quickly becoming a “must have” product attribute and therefore a major priority for most tech companies’ design teams. “While clients are always looking for new and exciting technology solutions, at the end of the day they want something that is user-friendly, provides value to their business operations and provides the most functionality,” she said. “Having a vast amount of solutions Kubicek can actually be a deterrent for a client as they have to think about the implementation and training of all these different platforms.” King said streamlined technology products help a client integrate all stakeholders more quickly, saving time and money. “Being able to consolidate and have multiple operations in one place is one of the most sought-after things we are seeing,” she said. “Customers are far more Continued on page 7.
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Technology — inside APRIL 12, 2019
THE BUSINESS NEWSPAPER OF GREATER OMAHA, LINCOLN AND COUNCIL BLUFFS
THIS WEEK 'S ISSUE:
$2.00
VOL. 45 NO. 15
Investors Realty thrives with trend-tracking tools by Richard D. Brown
Hands-on management keeps Neptune’s Water Gardens flowing. – Page 2
40 er d Un 40 Huff succeeds through risk taking, thinking big at Hutch. – Page 4
s es sin es u a B ag ah nal P m O Jour
Dogtopia caters to growing need for dog care in Greater Omaha. – Page 27
Although Omaha-based commercial real estate firm Investors Realty has gained 6,000 square feet with its recent move into 16,000 square feet of the 1.2 million-square-foot facility that once housed one of the region’s largest telecommunications production works, President R.J. Neary sees a bit of irony in the new location of the business he heads. “Specifically, our space was where the Western Electric/Connectivity Solutions tool shop was — where they made the parts for their machines,” Neary said. The veteran Omaha commercial Realtor said Investors Realty is coming off a 44-year record which saw revenues up by almost 20% in 2018 over the previous year. The firm, which had 40 employees seven years ago, has added seven staff in its property management department in the past two years and two brokers. Neary said the new location makes ample use of through-space, Continued on page 10.
President R.J. Neary … Long-time commercial real estate firm sees record revenues, invests in tech(Photo by MBJ / Becky McCarville) nology and training.
Mergers, product diversification embody UNICO Group’s history over its 30 years by Michelle Leach
When UNICO Group got its start just north of 30 years ago, the Lincoln-based firm was primarily a property and casualty shop. Its suite of product offerings has since expanded, as has its Greater Omaha presence at 12120 Port Grace Boulevard in La Vista. “We’ve expanded to where, if it has the word ‘insurance’ in it, we do it,” said President Tom Cham-
poux. “Over the course of time, we realized to serve clients, we needed to serve them in all realms and all their risk management needs. Clients’ expectations and desires were to come to the same place and say, ‘Hey, we have a risk. How can you manage it?’” The business that started Oct. 1, 1988 as the result of a merger between established property/ Continued on page 10. Taproom Managing Partner Beau Starkel … Opening multiple taproom locations in Nebraska in the coming year.
Thunderhead Brewing Taproom expanding its Nebraska presence by Becky McCarville
President Tom Champoux … Lincoln-based comprehensive commercial, personal risk management services firm poised for Omaha office expansion off anniversary year.
Even though Nebraska’s craft beer scene has been around for some time and has grown to nearly 50 breweries in the state, the industry continues to blossom, said Beau Starkel, managing partner of Thunderhead Brewing Taproom. “There’s still a lot of upside in the craft beer business — I think it’s just getting started,” he said.
“There have been a lot of breweries that have opened and that’s fine; competition is good. Then you just have to create a better product, a better experience. The customer wins.” Starkel opened the Thunderhead Brewing Taproom’s first Omaha location near 132nd and Center streets in 2016 and expanded to include event space a year Continued on page 31.