Features January 2018

Think of that most noble pursuit of missionary work, and what roles come to mind? For sure, those of pastors, doctors, nurses and agriculturists, all willing to immerse themselves at personal sacrifice, in some of the world’s most undeveloped regions. But don’t overlook the contributions that a technology professional can make, reminds Kirk Nugent from […]

For as long as most people can remember, the routine at the doctor’s office has been the same: show up, wait in the waiting room, get taken to an exam room, have a nurse record vitals, wait some more, and then, finally, the doctor comes in. It may be effective, but it includes a lot […]

If you’ve enjoyed a heaping helping of pulled pork with slaw on a bun at one of the many Sonny’s BBQ restaurants in the Southeast, you probably weren’t thinking: Compliments to the chief information officer. Understandable enough; your gratitude just naturally tended toward the pitmaster who sliced, seasoned and smoked the meat on an oak-infused […]

The start of San Leandro, California’s, technology revolution can be pin-pointed almost to the day. In 2011, Dr. Patrick Kennedy, the founder and CEO of OSIsoft, the city’s largest tech company, which specializes in installing its trademarked “PI system” for private companies and public organizations, approached City Hall with an idea to install fiber optics […]

It all began with a seemingly simple idea. An alumnus of Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, thought the school’s Division III football team, the Cowboys—winners of more titles than any other American Southwest Conference member—needed a scoreboard capable of supporting video. The idea quickly earned the backing of additional donors, and Hardin-Simmons’ leaders pulled the […]

Throughout his 20-plus-year career, Eshwar Pastapur has operated on a sort of special ops basis: Parachuting in, so to speak, to a company, and helping to solve a technological challenge. It keeps him interested in and dedicated to his work as a respected IT leader, and it landed him at his current position as CIO […]

It’s not often that healthcare is compared to retail, but as hospitals and clinics become more reliant on technology to provide streamlined services, Leonard “Skip” Rollins says his staff is all about providing an “Amazon experience.” “When it comes to patient education and scheduling, it’s becoming more on demand than ever before, and from an […]

When it comes to information technology and security, healthcare systems can face quite the quandary. First and foremost, they are beholden to protect the massive amounts of sensitive patient data that is constantly being collected throughout their facilities. But just as crucially, it’s their duty as medical professionals to ensure their researchers and physicians have […]

There’s a myth about technology in Silicon Valley—and by extension, California—which suggests that any technology or trend sprung from the former must necessarily fan into the latter. Dan Borges knows better. Having plied the IT trade in everything from defense to pharmaceuticals (he counts Lockheed Martin among his resume bullet points), Borges has long recognized […]

The complexities of his high-stakes position notwithstanding, Randall Frietzsche has a refreshing way of reducing what he does to easily understood terms. “I’ve got a sheepdog mentality,” says the man who insists on being addressed as Fritz, while overseeing cybersecurity for Denver Health Medical Center—a position he’s held since June, after serving in similar roles […]