Redwood IT, OCC To Host Tech ExpoWINONA LAKE - Redwood IT will host the 2009 Business Technology Expo Aug. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Grace College's Orthopaedic Capital Center.
The event will contain booths and demonstration along the main concourse of the OCC.
"We've done it two times in the past," said Redwood IT owner Dean Avey of hosting the event. "The thing people have asked for is more technology."To meet that need, an office with different vendors products, phones, computers with pertinent software and fax machines will be set up and available for interested customers to use.
"People can sit down, make phone calls, send e-mails, scan items and really get a sense of everything and what might work best for their business," said Avey of the mock office setup.
Not only will the expo focus on more hands-on use of technology but in-depth seminars will be available.
Avey said he has used Redwood's membership in the county's Chamber of Commerce to invite many businesses in the area. Avey's hope is that the expo will have its highest attendance to date.
Redwood IT also will be exhibiting their mobile technology vehicle outside the OCC.
The large bus serves as a disaster recovery center should a business lose power.
"If an office loses power, Internet, we can keep the business up and running for 600 hours," said Avey of the vehicle.
The vehicle has a spare server on board as well as a 13-kilowatt generator which, according to Avey, is enough to power most businesses in the county.
The vehicle has been made available to not-for-profit organization and local events to serve as anything from a registration center to somewhere to hand out water.
Avey said the vehicle can get a business up and running again in 15 minutes.
Avey said the expo is geared toward businesses, but is open to the public as well.
"A lot of what we have here is for those businesses who don't have the funds or office space for things like in-house servers," he said.
Avey said, as a small business owner, he is well aware of the balance of being on the cutting edge without overextending.
"We want to have all the stuff large businesses have," said Avey. "We just don't want the infrastructure."
Redwood IT opened in 2004 with Avey as the owner operator, and has four technicians and two office personnel on staff.
For more information or to register, visit www.redwoodit.com
