Business Spotlight: Tabelrock Net

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It started out as an in-house Internet and technology company. Now Tablerock Net is working to become the premiere Internet service provider and networking solutions provider in the Springfield/Branson area. |ret||ret||tab|

Shane Naugher founded the Branson-based company, which is part of the Shepherd of the Hills Entertainment Group, in 1999. Initially, most of Tablerock Net's business came from one of the other nine companies in the Shepherd of the Hills Entertainment Group. Then, Naugher began branching out and adding services that would appeal to both individuals and business customers.|ret||ret||tab|

Tablerock Net now offers dialup Internet access to customers who live in Branson, Forsyth, Reeds Spring, Kimberling City, Springfield, Nixa, Ozark, Republic, Rogersville and Sparta. The company also provides a wide variety of services to business customers such as wireless Internet access; custom applications development; networking services and solutions; onsite or in-house training for client's staff members; Web design and development services; Web site management services and e-commerce Web hosting. |ret||ret||tab|

"We're a one-stop-shop for Internet services and networking solutions," said Regan Walker, systems engineer and Web developer.|ret||ret||tab|

In August 2002, Walker helped open Tablerock Net's new office in Nixa. Since that time, he and Sales Manager Jason Stanley have worked to increase Tablerock Net's visibility in the Springfield area and build the company's reputation.|ret||ret||tab|

"The markets in Springfield and Branson are very different," said Walker. "People in Branson have heard the name Tablerock Net, and they know we do good work. When we came here, though, we had to start from scratch."|ret||ret||tab|

The four employees who work in the Nixa office receive support and assistance from seven other staff members in Branson. Each staff member possesses expertise in a particular area, which allows the company to take on a wide range of work.|ret||ret||tab|

For example, Walker is a Microsoft certified systems engineer and a master certified Internet webmaster and designer. Other employees are Cisco Aironet wireless professionals, A+ technicians or Cisco certified network professionals.|ret||ret||tab|

"Right now, we're one of the only companies in the area that has a CCN professional," said Walker. |ret||ret||tab|

Currently, 45 percent of Tablerock Net's business comes from ISP customers and 40 percent come from Web design and development, said Stanley. The remaining 15 percent comes from network design and training services. Web design and development is the fastest growing segment of Tablerock Net's business.|ret||ret||tab|

The company's staff of Web developers are experienced in all forms of Web design, including Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Director, PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, common gateway interface and Java. |ret||ret||tab|

Staff members also manage Web sites for area companies and businesses, such as the Shepherd of the Hills (www.shepherdofthehills.com) and Ozarks Best (www.ozarksbest.tv), which links visitors to a wide variety of area businesses. Other businesses use Tablerock Net for behind-the-scenes Web development work.|ret||ret||tab|

"We do both Web design and development work, but we're not really known as designers," said Walker. "Our real forte is developing and maintaining the architecture you need to make your Web site work."|ret||ret||tab|

This might mean developing an in-house intranet system, which only can be viewed or accessed by employees, setting up an e-commerce Web site for an area business or developing business-to-business applications that allow a company to order and track merchandise from vendors online in a secure environment. The company also can design, setup or maintain a company's computer network.|ret||ret||tab|

"Basically, a company can use as much or as little as they want," said Walker. "That's what makes us stand out."|ret||ret||tab|

For example, Tablerock Net might install and configure a network system for a client and then train that company's personnel on how to maintain the system. This training may take place onsite or in Tablerock Net's in-house classroom in Nixa, which can seat up to 12 students. |ret||ret||tab|

"We plan to start offering classes for employees who want to earn their Microsoft, Cisco or CIW certifications," said Walker. "A lot of networking problems occur because of inadequate employee training. Offering training is all part of giving the highest quality service we can."|ret||ret||tab|

Quality service also means knowing your customer. Tablerock Net recently began offering its dial-up ISP customers "Clean Link" Internet access, which filters out material on the Web that might be considered explicit or objectionable. Unlike many Internet filtering system, Clean Link is hardware based so "there's no getting around it," said Walker.|ret||ret||tab|

Naugher is now focusing much of his attention on the Nixa office, which he believes will allow the company to do more corporate training, network security installation and monitoring, and Web application development work.|ret||ret||tab|

"These are the areas where we feel like we have a lot to offer, and we plan to grow in those areas," he said. "I'm biased, of course, but I feel like we're one of the best options in this area for any kind of Web application development work."|ret||ret||tab|

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