Fast-growing DataPerk seeks to ‘partner’ with its customers
Some companies narrow their focus and seek to do one thing well.
But DataPerk, a Birmingham tech company founded in 2001 by Troy Wallwork, offers a wide range of services, including web design and hosting, network design and cabling, and hardware and software support.
The reason is simple, according to Wallwork.
“Each of the clients seem to need a lot of these services,” he said.
Offering them all allows DataPerk to boost overall quality, according to Wallwork.
“The programming and web hosting are related to the IT services we provide,” he said. “The cabling through the walls is just as important to the network as the infrastructure, so we want to make sure it has the same quality the network equipment does.”
What DataPerk is doing seems to be working.
“We’ve grown an average of a little over 30 percent a year historically,” Wallwork said.
Understandably, Wallwork takes pride in DataPerk’s accomplishments.
He also takes pride in the positive impact that DataPerk — located in its own historic building in the 2500 block of Sixth Avenue South — has made recently in the vibrant area between UAB and Lakeview.
And the Magic City native enjoys being a part of Birmingham’s booming city center, which he said more and more companies — along with their customers and employees — want to be a part of.
Wallwork earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UAB in 2000 and enrolled in graduate school there before starting DataPerk in his basement.
He subsequently had three more offices before finding a permanent home — a 1924-vintage brick warehouse built originally for the Mack Truck Company.
In 2016, DataPerk completed a $5 million renovation of its space, while leveraging city, county, state and federal tax breaks.
DataPerk occupies just under half of the building, with the rest occupied by Haven, an events space Wallwork started.
Some of the city and county tax breaks we available because the area is a Historically Undeveloped Business (HUB) zone.
And Wallwork said that redoing a building there helped him contribute to the community, a lesson he took from his hero, tech icon Bill Hewlett.
“You take a building like that and make it an anchor for the area, and then other buildings get renovated, and you see that as UAB and Lakeview grows together, we are right in the middle of that, and we hope that we foster that sort of development,” Wallwork said.
The location is perfect for DataPerk. “We need to respond to clients’ needs as soon as possible, and we have immediate access to all interstate systems,” Wallwork said.
It’s also a good location for employees. “There’s a thriving lunch scene, lots of downtown living,” Wallwork said. “Many of our employees live in The Pizitz and many of these buildings around here. We’re in the middle of where they want to be, and we’re in the middle of where our customers are.”
DataPerk’s business should also see more growth, according to Wallwork.
“I think it will grow a little faster in the next few years,” Wallwork said.
DataPerk has about 30 employees and will likely add another 10-15 this year, according to Wallwork.
It also has begun making some acquisitions. In December, it bought a similar firm, IT Express, and now has an office in Mobile.
The company works to create value by trying to be a true partner to each client, according to Wallwork.
“We want to help them make IT decisions, not just respond to the IT decisions that they make,” he said. “We want to help them find the best solution and implement it.”
Wallwork has watched Birmingham’s business climate for a couple of decades now and is bullish on the city.
“We have a lot of new companies, a lot of innovation, a lot of investment,” he said. “We have a lot of success now that will feed more success, I feel.”
Wallwork and his wife, Tricia, live in Mountain Brook with their two kids: son Carlton, age 12, and daughter Kathryn, age 10.
He’s been working in some form with computers since he was 7 years old. “So I’m not really sure where I would fit in another era,” he said.