Up to Speed

Delinquent Nynex phone customers didn't know it at the time, but Lee Paul and Derek Maciak were responsible for how fast the New York phone company was disconnecting their lines in the early 1990s.

Before they joined Nynex, it could take as long as six months for the company to disconnect the lines of delinquent customers. The two engineers figured out how to do it faster by programming the company's giant IBM computers. “We automated that process to 14 days,” says Paul.

Today, Paul, 42, and Maciak, 37, bring that same problem-solving approach to their Bonita Springs business, Surround Technologies. They help the information technology departments of large companies with big computer systems gradually shift to new and better software. Clients have included Gannett, Verizon and GE Canada and the two business partners expect to double revenues again this year.