Why High Falls is attractive to high tech

Posted at: 02/19/2009 11:42 AM | Updated at: 02/19/2009 11:45 AM
By: Pat McGonigle | WHEC.com

Rochester, NY - Tim Scahill admits his computer firm, Layer 8, could operate in a building just about anywhere in Monroe County. Sure, he gets Empire Zone tax credits for setting up shop in an old building in High Falls, but Scahill says there's more to it than just that.

"A lot of our talent comes from RIT," Scahill explains. "We want them to stay here and buy a house here."

Scahill's company handles computer networks for more than 600 companies all over the world. Layer 8 is a major player in the healthcare field. Chances are, you've been to a doctor's office in our area that uses a computer system either set up or serviced by Layer 8. Seabreeze Amusement Park is another local client.

The idea for Layer 8 was born 20 years ago when Scahill was working in the photo lab at Wegmans. The photo lab had just received a new picture computer system from Kodak.

"And the guys that were running the photo lab were photo guys, they didn't know anything about these computers," Scahill recalls. "And so they literally pointed at me and said, 'you're the college kid taking computer classes, you figure this out'."

Now, Scahill has it figured out for companies in dozens of industries.

The company name is a play on words that only computer experts would get. In data transport parlance, there is believed to be seven layers of communication. The eighth layer is said to be the human element bringing the whole package together.

"You have to be a computer nerd to know that," Scahill jokes.

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