Mountain View, CA: December 12, 2017
Jean Pierre LeJacq is an expert technologist with more than 30 years of experience in every phase of the software development lifecycle. For most of those years, Jean Pierre has served as chief technology officer for Quoin, the software development and consultancy firm he co-founded with Brad Kain in 1994: “We believed then – and continue to this day – that we could provide superior solutions while having fun on complex projects.”
As technical lead for the entire product development effort at Quoin, Jean Pierre is responsible for technology selection, prototyping, architecture, implementation, and quality assurance. He also serves as a technology consultant, conducting system reviews and assessing digital transformation strategies. This diverse resume has been put to use supporting clients such as United Nations University, Lowe’s Home Improvement, National Geographic Society, The Washington Post, the Internal Revenue Service, and, of course, Forest Systems.
Quoin was the ideal technology partner for Forest because of our deep commitment to protecting the security of our systems, not just to preserve our business but to ensure we provide the highest levels of service and support to our clients. We sat down with Jean Pierre recently to discuss his extensive experience in technology, his work with Quoin, and his thoughts on the most important technology trends to watch.
Jean Pierre LeJacq (JPL): Quoin helps clients achieve their immediate objectives while addressing issues often overlooked, such as security and long-term maintenance.
JPL: Our Forest partnership is an outgrowth of our mutual interest in promoting the Hurt Hub @ Davidson and the entrepreneurship community in the Charlotte region. Ed Van Deman (founder & CEO of Forest Systems) and I evolved from tutoring Davidson College interns to now cross-investing in each of our companies. Quoin has three full-time developers working with Forest now, and I engage directly as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), architectural reviewer, tutor of new staff, and general bottle washer and trouble-shooter.
JPL: Forest is really different in wanting and agreeing to concrete steps to improve security and general quality. These are not just marketing slogans; the leadership at Forest is willing to do the hard work and investment to actually improve both. This is so rare in our industry.
JPL: We are incredibly responsive to client requests for new features or help trouble-shooting. I personally help clients when they have issues with their internal networks or systems. Our other major initiative is to have our clients improve their security profiles and to educate them about the risks they face.
JPL: First and foremost, I try to separate marketing hype and fads from advances that add real value. The tech space is incredibly susceptible to both. Next, I try to promote the fundamentals and best practices that are well established and common through all our technologies. For new technologies, though, I am excited about efforts to improve security – for example, the newly updated NIST Cybersecurity Framework – and how certain aspects of AI will be able to help.
Forest Systems is proud to have partnered with Quoin to support our technology and security efforts. To learn more about Quoin, please visit the company’s website.