In the technology world, companies come and go. Partnerships dissolve. Trends shift overnight. That is why the story of Network Doctor is rare.
Before they were business partners, Dave Birk and Paul Hilbert were just friends. They met in high school, navigated their teenage years together, and went on to attend Binghamton University side-by-side.
But Network Doctor wasn’t born in a dorm room. It was born years later, after both founders had spent time in the corporate trenches, managing high-stakes infrastructure for some of the biggest names in telecom.
The Road to 2003: Critical Experience
Before launching Network Doctor, Dave and Paul weren’t just tinkering with computers—they were managing enterprise-level complexity.
Dave spent his early career building and running sales offices for national carriers, including consulting for AT&T’s enterprise clients. He saw firsthand how major corporations treated connectivity: not as a luxury, but as the lifeblood of the business.
Paul was deep in the technical infrastructure. He managed nationwide data center build-outs and led technology initiatives for the Security Industry Association. Perhaps most notably, after the events of 9/11, Paul consulted for Verizon to help reroute critical data and telecom traffic around the damaged West Street central office in Lower Manhattan.
They had seen how the “big guys” did it. Enterprise systems were redundant, documented, and resilient.
Moving Beyond "Patchwork" IT
Service Provider (MSP). But in an industry crowded with newcomers, Network Doctor stands apart because of that founding philosophy.
Dave and Paul built the company to move away from the “break/fix” model. They didn’t want to be firefighters constantly putting out blazes; they wanted to be architects who prevented the fires from starting.
This became the foundation of Premium IT Support.
It meant investing in a team that follows strict processes, not just intuition. It meant creating documentation so detailed that any engineer could solve a client’s problem without reinventing the wheel. And it meant refusing to settle for patchwork solutions that leave businesses vulnerable.
Network Doctor Today
Over 20 years later, Dave and Paul are still at the helm, and that high school friendship is the backbone of the company culture.
Network Doctor has grown into a premier partner for organizations across New York and New Jersey, but the mission hasn’t changed. We provide the speed and thoroughness of a dedicated IT department, backed by the security sophistication of a CISO.
Are you ready for IT support built on experience?
Connect now at for a free, no-obligation consultation on how Premium IT Support can transform your business.