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Trusted Advisor consulting
...for technology peace of mind
Do any of the following questions keep you awake at night:
- What is our technology strategy?
- Is our technology strategy straying off-course?
- Am I being sold a technology solution I don't really need?
- Are we as efficient as we could be?
Get your technology strategy heading in the right direction. With years of experience managing technology and development teams,
I can answer all of these concerns, with
clear, impartial, well-informed responses.
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Technology reports
Turning information into knowledge
Are you drowning in too much technology information?
Lack of information is not the problem. In fact the exact opposite is the case - there is far too much information to wade through to get to a clear path of knowledge
that can be applied to your company's technology situation.
I love diving into the information - so save yourself the hard work of evaluating, analysing and investigating the technology, and
just sit back with the holy grail of technology
management: 'the two page report'.
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Short term CTO or Development Manager engagements
Filling the sudden gaps
Need an interim CTO or Development Manager in a hurry?
With a strong development manager and Chief Technical Officer background, I know the pressures management face with the sudden loss of staff
(through sickness, holidays, resignation, etc).
At short notice I can provide:
- people management
- technology management
- software development management
Whilst also coordinating with other suppliers such as:
- Security specialists
- Disaster Recovery exponents
- Network engineers
Management experience includes .Net, SQL Server, Team System, BizTalk, SharePoint and Visual FoxPro; Virtualisation, Terminal Server, Security and Disaster recovery.
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Tender analysis
Evaluating the suppliers
Sound familiar?: you know the result you want, but you don't know the right questions to ask your suppliers.
Dealing with technology suppliers can be tricky - they lose you in a babble of jargon and feature sets.
This service helps with the entire process - analysing your requirements, specifying the RFQ documents, identifying the evaluation criteria, meeting with the shortlisted suppliers, and then
dissecting the proposals.
All geared to ensure you and your chosen supplier(s) work optimally with each other.
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Half day technical refresher courses
Time for a quick update?
Has a year passed already? How often do you find yourself shaking your head at how quickly things have changed?
Maybe you don't have time to attend all the conferences,
read all the blogs, note all the web sites and browse
through all the magazines.
Instead, why not book in a half day tailored course. Together we'll pre-arrange what topics you need to cover and then come and deliver short, punchy, tailored briefings
on the technology you need to be up to date on.
They can be delivered one-to-one, or via a very small group format.
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Communicate technology vision
Keep your staff informed
Is technology springing up all around you, but you and your staff don't have a clear idea where the company is going?
This service helps disseminate the information. Often technology decisions are made by extremely bright, switched on managers. Their decisions are spot on, but they don't get around to communicating
the vision with the rest of the company.
Here's the process I help with:
- meeting with all the stakeholders
- clearly summarising technology advances being put in place
- articulating WHY they are being implemented
- educating all staff about the effects on them personally
- answering queries
- co-ordinating feedback to management
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Part time project management
Don't let the small items slip through
Having trouble managing a few small project?
Often businesses can have a selection of smaller projects that don't warrant a full time project management resource. And yet your staff are all too busy to capably handle the project management tasks.
Perhaps all you need is an experienced project manager onsite two days a week, co-ordinating the schedule, communicating
with the teams, implementing risk management and enabling deployment.
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Network of contacts
It's not what you know...
Do you need help finding the right consultant / developer / architect / company for your technology project?
With an extensive network of contacts within Microsoft and Microsoft
based development and consulting companies, I can help put you in touch with the right supplier, consultancy, agency and development expert.
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Technology training for non-technical managers
Don't mistake ignorance for objectivity...
Have you noticed that some managers parade their lack of technology knowledge as a benefit? 'Keeps me impartial, results focussed', they say.
What they are often hiding is embarrassment of asking simple technology questions for fear of how they will look.
Don't fall into this trap - it is vital that your managers be aware of the basic technology strategies being employed throughout the company.
With my unique 'technology retainer' in place, I can be on call for your managers to ask the 'dumb questions' whenever they like. Conversations are kept in
strict confidence. Always.
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Podcasts
Let them hear your vision
Podcasting is a means of broadcasting your strategy, goals and objectives throughout the company. And perhaps even to your wider audience of clients, partners and suppliers.
I can manage the whole process: help with planning the episode, recording, editing and production, even the sourcing of royalty free music for your show.
I can also organise the web site for hosting the show, complete with iTunes encloses, RSS feeds and more.
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Visual FoxPro consulting
Leverage your technology base
I've been working with Visual FoxPro for over a decade now. With an extensive background in VFP and SQL Server, I've been involved in some of the largest VFP based enterprise products developed
globally.
I'm a reasonably active community member, podcaster, user group speaker and conference organiser.
Available for short term development engagements and general Visual FoxPro consulting, including analysis of strategies to leverage existing codebases, transitioning
to other technologies, identifying risk points and managing the development process.
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New manager mentoring
Help on the common path...
Isn't it amazing how often we get our best and brightest technicians... and put them in charge of people?
It's a common career path these days. There's nothing wrong with it of course, but there are a few hurdles to overcome when they spend less time
'hands on' with the code, and more time 'hands clenched' with their newly inherited staff.
The good news is that a few key skills can be learned to help enable these managers to facilitate an exceptional working environment for their staff.
I can be involved in the early stages of new team formation - silent observers at first, non-critical and always positive, providing tips and feedback to
teams and their leaders, to help them work together to achieve company goals.
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Web site design and development
Picking a good web company is getting harder
With so many different web design companies you'd think it would be easy to get the result you need. Think again.
Technology has progressed.
I don't usually get involved in the design, coding and implementation of your web site. Rather I make a quick analysis of your needs and direct you to the
right agency. I can also (optionally) be involved in managing the project if required.
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