Durable IT solutions

"I just want something easy."

Sadly, I constantly hear sentences like that. The bad news: your problems are rarely truly simple. Even if individual components can be put in place within minutes, connecting several separate components and keeping them running reliably over a long period is undoubtedly hard.

Giving you the means to make sustainable decisions is my job as a conscientious knowledge facilitator. To do that, I need to ask you a lot of questions – to bring every relevant stakeholder on board and to filter out the actual requirements.

I explain tricky connections well, using fitting metaphors. And with passionate IT professionals I am just as careful and considerate.

A certainly incomplete selection of things I have worked with:

Skills: Scrum, pair programming, design patterns, security focus, team leadership and teamwork, effort and cost estimation for operations and development

APIs: REST, XML-RPC, SOAP, various database connectors, Redfish (REST API for servers)

Languages: Perl, PHP, PowerShell, JavaScript, Python, shell scripting and others

Databases: Ask me – I am very fond of Postgres and MySQL.

Frameworks: CakePHP, Laravel, Vue and more

CMS: WordPress with extensive add-on customisations, Redaxo – a German CMS – and more on request

Shop systems: PrestaShop, WooCommerce

Infrastructure: Ansible, Salt, Docker, OPNsense, LXC, Apache Tomcat

Just ask whether I know your system.

Running your small business IT

I can reliably take on a wide range of tasks in your computer environment – I bring 25 years of experience with complicated systems and heterogeneous environments.

I can also assess your current IT landscape and uncover weak points, in order to find practical, long-term solutions to the problem.

I know heterogeneous systems that have grown over the years very well. I handle tasks in diverse ecosystems with Windows and Apple, backed by well-built Linux servers. Over the years I have developed a deep understanding of the problems that can occur.

Another advantage is my calm approach to user support – based on my own disturbing adventures with these little monsters.

Migration tasks based on IT archaeology

Missing documentation in older IT systems is a constant finding. Determining the true nature of your situation is what I like to call IT archaeology.

Finding the data, programme locations and relevant system interactions is often difficult. These insights determine a viable and lasting path into the next generation of your IT system.

Sometimes it is just a hop to a newer programme version. But I have also examined situations where everything had to be replaced – from the wiring to the mouse. A common and recurring phenomenon is prototypes turning into unplanned long-term solutions.

Two important notes! 1. Everything eventually becomes an IT dinosaur – hopefully in the "distant" future. 2. Do not underestimate your own effort to familiarise yourself with your new systems.

Focus area security: identity management

Is complete security in IT systems possible? Nobody can really guarantee that.

What matters is building a collection of proven, well-known procedures and systems that remain manageable, well documented and deployable as effectively as possible.

I can analyse third-party solutions and act as a consultant in this field. This is possible because I operate not only my own infrastructure, but also that of various clients – many of them on tight budgets.

An incomplete list:

• Password and access management
• Backup (hot and offsite)
• Firewall
• VPN
• Managed switches
• Security awareness training
• Pen tests
• Updates on a regular schedule and for emergencies
• Security assessment of new system components
• Emergency plans
• Incident documentation

A good web tool is like a small child that needs an entire village to grow up. Together we plan a great start for your customer journey!

Up front, what I can do:

• Calculate the cost of all aspects, research and procurement management
• Cover all technical aspects, solve problems and manage incidents
• Lay out important aspects and motivate you to engage with them, so your project grows strong wings
• Develop workflows to increase efficiency
• Marketing concepts and planning, advertising management
• SEO and storytelling workshops (authentic is always better)

What I cannot do – or not well – and therefore has to be done by third parties or yourself:

• Designing content (text, photos, design)
• Writing legal texts
• Creating and placing marketing content
• Social media support

Two important areas in web projects

Your users and customers out there in the user cloud: they want simple, beautiful and useful experiences. And the operator of a web tool, who wants to process the resulting data as easily as possible.

The bad news: contrary to all the marketing campaigns of established providers, the current state of affairs is not only cost-intensive by default – it is anything but simple. The digital development of recent years has multiplied what is possible, and with it the complexity.

The problem, in addition, is that due to growing competition a business has to pursue a healthy selection (in terms of effort and cost) of these trends and opportunities in order to be or remain successful.

An example I like to mention: eCommerce

The simplest form would probably be a web price list in table form. You send a simple email or SMS with your order – and wait for a reply about when things get going and how much money to bring along.

Unfortunately, expectations of webshops today are far more extensive. At the core of the challenge is the consistent design and activation of the shop software's interfaces to payment and shipping providers. Order processing alone can tie up considerable resources.

Various tax and legal requirements are also harder to meet and need to be reviewed regularly. Numerous record-keeping and reporting obligations, whose violation can result in severe penalties, are a field of concern in their own right. The effort for content creation and maintenance (metadata, texts and images), marketing in social networks and skilful handling of customer communication is often underestimated. These are just a few aspects ...

But don't worry! Together we'll get your baby airborne.

Operating your software infrastructure with

Operating systems: Linux derivatives – preferably Debian or Ubuntu. Suse, CentOS or Gentoo are less common in Austria. TrueNAS, OPNsense and Synology. Windows Server (often debugging and troubleshooting with strange PowerShell stuff).

Servers for services (an incomplete overview of my experience): LAMP, NGINX, Sambar, Kimai, GitLab, Gitea, Nextcloud, ownCloud, FileRun, SuiteCRM, Jira, Confluence, OTRS/Znuny.

Remote assistance and problem solving

When I started working in IT, it was standard practice to tackle computer problems on site first. With remote desktop software this has become much easier. A number is shared, and the joint work begins: two people on two different continents working on the identical topic in the same moment. Remarkable.

Note: This technical capability comes with a security risk! This method is also frequently used by criminals, which is why I strongly advise against passing such a number on to anyone you do not know. If someone contacts you actively, that is a major source of fraud, identity theft and financial loss!

Honestly: my support will not be free of charge, but it will certainly be more useful than that scam!

Tutoring – that simple.

People can acquire new skills in training courses, on video platforms or through well-made online training platforms. This frequently leads to very individual questions that are hard to answer in large groups.

But not every problem is solved by googling, not even by searching for solutions. And chatting with seemingly smart AI services is not always helpful either.

This is where my experience and composure come into play; usually I can pinpoint exactly the missing piece of knowledge.

Training at the workplace is one option for this. Remarkably effective results have also been achieved via remote sessions. Video conferencing and related technologies are ready to be used for this.