Hello, my name is Ted, and I am an Information Technology (I/T) Business Analyst based in the Greater-Toronto-Area in Canada. I’ve worked on many different projects from small business all the way up to Enterprise. In my experience over the years I’ve learned a great deal about a broad gamut of technologies and all levels of end-users. From one end of the city to another and even beyond, my technology solutions keep business humming along.

Purpose and Vision

It is my intent in this blog to write about my experiences on delivering technology solutions to end-users in plain-English so that both I/T people and those that hire I/T people can gather a deeper understanding to the challenges that face us every day. This site is mostly about my opinions and observations, not a step-by-step ‘how-to’ site. If from time to time I do have a unique approach to share, I will definitely post it online.

I currently freelance with mostly small business users on different types of technical and business challenges. Working independently as opposed to working through an agency has many benefits such as being able to work on exciting new challenges every day and working business types that are not traditionally clients of the big I/T firms. This suits me well for now as I like the challenge of bringing new technologies and approaches to smaller clients that in many cases do not even have a technical person on staff.

…don’t always need to adopt tried and true ‘best-practices’; they need to employ ‘right-practices’.

As you read through the articles on my web log, you may notice that I may not be as detailed as you would like and I may not name names. This is done intentionally to protect the proprietary business processes of the organizations I have relationships with.

Enter the Blogosphere

What a great way to communicate ideas, thoughts and experiences with other consultants, business partners and plain old “tech-enthusiasts”. Comments, suggestions and feedback to the articles on this site are encouraged. Even if you disagree with my methods or opinions, thats okay. You can communicate with this site by using our contact form.

Business Values

My approach to providing technology solutions to small business clients is to really listen to what they need and what they are trying to achieve. My solutions usually don’t involve cookie-cutter answers to problems. I find that small businesses that are on the market front lines every day don’t always need to adopt tried and true ‘best-practices’; they need to employ ‘right-practices’. That is the benefit of having an independent technology consultant on hand; we can review all types of solutions to your problem and implement a solution that best suits your business challenges and budget. I firmly believe that if a new technical solution is to be employed, it should in the very least save the company money over the long term while saving time now.

Values are also an important thing to me in everything I do. I always try to do my best and provide my clients with the best solutions and service. I never accept any work where I feel I have to compromise my values of good and ethical service. Over the years, I have developed a very pro-active approach with my clients and assembled my credo.

• I will not accept work from companies that employ unethical business practices or that work in questionable fields.
• I will recommend you to another solution provider if I know that they can deliver you a better result at a better price.
• If I see ways that I can save your business time and/or money by using technology or improving efficiency, I will definitely let you know.
• I don’t complain; ever.

It has always been my focus to illustrate to my clients (I also call them business partners) the depth and scale of their technology hurdles in order for them to make the most informed decision for their business. In an era where it seems that people these days have only time for a one-minute sales pitch or a five-second answer; I contend to a different path. I feel that my business partners cannot make a completely sound decision about their technology if they do not have a detailed outline of all the technology options available to them.

Projects and Solutions

Over the past twelve years, I’ve had a lot of fun developing and implementing solutions on a lot of great technical challenges in large enterprises all the way down to the most budget-constrained small businesses. As a business analyst one of my core focuses has been to find a way to make technology work for business; not, just finding ways for business to work with technology.

Over the most recent part of my experience, I’ve been freelancing with mostly small business clients. It has been a great opportunity to work on a lot of small to medium size projects. One of the great rewards in doing this type of work is that you are on the front line as close to the consumer on the street as you can get. And the other reward is that projects are usually very short in duration and very different from organization to organization. In the context of this diversity and quick-pace, I have developed a comprehensive approach in packaging “right-sized” technology solutions.

Conclusion and Summary

In closing, it is my sincere hope that this web log will give you new insight and ideas on working with your business and the technical challenges you face.

Technology Problems. Technology Solutions. Technology Life.
The Toronto Technophile