ICT consultancy

As a qualified computing scientist, network engineer and chartered IT professional, I find myself undertaking all manner of work for small-to-medium enterprise and for home users. Speaking very broadly, my work tends to fall into the following general categories:

Custom built PCs

PC superstores sell such keenly priced home and office PCs these days, I rarely find it economically viable to build and deliver an equivalent; I simply can not compete on price. However, if you have a special application where a generic home or office PC simply will not do, I can build truly astonishing custom PCs to your own specification.

PC upgrades and repairs

Too often a perfectly good PC is given away or trashed because it no longer has the capacity to handle new applications. Usually all that is required is an upgrade to one or more components inside the case. I can give your old PC a new lease of life.

Network design, installation and troubleshooting

I have been trained to deliver the Cisco Networking Academy Program (CNAP), which covers most aspects of internetworking technologies (cabling, routers, switches) and I can design and install network solutions for home and small office environments. I am frequently called upon to set up small networks to enable both wired and wireless sharing of printers, Internet connections, folders and other common resources.

When networks break down it can be difficult to identify the cause. I carry a number of diagnostic tools to help identify and correct network problems.

Bespoke software applications

As a programmer, I can offer hand-coded solutions in VB, VBA, Pascal, Delphi, C, C++, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, machine language and more.

Database design is also one of my specialties and I can help you to plan data models to suit your application.

Web site design

I design and build web sites for clients, often with custom interactive add-ins to enhance functionality.

A few examples of sites I have been involved with:

• The Velvet Bean - Ledbury's handmade chocolate company
• The Ledbury Portal - a citizen journalism project*
• Easigation - an irrigation management tool for farming
• The Retreat - a pub
• The Oak Inn - another pub

*In the case of the Ledbury Portal, I am one of a team of four members who steer and maintain the site.

Online merchandising

I can furnish your business web site with a product catalogue, a shopping cart and the ability to process most major credit and debit cards online.

Virtual terminals

Accept credit and debit card payments online without having to pay heavy bank fees for setup and maintenance - just a small percentage per transaction. This is the ideal solution for a business that takes online payments only occasionally, at trade shows and exhibitions for instance. All you need is your wireless netbook or even just your BlackBerry!

VoIP services

I can furnish your business with VoIP telephone services, including voice messaging, queueing and more. VoIP can save your business a lot of money compared to the PSTN equivalent.

Note: To make the best use of VoIP, you need a very solid broadband connection. Ask your broadband provider if their service is robust enough for VoIP. If they aren't sure, you might reasonably ask them why they're charging you so much!

You can view a copy of my CV here. It is directed to those in the education and training sectors but there is a supplement that outlines some of my non-education activities.

Did you know I operate a "No Fix No Fee" policy for my ICT consultancy? If I can't get you sorted, you pay nothing.