IT Consulting, Digital Transformation and Software Development
I help companies, public bodies and private individuals simplify and automate how they work, and find or build the software that fits. Sometimes it turns out that no new software is needed at all. In the end, you should save money or earn more.
Problems I work on
- Processes that take too long because of manual steps, for example because data is entered twice or spreadsheets are kept up to date by hand.
- A website or shop that is slow, hard to maintain or loses customers.
- Software that was bought or built but does not solve the problem it was meant to solve.
- A team that delivers late, and nobody can say why.
- Digitalisation is supposed to move forward, but it is unclear where to start.
- Everyone is talking about AI, and you want to know whether it would actually help you.
Ineffectiveness and inefficiency are my favorite areas.
How it works
- Talk: You describe the problem.
- Find the cause: I work out what is behind it. The cause is often organisational, procedural or human.
- Agree: We settle on scope, price and a measurable goal, for example hours saved per week or fewer errors per month.
- Solve: You get advice, a tool set up to fit your case, or custom software. I help with the implementation only if you want that.
- Check: We look at the numbers to see whether it worked. If it did not, I will tell you.
Without the right measurement, nothing can be improved on purpose. You cannot tell where a change pays off, or whether it made any difference. If there are no numbers yet, such as how long a process takes or how often something goes wrong, I set up a simple way to measure them first.
My goal is that you and your team can run and develop the solution yourselves afterwards. So I do not build myself into your processes, and nothing should only work as long as I am involved. Whatever I set up or build, I show you how it works, so you can carry on without me.
Digital transformation and strategy
Before new software comes in, a few questions should be settled. Which processes cost you the most time? Which systems will you need in a few years? What do you build yourselves, what do you buy, and what do you do without? I work through this with you and turn it into a plan of small steps. After each step, the numbers show you whether it was worth it.
Process automation and AI
Many recurring tasks can be automated, such as writing quotes or copying data from one program to the next. For some of them AI helps, for example to pre-sort emails or to pull information out of documents. I check where that really saves you time. Often a small script or a clear agreement within the team is enough.
AI makes mistakes too. So someone has to check its results, and I count that effort in from the start.
If your data must not leave the company, AI does not have to run in a foreign cloud. Language models can also run on your own servers or with providers in the European Union (EU). Which data goes where, we agree before anything is set up, and I take the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) into account from the start.
Not sure whether a task is worth automating? The automation check gives you a first direction in two minutes.
Software development
If it makes sense, I build custom software in the language that fits, for example Java, TypeScript/JavaScript, PHP, Rust or C++. Sometimes it is better to use existing software, configure it for your case and add small add-ons or plug-ins.
Who do you advise?
Many problems do not need industry knowledge. Sometimes an independent view from outside is even an advantage. So I advise any type of company, the public sector and private individuals.
Why me?
I studied computer science, and the most useful thing I took away from it is a strong ability to solve problems. I get into difficult problems quickly and look for the cause without deciding beforehand what the answer should be.
Working as a management consultant in information security and on a board of directors taught me that the best solution is often not a technical one.
Tools and technologies
These are only some of the tools and methods I work with. The most important thing is usually not to pick the technology first. First we understand the problem, then we choose what fits it. Often that is something you or your team already use.
Web and CMS: WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, PHP, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Next.js, Vue, CSS/SASS/SCSS, Tailwind CSS, Vite, Storybook, Playwright
Backend and data: Java, Spring Boot, Groovy, Python, Rust, C++, Node.js, OpenAPI, PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB, Redis, Gradle
AI and automation: Large Language Model (LLM) APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Mistral), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), AI agents, local models (Ollama), n8n, Make, Zapier, Microsoft 365, Power Automate, SharePoint, Excel
Cloud and DevOps: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Hetzner, Cloudflare, Docker, Kubernetes (K8s), Helm, Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) with GitHub Actions and GitLab CI, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with Terraform and OpenTofu, Apache, Nginx, Git, GitHub, GitLab
Analysis and improvement: Root cause analysis (5 Whys, Ishikawa diagram), Lean, Value Stream Mapping, Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), Design Thinking, Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA), Objectives and Key Results (OKR), DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) metrics
Delivery and architecture: Scrum, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Kanban, Architectural Decision Records (ADR), arc42, C4 model, Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
And whatever else the problem needs.
What does it cost?
First we talk about your problem, and only then about price. A problem that stays usually costs more than its solution. Work out what yours costs:
What does the problem cost you?
Move the sliders or enter your own numbers. The defaults are an example: three people put together quotes by hand from several spreadsheets.
Adjust assumptions (42 working weeks, 80 % time saved, €50 running cost per month)
I would recommend this solution. Even if things go worse, it pays for itself within 12 months.
The solution pays for itself after 3.5 months. After that, every month without it costs you about €1,182.
Show as table
| Month | Keep it as it is | With the solution | If things go worse (half the savings, one and a half times the effort) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | €0 | €4,188 | €6,282 |
| 6 | €9,240 | €6,336 | €12,126 |
| 12 | €18,480 | €8,484 | €17,970 |
| 18 | €27,720 | €10,632 | €23,814 |
| 24 | €36,960 | €12,780 | €29,658 |
An estimate, not a quote. Calculated at €1,396 per day. What you enter stays in your browser. It only leaves it if you copy the question and pass it on yourself.
How it really looks for you, we find out in the first call. If the numbers do not work out for you, I will tell you before you spend any money.
Other arrangements are possible and depend on the project.
What you get from the problem analysis
- Before: A short call or a few questions in writing, so I know the problem and who is involved.
- During: Half a day with you and the people who do the work. I look at the process, the data and the tools, and measure where the time goes.
- After: A short written report, usually two to four pages:
- the problem as you described it, and the cause I found
- two or three options, each with effort, cost and expected benefit
- my recommendation and the first step
- what to measure, so you can see later whether it worked
The report is yours. You can implement it yourselves, with me or with someone else.