I always try to work with the most appropriate technology for your situation. My experience includes development, sales and marketing.
A selection of companies I’ve worked for or worked with. It’s not an exhaustive list—for my full CV, please contact me. 
OwlstoneOwlstone is a sensor company in Cambridge, UK. Owlstone sensors detect airborne chemicals and they asked me to help them make future models network ready. That means they will plug into an Ethernet connection or a WiFi network, and work like (very) mini web-servers, providing online measurement. I was involved with selection of hardware, choice of technology, and then worked closely with Owlstone’s embedded development team and product managers to build a successful prototype in 2008. The matchbox-sized server uses Digi hardware, communicates with the sensor over a standard serial port and draws online graphs using a third party library. An AJAX interface allows users to configure the sensor and diagnose its performance through a standard browser with no extra installation. 
HWDMSHalton & Warrington District Music Service’s site has more to it than meets the eye! First and foremost, it’s a content management system (CMS) built on Drupal with a custom theme. HWDMS staff can log in and create pages, some of which are visible on the public site, but most of which are only shown to other groups of users. As well as an events calendar, moderated forums, and online 'expression of interest' forms, the site has data collection, with users able to submit and update records and administrators downloading data for offline analysis. Of course it also has Google Analytics, a news feed and spam-busting contact page. Following the initial engagement, HWDMS have asked me back twice to build more features and the site is becoming a vital business tool - besides presenting their presence to the world. 
EFTPlusA start-up service in Dunedin, New Zealand offering innovative online services to retailers. I provided web design, coding and traditional marketing to win the service its first customers. This involved face to face meetings with lots of businesses, a targeted telephone campaign, and production of publicity material. My input helped to shape the service and I channeled feedback from the retailers to the providers at Webspeed Limited. EFTPlus provides retailers with instant feedback on their customers’ buying patterns, calculating metrics like returning customers, high and low spending by individuals, as well as sales statistics. It also enables retailers to create customised loyalty and reward schemes with no hardware or extra cards for the customer. 
Optimal EconomicsOptimal Economics is a consultancy firm based in Edinburgh, UK. Peter Wood and Edith McDowell asked me to design an online presence site, with a relatively small number of pages. This assignment involved two days work, to include basic site design, checking in common browsers (Firefox, IE 6+, Chrome) and submission to search engines. I also handled the technical aspects of getting the site hosted for Peter and Edith. I based the design on a well-known optimal ratio and used small animations to generate a feeling of interactivity. The photos were chosen from a selection found online to balance the overall picture. 
Acaso AnalyticsI manage web, email and database hosting for Acaso Analytics and have helped put together an automated sales workflow. At Acaso we’re taking an innovative approach to interactive product data, using Flash to bring otherwise boring data to life and drive sales for our clients. It’s particularly effective for selling complicated products or software. TouchConvert is the flagship product. A TouchConvert is an embeddable component that can be included in PDF files, PowerPoint slideshows or web pages. It engages users and invites them to define their requirements. This process flows through to a live, graphical product comparison which encourages the user to review all your products that fit their needs. (You can include your competitors’ products too, if you’re confident yours are superior!) Finally, it drives the submission of interest—and captures not just the user’s details, but their precise specifications as well. Acaso have also developed a number of interactive models and advertisements for a variety of clients and are available for custom projects. Given my interest in the way people interact with technology, and my background in selling complicated products, I was delighted to become part of Acaso in 2009. We are currently building new prototype products and investigating various markets. 
Liz Shiel AssociatesLiz Shiel works as an independent consultant in urban planning and policy. Her website is a content management system based on Drupal. Since I built it for her, Liz has kindly kept forwarding the positive comments she’s received, especially about the site’s look and feel, which I based on tartan to incorporate Liz’s own images. As an independent consultant Liz is a keen observer of her own Google rank, and after reading online advice we find the best way is to keep updating the site with fresh, relevant content. Without any web experience at all, Liz builds and maintains the content using Drupal. I host Liz’s site right alongside this one using Webfaction. I've also provided IT advice in a number of areas. 
Spiral Software
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