Focus Areas
Organizational Excellence & Software Innovation
Two kinds of work, one discipline: systems that last, and organisations clear enough to run them. Four decades of building both, now applied through Ovate Technologies.
Software & Technology
Information Security & ISO Compliance Advisory
I assess a system the way an attacker and an auditor would, then close the gap between the two: a gap analysis against ISO 27001, controls a team will actually keep, and evidence an auditor accepts the first time. Privacy is designed in, not bolted on.
Software Solutions & Legacy Modernization
Modern software that respects what already works. I replace or wrap legacy systems one step at a time, with no big-bang cutover, so operations never stop. Secure, maintainable code built for the years after launch, not only for the release.
Business & Financial Systems
Accounting, inventory, payroll and reporting systems with the controls auditors expect built in from the start. One source of truth, numbers that reconcile, and a month-end close that takes days rather than weeks.
Management Advisory
Organizational Structure
Structure follows strategy. I map how the work really flows, then redesign roles, hierarchies and reporting lines so every decision is made once, at the right level, by the person accountable for it.
Internal Operations & Controls
Operations that run without heroics. Documented processes, separated duties and controls proportionate to the risk, so the organisation stays compliant and resilient when people change.
Task & Role Descriptions
Every role written down: its purpose, responsibilities, authority and measures. Individual performance lines up with the organisation's goals because everyone knows exactly what they own.
Case Study: OvateChat
A messenger whose own server cannot read it, built by Ovate Technologies. The question asked first for every feature: what does the server have to know?
Context
Most messengers begin by asking for a phone number and an address book, and keep message content where the operator can reach it. The brief was a messenger for people and organisations that asks for neither, that its own operator cannot read, and that runs on phones and desktops from one codebase.
Approach
End-to-end encryption runs on the device; private keys never leave it. The server distributes public keys and relays opaque ciphertext, then deletes it once every device has acknowledged. A username and an email replace the phone number. Devices link with a PIN and carry history across. One codebase serves iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac, and the operations console sees metadata only.
Outcome
Published on the App Store, Google Play and the Microsoft Store under Ovate Technologies. The server holds no message content and no phone numbers, so there is nothing of that kind to lose, leak or hand over. Security & Privacy by Design was the method, not a slogan: every later feature was weighed against the same question.