Consultancy
Shadow Computers
My long-running, part-time independent technical consultancy — originally established in the early 2000s and run alongside my full-time engineering career.
What initially began as helping friends and friends-of-friends with technical support and websites gradually evolved into a long-term side business that I continue to run outside of my primary full-time career in software engineering.
Much of the work is carried out during evenings and weekends, allowing me to continue working directly with smaller businesses, personal clients, hosting environments, and real-world support scenarios outside larger corporate environments.
What it covers
- website hosting
- email hosting
- Microsoft 365 administration
- Exchange and mail systems
- DNS management
- migrations
- website development
- infrastructure support
- backup and recovery systems
- client support and training
Why it still matters
Running Shadow Computers has provided valuable experience not only in technical systems, but also in communication, customer support, documentation, troubleshooting, and balancing technology against real-world business needs. It has also allowed me to continue working closely with non-technical users and smaller organisations, helping people understand technology in a practical and approachable way rather than purely from an enterprise or development perspective.
Many of the lessons learned through years of independent support work still heavily influence how I approach engineering, maintainability, reliability, and problem solving today.