Hello, I'm Mark Taylor

IT Consultant

When I took over management of the Church's IT infrastructure, it had previously been handled by volunteers. I first replaced all of their desktops with new PCs, a couple years laters, their server. Over time, their network grew and PCs were replaced with thin-clients. I upgraded their phone system from a very old analog to VoIP. Their phone system upgrade was paid off in 30 months with just telephone service savings. Recently their Office and Public WiFi was upgraded to improve coverage and capacity. I had consulted with them on placement of security cameras and 13 initial camera locations were determined and installed. The Church is migrating their onsite Exchange email server to Office365. This change will change the Church in the cost of annual SPAM filter licensing and the future need of a replacement server.

The Church's network is the standard design I have used with most of my clients, and can be easily replicated and adapted for any future clients.

IT Consultant

I was the principal provider for numerous clients and a supporting provider for many others. I provided my clients with network design, implementation, management, and support for their IT infrastructures. I offered my clients both on-site and remote technical support. I built relationships with the senior management and business owners to be able to fully understand their unique businesses needs. References on request.

Insurance Brokerage Bookkeeper

I was charged with invoicing for insurance premium receivables and payment of premiums to insurance companies, along with payment of general office expenses. I was tasked with reconciliation of 5+ years of historical invoicing and payments to ensure clients accounts were balanced. Additionally I was responsible for handling Surplus Lines filings for non-admitted insurance companies.

Twilio

Twilio is a great Telecommunications PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) provider. Twilio offers SIP Trunking allowing you to intergrade with your own on-site or hosted VoIP PBX. In addition, they have numerous offerings for developing your own Voice and SMS communication infrastructures. I have developed many solutions utilizing Twilio's Elastic SIP, Programmable Voice, and Programmable SMS offerings enabling new and innovative methods of communication for my clients. See Portfolio for examples of my work.

Stripe - Credit Card Processing

While I always recommend SquareUp for business's Point of Sale solution, if what you need is online payment services, I refer to Stripe. They offer a great and developer friendly interface for building online payment solutions. If you need to accept payments on your website, or implement subscription services or bill customers monthly, I can help build you a custom solution that meets you and your clients needs. See Portfolio for examples of my work.

Freshbooks - Accounting

When it comes to accounting and financial tracking, I typically recommend FreshBooks. They have a wonderfully simple solution that meets the needs of most businesses. They offer numerous third-party integrations that make keeping track of your expenses and income, including two of my other recommendations, Gusto and Stripe.

Gusto - Payroll

I found Gusto (previously ZenPayroll) in 2014 when searching for a new company due to the high per-payroll fees that we were paying. With Gusto, we cut our annual payroll costs in half and gained so much more flexibility. Instead of calling in every change and adjustment or paying for an online interface, Gusto provided everything for a simple low cost. Everything is included in a $39/mo base price + $6/mo per person fee. They handle all of your local, state and federal payroll taxes, W-2s and 1099s, Vacation and Sick Day tracking, and much more.

You can create an account by clicking HERE. If you are a brand new customer, by using this link, Gusto will send you a $100 Amazon Gift card after you run your first payroll!

DigitalOcean

Depending on needs, Amazon AWS may be quite simply, too daunting for many to handle. For Linux server needs, I then refer to DigitalOcean. As one of the largest Linux Virtual Server providers in the world, they really know what they are doing. Their pricing is simple to understand and is highly predictable. If your business only needs a simple website or blog, I can help you implement it using a DigitalOcean virtual server that will suit your business needs.

Rackspace

For a company that nicely sits between DigitalOcean and Amazon AWS, I can offer you Racksapce. Their customer service is second to none. If you have a problem, just pickup the phone and you will get a real person on the other side. I have worked with many companies and setup windows virtual servers using Rackspace's platform. Their service offerings don't stop there, they have cloud based storage, DNS Services, Exchange/Email services as well.

{wrap}bootstrap

I am very often asked if I can help refresh a companies online presence (website). While I am an avid and experienced web programmer, user interfaces have never been my strong suit; his is where {wrap}bootstrap comes to the rescue. When a client comes to me asking about building a website, I direct them to first look at {wrap}bootstrap's templates and see if they find something that resembles what they are looking for. I use this as a foundation and from there customize the website to the client's liking and needs. I then add the server side programming to make the website more dynamic and interactive. From simple contact forms to online payments all the way to full customer login and administration sites, I can do it all. While I may not have the skill to create a graphical website from the ground up, the designers on {wrap}bootstrap can. While I can make the website work for your business, I'll let the designers of {wrap}bootstrap create my user interface foundation.
(This website was created using the MStone - Resume Portfolio Template)

Barracuda Networks - Email Security

Like SonicWall, for the past 10-years, when setting up on-premises email servers I have always recommended a third-party hardware firewall instead of a software solution. Barracuda Networks is the only company that I have trusted to keep my client's users safe from the threats of email. See Portfolio for examples of my work.

Ubiquity Networks

Up until recently, when it came to implementing WiFi in a business, you were given two options; 1) Consumer-oriented equipment, and 2) Expensive Enterprise equipment. There was never anything in the middle. Ubiquity Networks rose to that challenge and have offered a superior solution at a reasonable price. If you are wanting to setup WiFi in your business that is not just fast, but secure and able to keep up with a lot of client devices, Ubiquity can provide that. I recently began implementing Ubiquity's equipment and my clients have responded with rave reviews of the improvement in performance and coverage. In one case, I was able to reduce the number of access points from 12 from a different vendor down to just 6 in a large church setting. The bandwidth capabilities offered by Ubiquit's WiFi Access Points allows wired speeds when accessing the internet, even when there are dozens of other users connected to the same wireless network. If you want to offer WiFi in your business, keeping your client facing internet-only connections and your internal office connections separate and secure, I can help. I can evaluate your business needs and your physical space to determine the best setup for you. See Portfolio for examples of my work.

Yealink - VoIP Phones

When it comes to a business phones, Yealink has a great product. I personally use a Yealink Phone and have recommended and implemented then for my clients. Along with these phones, I have suggested using the VoIP PBX offered by IP Voice Services and the phones work great with them. See Portfolio for examples of my work.