Butting Heads
We love working with strong-willed people. "Butting heads" is a good thing, so long as their hearts are in the right place.
Having Courage
We believe that it takes courage to move forward. The philosopher Paul Tillich says that courage is the affirmation of one's own essential nature "in spite of" everything that would deny it. Progress must always be made "in spite of" everything that would deny it.
Being Frugal
We believe in being frugal, with our own money as well as yours. Controlling cost is the only way to be profitable in any business. It is a mindset and an approach that stands the test of time.
Getting Dirty
We like getting dirty. We love working in the trenches. We do not just stay in conference rooms surrounded by white boards and Keurig machines. We also work alongside your people, on the front lines.
Putting Business First
We believe in "business over technology", which means that we value return on investment for the business more than we value cool technology (although we really like cool technology, too).
Staying Focused
We believe in staying focused. Becoming distracted is probably the single biggest obstacle to progress. Once priorities are defined, everyone must stay hyper-focused on the objective until it is met.
Overcoming Frustration
We do not mind frustration. Computers are complicated. People are complicated. People using computers can be very complicated. We understand. We will get through it.
Being Strategic
We love to play chess and study the game intensely. We apply lessons learned there to our client's goals, applying strategy and tactics to everything we do.
Being Agile
We were advocating Agile Methodologies long before they had a name. For us, it all boils down to the fact that IT systems are living organisms that respond to the laws of Complexity Theory, not physical structures that respond to Newtonian Physics. Our favorite book on the subject is Agile Software Development Ecosystems by Jim Highsmith (ISBN 0-201-76043-6).
Seeking Simplicity
Complex systems are easy to create. Simple systems are difficult to create. We constantly strive for simplicity in everything we do.
Making Changes Incrementally
We value incremental improvements over "big bang" system changes and implementations. Incremental improvements are more effective, less expensive, less disruptive, lower-risk, and more fun. Big bang implementations are almost always avoidable.
Being Manageable and Accountable
We believe that it is important to be both manageable and accountable. We welcome direction, accept correction, and take responsibility for our actions.
Writing Good Contracts
We enjoy negotiating terms and writing contracts. It is an important part of what we do. Good contracts keep people happy on both sides.
Being Organized
We are very organized. We are somewhat compulsive about it, but only where it matters. Organization is the best way to tame complexity.
Maximizing Strengths
We believe in maximizing a person's strengths and mitigating their weaknesses (instead of trying to fix their weaknesses) as advocated by the writer Marcus Buckingham.
Mitigating Risk
We believe in mitigating risk to the extent possible. We do not take unnecessary risks, and we are constantly seeking ways to maintain stability.
Being Good Neighbors
We take a friendly neighborhood approach to enterprise-level information technology. We have a high degree of experience and expertise, but we do not work from some high-rise office tower in New York City. We are down-to-earth. We will come to you.
Taming Complexity
Einstein said "Everything should be made to be as simple as possible, but no simpler." In other words, if one goes too far in making something simple, it loses its essence and becomes ineffective. We are constantly pushing this boundary in our search for simplicity.
Creating Elegant Designs
We value elegant design. We constantly seek to develop solutions that not only serve, but inspire.
Being Precise
Systems are delicate. Working on them requires a deft hand. We believe that change must be precise.
Leading from the Trenches
We are students of Robert K. Greenleaf, the modern father of "Servant Leadership" who was born in 1904 and whose writings shaped countless future management theorists, including Peter Drucker. Greenleaf's philosophy has its roots in a novel by Hermann Hesse called "Journey to the East".
Serving Jesus
We also believe in Jesus, and strive to treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves.
SDS (Safety Data) Software for Chemical Manufacturer
We developed a proprietary software application for maintaining and reporting chemical properties of custom-manufactured products.
Electronic Wire Transfer Application
We developed an application for tracking wire transfers between bank accounts (also involving foreign currencies) for an investment management firm with more than $7 billion under management.
Kanban Implementation
We helped implement Kanban and other Agile Methodologies in the Internal Audit Department of a large, international bank.
Design Analysis for Revolutionary New Method of Commercial Construction
We worked closely with one of the country's most dynamic and innovative CEOs to analyze various automation designs surrounding his proprietary "Design / Manufacture / Construct" approach to commercial construction.
Enterprise Software Transformation
We helped a large regional distribution company update their 40-year-old IBM iSeries, with modern languages and workflows to support their existing RPG programs.
Result Analysis Software for National Laboratory
We rewrote a custom, 20-year-old software application for analyzing lab results that was considered to be indecipherable. Our version produced the same, precisely-calculated results -- from the same data samples -- and was proven to be correct.
Enterprise Software for HVAC Distribution
We developed a custom enterprise application for wholesale HVAC distribution that processed over a billion transactions in a twenty-year period.
Cloud-Based Order Management for Wholesale Groceries
In three month's time, we developed a cloud-based software application from scratch that went live and successfully processed approximately $30 million of wholesale grocery orders from all over the Southeast.
Attribute Management Software for Water Treatment
We developed an application used by water treatment specialist to monitor and maintain chemical readings from their client's industrial water systems. We also wrote a custom CRM system that was tightly integrated with it.
Project Management for Large Scale Transportation Software Development
We served as Project Managers for a multi-million-dollar software development project in the mass transportation space. This project included dozens of managers from seven different organizations.
Enterprise Application for Steel Tubing Manufacturer
We began this project by designing and implementing a brand new system for managing steel coil inventory, which went live within six weeks from the time of conception. We then expanded the system into many other areas of the manufacturing process over time.
SYSPRO Integration for Furniture Manufacturer
We developed a web-based software application for a furniture manufacturer that exposes inventory and order information from their SYSPRO ERP system to their outside sales force.
Helping a New IT Director Become Established
We helped the newly-hired IT Director of a value investment firm get established by providing data analytics, application evaluation, and human resources.
Sales Force Management for Beer and Wine Distributor
We developed a custom sales force management system for a regional beer and wine distributor.
PowerBI Data Analytics for Wholesale Distribution
We built a data warehouse and used Microsoft's PowerBI to produce data visualizations for a regional wholesale distribution company.
Expert Witness
We have served as expert witnesses in multiple lawsuits regarding failed software implementations.
Homewood IT LLC is a small, regional consulting firm serving the southeastern United States. We have worked with well over 100 different companies just like yours. We are ready to work for you.