Ever since he first set his hands on a Commodore 64 during the 1980s, Mike Rowley showed a knack for working with computers.
But it wasn’t enough for Rowley to simply tinker with the machines; he had to disassemble, dissect and reassemble them. So, it surprised no one when he embarked on a career in the computer world.
His passion for – and proficiency in – computers and software programming helped Rowley climb the ladder at EFA Software, where his team created stock market administration tools for EFA’s Automated Trading System. EFA’s clients included the Alberta Stock Exchange (now CDNX).
However, a little moonlighting project for Calgary-based Paramount Emergency Planners Inc. changed his career path dramatically.
“I was quite happy at EFA, but working for Paramount opened my eyes to the possibilities available being self-employed,” Rowley explains. “It started out as a little IT work on weekends and evenings, during which I was cleaning up their network. From there, discussions about the value of automating their time-consuming manual processes turned into a great custom development contract.
“It was such a gratifying experience – working with a company to substantially improve their systems and day-to-day processes – that I wanted to do more. Then I hooked up with my partner, Mike Rinneard, and we decided there were a lot of companies out there who could use our help.”
So the two Mikes created 18th Letter Technologies, with the 18th letter referring to the first initial of their surnames. “We have a lot of similarities, but we really play off each other’s strengths and competitive natures,” says Rinneard, a networking specialist who also left EFA to pursue contract work.
“With two different mindsets and approaches to problems, one from the IT world and one from the IS world, we can handle nearly any technology challenge.”
While Rinneard and Rowley have improved their clients’ systems capabilities, they have also focused on boosting their clients’ bottom lines. “All the hardware, software and automation in the world won’t help the client if the end result doesn’t meet their business needs,” says Rowley.
Paramount is one of a number of clients that has benefited from the services of 18th Letter Technologies.
“18th Letter has worked with us for the past two years to change the way we think about and manage our data. They’ve identified where we could automate a number of processes, which in turn has improved our efficiency and thus our bottom line,” explains Brigitte Schnell, Managing Partner at Paramount.
“They’ve been involved with all aspects of our IT requirements, from the design and roll-out of a new office network to the design, programming and implementation of a proprietary software package that enables us to capitalize on our ever-expanding database of information. They continue to grow our in-house technical knowledge, and they handle our maintenance requirements in a timely and cost-effective manner.”
The fact that 18th Letter is a two-man operation gives them a number of advantages over their larger competitors. “We can come in and assess your company’s IT/IS needs without throwing a big retainer fee at you,” says Rowley. “And we’re not going to sell you a Cadillac if all you need is a Corolla. “We also pride ourselves on being good listeners, and once we hear what your needs are, we’re going to give you practical answers that maximize your efficiency, minimize down time and give you peace of mind.”
Adds Rinneard: “If you spend an hour with us, it’s likely that we’ll be able to help you improve your IT/IS systems to a point where the revenue benefits to your company are greater than the modest expense that goes with hiring one or both of us. And if not, all it has cost you is that hour of your time. Weighed against the potential savings or generated revenues, we think it is worth the hour.”
If you could use a high-performance technology team without the high-performance price tag, call 18th Letter Technologies at 650.5595, e-mail them at info@18thletter.com or visit on the web at www.18thletter.com
