1) How long have you been doing this?
I've been a professional developer for 10 years. Prior to that, I worked for IT contractors and as an environmental engineer. Consulting just seemed like a natural fit when I was ready to create my own business, Bright Network Solutions, which I started in 2000.

I began my career in 1992 as an Environmental Engineer after earning my BS in Civil Engineering at the University of Delaware. The technical field was growing fast then, and so was my interest. I'd find ways to automate work-related tasks with computers to aid in our remediation projects. Eventually, I decided to take a pay cut to change my career to computing and I held various IT contractor positions, doing everything from writing code, to server installs, to support and networking.

As I met more people and customers from various backgrounds who liked my work and my capabilities, it just made sense to break out on my own and establish my own consulting business. I'm a self-starter and I really do like working with people to help them solve their problems.

2) Why are you doing this?
Love the work. I have a passion for doing the work. I like learning new business models and how they function and then trying to wrap software around it. I like when the customer sees that I "get it"—and they then have confidence in my abilities to help them with their problem.

3) Can I trust you to do what you say you will do?
I do what I say I will do. I return phone calls. Plus, I am your main contact for any of your project needs. Visit my testimonials.

If he promises it will get done, it will get done.
- Allan Woolway, ITS

First guy who gets it all done right and doesn't twiddle his thumbs.
- Tim Lefens, A.R.T.

I only wish I had found Ray sooner.
- Jim Kapsis, Precise Voting

4) Do you have the experience that I really want?
Call me. If I don't know it, I'll suggest where you can go to get what you need. Also, know that I'm not interested in doing something if there is an off-the-shelf product that will fit your needs. If I know about it, I'll tell you.

Read my Bio or look at my Case Studies for details on the specific types of experience I and my developers have in building systems that may compliment your business objectives.

5) Do you outsource your development work to India or overseas?
I get this question a lot. I have never outsourced any client development work and have no plans to outsource my client's projects. All work is done here, in the U.S.A., under my management.

6) Do you have international experience?
Yes. We have created systems in Israel, England, Hungary, and Australia that are multi-language, multi-currency and deal with time zone differences.

7) Do you know how to create a system "from scratch"?
Yes. We can create new systems "from scratch," as well as repair or add features to existing systems. Being able to create an entirely new system based on an interpretation of your requirements is the hallmark of a good developer. Believe me, only a subset of developers are able to do this—and do it well. It shows the developer knows the fundamentals of your business processes and how to translate that into system development.

8) Do you provide references?
Yes. I can provide references. As you'd suspect, I provide them based on the relevancy to the type of work you need.

9) Do you explain things in a way I can understand?
I talk on business terms, not bits and bytes. Consultants who use technical jargon you don't understand are not doing their job. If you aren't technical, you should never have to listen silently and feel ignorant. I explain what I mean so you can see how it will impact your work, your business.