Open Systems

Michael O’Dea – Managing Director/Senior Technical Consultant

Mike came to the computer industry with an impressive background in electronics, communications and programming. With over 30 years experience in IT and Telecommunications Support, Project Management and System Architecture, Mike is a valuable Open Systems resource.  He holds a number of industry certifications as well as radio and TV, and Electronic Engineering qualifications.
Mike now heads up the team of consultants at Open Systems managing many of the projects and actively developing the business, in addition to maintaining a committed support role with many of his clients.  Needless to say, Mike’s experience and expertise are regularly drawn upon by consultants and clients.  When not working to solve IT problems, Mike enjoys spending time on his hobby farm in the Perth foothills.

Tom Clarkson – Director/Senior Consultant

Tom started consulting with Open Systems in 1999 and is our resident wireless specialist. Tom is degree qualified in Computing and Mathematics in addition to achieving Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification. He has an excellent understanding of, and demonstrated skills in; networking, Linux, Cisco and VoIP.  Tom’s greatest skills lay in communicating well with clients to understand business needs and then to develop a solution that satisfies both the functionality and budgetary requirements. He is an avid fan of the great outdoors and whenever able, Tom enjoys camping, hiking and sailing.

Georgina Rowett – Director/Financial Controller

Georgina is one of the founding directors of Open Systems, holds a Bachelor of Business with Honours in Accounting & Finance and has over 18 years experience in Financial Management in the IT sector.  Georgina works to maintain the financial stability of Open Systems for its staff and shareholders as well as establish and implementing useful and efficient business processes so Open Systems Support consultants can concentrate on providing good customer service, rather than administration.  Georgina is also qualified in Quality Assurance auditing and oversees the Open Systems quality systems.  Outside of work Georgina likes live music and spending time with her dog, family and friends.

T’Anne Mills – Director/Business Development Manager

T’Anne has a Bachelor of Science and nearly 10 years experience in consulting, IT management and project management. T’Anne enjoys working with clients to analyse business processes in order to define and understand requirements.  She takes satisfaction from facilitating solution design and development through to implementation.  In addition to her analysis skills, she has experience in software development, website design and IT consulting which allows her to translate requirements into technical recommendations.  When not at work T’Anne enjoys listening to music and spending time with her family and animals in the Perth hills.

Phil Unwin - Senior Consultant

Phil is a skilled network engineer with excellent diagnostic and design skills. He has a broad range of experience in many different environments ranging from small offices to large multinational companies and government departments. Phil enjoys the challenges found in the IT industry and gets a great deal of satisfaction building IT systems, solving problems and helping end users.

Phil has an excellent diagnostic ability, a thirst for knowledge and a focus on the needs of the end user. Phil is a Certified NetWare Engineer and has implemented several large ZENworks solutions for the rollout of applications to end-users. Phil is a qualified Mechanical Engineer (Drafting) and has an active interest in new technology.

John has a wealth of experience in network architecture, implementation and management having worked in a senior management role with a national ISP. John is experienced with various network infrastructures like ATM, Metro Ethernet, MPLS, VPN, DSL, Satellite, ISDN and VoIP. He also has a solid knowledge of network security involving firewall, data encryption, VPN and intrusion detection. On top of all this, John is one of our resident Cisco experts and well versed in virtualisation and WAN optimisation technologies.  Outside of work John enjoys spending time with his family, playing basketball and Chinese chess and keeping up to date with the latest in IT.
 

Garry Moir – Senior Consultant

Garry commenced with Open Systems in 1999 and during this time has completed many industry certifications across a broad range of technologies including; Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE), Trend Micro Certified Expert, Acer Certified Technician, Mitel 3000 Telephony Systems and Mitel Standard Linux certification.  Garry specialises in integration of heterogeneous networks including Linux, Windows and Apple, VoIP technologies and software security. Recently he has been developing skills in virtualisation and WAN optimisation and acceleration.  When not working, Garry likes to spend time on his property at Gingin, where he is building a specialist Australian Native plant nursery, and enjoys travelling to remote areas seeking out suitable plant material.

Tim Davies – Senior Consultant

Tim has been working with Open Systems for more than 10 years and specialises in custom software development, telephony and systems architecture.  Tim has maintained a core focus in Linux and customised open source solutions to provide clients with well-developed systems while minimising ongoing licensing costs.  Tim loves a challenge and with his in-depth understanding of systems and networking, has proven himself to be a valuable asset to the Open Systems team.  In his spare time, Tim enjoys flying his own airplane and SCUBA diving.

Simon Cantem – Senior Consultant

Simon is a talented programmer and senior consultant who commenced work with Open Systems in 1999.  Simon specialises in software development using Ruby on Rails and PHP combined with ExtJS framework to develop feature-rich user interfaces. He has invested considerable time producing application design and scaffolding frameworks, which allow for more efficient development of software.  Simon has well-developed customer service skills and is readily able to translate client requirements into functional software.  Outside of consulting and programming, Simon enjoys films, photography, travelling and computer gaming.

Matt O’Donohue - Senior Consultant

Matt has well-rounded skills in many areas of IT consulting with over 8 years experience in systems development and engineering.  Matt takes pride in his people-skills and supports many clients with Linux or Microsoft Small Business Servers and Cisco infrastructure.  He has worked hard to develop his skills in virtualisation using VMware and like to achieve cost efficiencies for his clients using this technology whenever possible.  Outside of work, Matt is somewhat of a foodie and coffee-lover, spending his time photographing and blogging his culinary experiences.

Peter Davies – Senior Consultant

Peter trained formally as an Accountant before specialising in the Analysis and Design of Unix based Accounting applications.  He then branched off into Unix System Administration and ‘C’ programming. Peter then spent over ten years developing what is now known as Open Systems Support.  Peter has maintained a core focus on Unix/Linux and open source solutions whilst developing advanced skills programming and development.

Peter has an Advanced Certified Engineer qualification from SCO, is a Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and Red Hat Certified Instructor Examiner (RHCIE). Peter also holds the Cisco Certified Network Associate qualification and has completed industry training in Novell Netware.  Outside of work, Peter enjoys working on sustainability projects on his south-west farm, SCUBA diving and spending time with his family.

Ian Goldthorp – Consultant

Ian has over 11 years experience in IT, 10 of those years with Open Systems. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (Information Systems) and is a Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE).  He has a broad skill set including: Windows and Linux system administration; router and firewall administration; Virtualisation technologies (Xen, KVM/Qemu, VMware, Sun/Oracle VirtualBox); Database administration (MS SQL, Access, MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQLite); Database design; PHP programming; Codeigniter programming; and website design.  Currently Ian is focusing on furthering his skills in advanced router methodology such as Quality of Service (QoS) and load balancing.  Ian's primary degree is a Bachelor of Applied Science (physiotherapy) and he often in demand as a locum physiotherapist in the Metropolitan area.  In his spare time he enjoys motorcycle riding, surfing and walking on the beach.

Nathan Cantem – Consultant

Nathan has worked with Open Systems since beginning his career in IT almost 10 years ago.  Nathan has a wealth of experience in Systems Administration and Desktop Support having spent much of his time consulting with the University of WA.  He has strong troubleshooting and management skills in Windows and Mac desktop, Windows and Linux server environments and is actively developing his Exchange, Active Directory and server deployment skills. When not working, Nathan enjoys the escapism gaming offers.

Mike W. O’Dea – Consultant & Systems Administrator

Mike began with Open Systems more than 9 years ago moving up through the Systems Administrator stream into Consulting.  Mike specialises in windows and Mac Desktop Support, Linux and Windows Systems Administration and hardware fault diagnosis.  Mike has recently focused on developing his Linux and VMware skills to compliment his existing skills and hardware knowledge. His customer service skills are second to none with many clients complimenting him on his abilities to communicate at all levels.  When not working, Mike enjoys strength and flexibility training, playing girevoy and cricket for his club Leederville CC.

Alex Ynema – Consultant

Alex is a Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and degree qualified in Computer Science.  He readily admits that he has had a life-long interest in technology, enjoys IT and anything to do with gadgets.  Alex has 4 years professional experience working with Open Systems since graduating and he specialises in Windows and Linux desktop support and server administration.  During this time, Alex has diversified his skills to include networking, wireless networking, Druid phone systems, open source web development as well as architecture and graphic design experience using AutoCAD, Photoshop and 3DS Max.  Alex’s focus is to further develop his Cisco, VMware and Linux skills to strengthen his consulting expertise.  Outside of work Alex enjoys movies, photography and rock climbing.

Todd Bayley - Consultant

Todd is degree qualified in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and loves technology, so he has great systems integration and troubleshooting skills. Todd has 4 years professional experience working as a Consultant and specialising in agribusiness development and technical planning. Todd has excellent skills in many Linux distributions as well as sound Windows and virtualisation knowledge. Todd is working on developing his VoIP skills to strengthen his consulting expertise. Outside of work Todd enjoys cricket, flying model helicopters, and going home to help out on the farm.

Hugh Owens – Systems Administrator

Hugh is one of the newest members at Open Systems, joining the team in early 2010.  Hugh possesses an MCITP qualification, a Certificate IV in IT Support and is working towards a Bachelor in Computer and Mathematical Sciences at UWA. He has recently worked to improve his skills in Microsoft 2003 and Exchange servers to assist his clients in maintain productive work environments. Hugh is keen to further his skills in Network infrastructure administration to compliment his existing skill set. Outside of work, Hugh is studying hard to complete his degree and enjoys playing social soccer with his friends to unwind.

Angus Warren – Systems Administrator

Angus has recently joined Open Systems as a Systems Administrator and comes with very high recommendations.  He has over two years experience in Windows and Linux systems and network administration. Angus is keen to further his skills in network infrastructure and is currently studying to achieve Red Hat RHCE certification. Angus has great people skills and is focussed on developing good relationships with his clients.  When not working, Angus spends time with his family, studying and reading.

Simon Lacey - Systems Administrator

Simon has recently joined the team at Open Systems after returning from England.  Combining several years’ experience in desktop support and Systems Administration in large Windows environments with Microsoft certifications, Simon is a valuable IT support team member.  He also has an avid interest in hardware and enjoys the challenge of building and repairing systems.  One of Simon’s key strengths is his customer service having worked in hospitality while completing his Microsoft and IT certifications.

Tom Skuse – Systems Administrator

Tom is the newest member to Open Systems providing much needed support and cover to our Systems Administrators with permanent placements.  Tom has had an interest in computing and technology since a young age and is now pursuing his passion by building his skills in Linux and Windows Systems Administration. Combining his experience in desktop support and web application development with an MCTP qualification, means that Tom has a good grounding in IT and has already proved himself to be a valuable member in the Open Systems team. Having grown up in the country, Tom enjoys cars, surfing, camping and catching up with friends at the local.