01
You are about to sign an expensive technology contract
A vendor wants a major commitment and you want someone who is not being paid to sell it.
Mark Kiessling | Founder and Principal Advisor
Clear judgment before expensive decisions.
I help executives, investors, technology leaders, and project teams understand what is actually wrong, what is being overlooked, and what today's fix may break tomorrow. After forty seven years in software development, enterprise architecture, relational databases, security, project management, operations, and executive leadership, I know the questions that must be answered before money, time, and credibility are committed.
I do not sell products, commissions, or canned frameworks. I provide independent technology judgment.
47 YearsTechnology and executive leadership experience
IndependentNo vendor agenda or implementation commission
DirectClear answers without consultant theater
PracticalPrinciples that outlive products and trends
In Plain Words
If you are questioning something, or stuck on something, this is the place.
Everything below is a version of one idea. Somebody built it, proposed it, priced it, or is about to sign it ‑ and you want an experienced outsider to tell you whether it holds up.
Send me the architecture
A schema, a design, a platform choice. I will tell you where it will hold and where it will hurt you in three years.
Send me the contract
Before you sign it. What you are actually committing to, what happens if it underperforms, and the questions to ask first.
Send me the assessment
You paid a great deal of money for somebody's findings. I will tell you whether they are worth what you paid before you settle the invoice.
Send me the decision
A language, a vendor, a rewrite, a direction somebody on your team is confident about and you are not.
Send me the problem
The one nobody has solved, the project that is late without a clear reason, the answer that does not smell right.
Or just ask
Thirty minutes, no charge, to find out whether any of this is worth your time. No obligation either way.
I am not here to tell your people how to do their jobs. They can build it. What I do is make sure that what is being built, bought or signed is right ‑ and say so plainly when it is not. You get an honest opinion from someone with no product to sell, no commission riding on the answer, and forty seven years of watching these decisions go both ways.
Technology rarely fails first. Judgment does.
Experience That Predates the Latest Trend
He does not evaluate technology from inside a single product generation.
Mark's experience spans foundational business systems, assembly, COBOL, Pick, RPG, early Windows, Unix, networking, relational databases, client and server architecture, internet systems, game engines, modern web platforms, cloud infrastructure, and artificial intelligence.
He evaluates technology from the perspective of what businesses have already tried, what worked, what failed, and what the next decision may affect — nearly five decades of watching the industry change under new names.
Artificial Intelligence With a Real Job to Do
AI that moves beyond chat.
Mark designs AI systems that combine language models, voice interaction, software automation, computer vision, robotics, communications, and human oversight.
Projects include a personal AI environment, mobile robotic assistance, emergency-communication concepts, and a controlled AI production team capable of building, testing, reviewing, and documenting software under his direction.
When Should You Call Me
Call before uncertainty becomes an invoice.
Companies hire me because the decision matters and they need someone independent enough to question it.
02
A project is late, over budget, or losing credibility
Deadlines move, progress reports sound better than reality, and nobody can clearly explain the blockages.
03
A proposed fix may affect hidden dependencies
Reporting, integrations, security, operations, customers, or other systems may quietly rely on what is changing.
04
You inherited a troubled system or department
You need an outside view of what is healthy, fragile, political, or urgent.
05
You are evaluating artificial intelligence
You need to separate measurable business value from novelty, hidden cost, weak data, and vendor promises.
06
Your technical leaders disagree
The business needs a defensible path through conflicting architecture, security, database, budget, or delivery opinions.
The Initial Engagement
Executive Discovery Consultation
The first meeting is a paid working session designed to uncover the real problem, challenge assumptions, identify dependencies, and determine whether further engagement is justified.
Primary Entry Point
Executive Discovery Consultation
$300 to $500 per hour
The rate depends on complexity, urgency, preparation requirements, technical scope, and the level of executive or specialist involvement required.
- Scheduled Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting
- Pre meeting questionnaire when appropriate
- Review of relevant material supplied in advance
- Direct questioning of assumptions, constraints, ownership, and risk
- Dependency and impact analysis
- High level findings and practical next steps
- Recording and artificial intelligence transcript when everyone consents
- Concise written summary when included in the booking
Some matters can be assessed in one focused session. Others require multiple meetings, document review, stakeholder interviews, or a formal engagement. The purpose is not to stretch the clock. The purpose is to understand the system before prescribing a fix.
Good when a vendor proposal feels incomplete
Example: A cloud provider recommends a full migration, but nobody has explained rollback, data ownership, recurring cost, integration risk, or what happens if performance is worse.
Good when a project report does not match reality
Example: Management hears the project is eighty percent complete, but testing barely started and requirements are still changing.
Good when a simple fix may not be simple
Example: A team wants to replace a database, authentication method, integration, or reporting process without identifying every dependency.
Good when you need a true second opinion
Example: The same vendor designed the recommendation and benefits if it is approved.
A Narrower Option
Quick Executive Opinion
A short, tightly limited session for one judgment question that does not require troubleshooting, document review, environmental access, or technical investigation.
$95
Up to fifteen minutes by Zoom or Microsoft Teams
Good for one clear decision question
This is not technical support. It is a short executive opinion when you need an experienced reaction before deciding what to do next.
Does this vendor proposal raise any immediate concerns
Does this estimate sound plausible for the work described
What questions should I ask before signing this agreement
Is this technology worth investigating for our situation
Does this plan ignore an obvious dependency
Would you stop, proceed, or request more evidence
Not for debugging, production outages, security incidents, code review, database tuning, architecture review, document review, or implementation advice.
Follow Up Engagements
Structured access for work that requires more than one conversation.
Every engagement has defined limits, scheduled access, and a clear purpose.
Three Session Advisory
$1,500
Three scheduled meetings, each lasting up to two hours, with clarification by email between sessions.
This is great for
- Following a project through a specific decision
- Reviewing progress after an initial assessment
- Preparing executives for a vendor negotiation
- Guiding a small architecture or process correction
- Mentoring a leader through a defined issue
Technology Assessment
Starting at $3,500
A defined review with evidence gathering, interviews, analysis, executive findings, and written recommendations.
This is great for
- Architecture and infrastructure reviews
- Vendor and proposal evaluation
- Relational database condition and strategy
- Security and recovery readiness
- Artificial intelligence planning
- Technology health assessments
Project Recovery
Custom Scope
A deeper engagement for projects crossing teams, vendors, architecture, budgets, governance, and executive decision making.
This is great for
- Repeated missed deadlines
- Budget growth without credible progress
- Conflicting technical leadership
- Vendor disputes
- Requirements or testing breakdowns
- Restoring executive confidence
Fractional CTO Advisory
Monthly Engagement
Senior technology leadership for organizations that need judgment without hiring a full time executive.
This is great for
- Growing companies without a seasoned CTO
- Technology roadmaps
- Board and executive briefings
- Vendor negotiations
- Leadership mentoring
- Independent oversight
Technology Second Opinion
Scoped to the Decision
An independent review before committing money, reputation, or operational dependence to a major decision.
This is great for
- Large technology purchases
- Cloud migrations
- Outsourcing agreements
- Acquisitions and due diligence
- Replacing core systems
- Validating an internal recommendation
Technology Health Assessment
Custom Scope
A broad executive review before a crisis reveals weaknesses the hard way.
This is great for
- Infrastructure and security risk
- Technical debt
- Disaster recovery
- Vendor dependence
- Database reliability
- Project and staffing risk
The Judgment Method
A disciplined process without unnecessary ceremony.
Understand the business problem, gather facts, identify dependencies, separate symptoms from causes, and recommend the simplest defensible path forward.
Listen
Understand the objective, symptoms, history, constraints, and people affected.
Investigate
Question assumptions, inspect evidence, identify missing facts, and expose dependencies.
Analyze
Separate causes from symptoms and determine operational and business impact.
Recommend
Provide clear priorities, practical options, risks, and reasoning.
Guide
Continue through a defined engagement when leadership or recovery is needed.
How I Work
I teach the principles behind successful technology decisions so teams understand why the process works, not merely which buttons to press in somebody else's framework.
Simplicity is a competitive advantage
Complexity adds training, delay, dependency, cost, and failure points.
Principles before products
Tools change. Sound architecture, accountability, evidence, ownership, and measurable outcomes do not.
Understand before replacing
Many systems need accurate understanding and disciplined maintenance before replacement.
Every change has dependencies
No meaningful technology decision exists in isolation.
Measure outcomes, not activity
Meetings and dashboards are not progress. Working systems and reduced risk are progress.
Make the confusing simple again
Good advisory work removes noise and gives leadership a path they can understand and defend.
Areas of Expertise
Broad experience without product tunnel vision.
The value is understanding how architecture, data, security, operations, teams, and business decisions affect one another.
Software Architecture
Maintainability, integration, scalability, technical debt, deployment, and long term supportability.
Enterprise Architecture
Aligning systems, business processes, data, infrastructure, vendors, and strategy.
Security and Operational Risk
Access, recovery, continuity, infrastructure exposure, and weak ownership.
Artificial Intelligence Strategy
Practical adoption, governance, integration, data readiness, cost, risk, and value.
Project and Program Recovery
Requirements, planning, accountability, testing, communication, and vendor performance.
Technology Due Diligence
Independent review for acquisitions, investors, partnerships, outsourcing, and major commitments.
Relational Database Architecture
My database experience is not limited to Microsoft SQL Server. I work from relational principles that apply across major database platforms, including design, normalization, indexing, performance, reliability, replication, recovery, security, migration, integration, and maintainability.
Independence Matters
The recommendation should serve the client, not the seller.
What I do
- Challenge assumptions before they become commitments
- Explain risk in executive language
- Identify dependencies and consequences
- Teach principles that outlive products
- Recommend the simplest defensible solution
- Tell you when I am not the right person
What I do not do
I am not a managed service provider, help desk, product reseller, or unlimited access employee disguised as a consultant.
- No vendor commissions
- No software quota
- No unnecessary platform dependence
- No unlimited calls or email
- No routine staff duties
- No report written only to justify more billing
I do not just ask how to solve today's problem. I ask what else depends on it.
Availability and Scheduling
Focused consulting hours for serious decisions.
Standard Availability
Monday through Friday
12:00 PM through 5:00 PM Central Time
Meetings are scheduled in advance. Complex matters may require multiple blocks or a separate scope.
Online Scheduling
A complete appointment system with visible availability, payment, meeting links, questionnaires, and calendar invitations is planned for a future release.
Until then, consultation requests begin by email or telephone.
Start the Conversation
Before you commit more money, get an independent second opinion.
Send a concise description of the issue, the decision you are facing, and who should participate. I will determine whether the matter fits my experience and which engagement makes sense.
Call(479) 709 2333
Emailmark@usnavyvet.com