Cutovers that hold
Every engagement gets a runbook, a validation checklist, and a rollback plan before anything moves. The window is the window.
HomeServices
Independent IT consulting since 2007
IT consulting and delivery,
from the plan to the cutover.
I'm Alex Tafoya. For over nineteen years I've moved organizations' data, desktops, applications and infrastructure from where they are to where they need to be.
Not currently accepting new project work.
02Specific services
Specific services
Defined projects with defined outcomes.
- 01 Data Migrations Planning and execution for file, storage, database, and application data migrations — with validation, reconciliation, and a rollback path. →
- 02 Virtual Desktops & Citrix Design, migration and rescue work for Citrix Virtual App and Desktop environments — including image management and profile strategy. →
- 03 Document Imaging Getting documents out of an old or unsupported imaging system and into a format the new one will actually ingest — images, index data and all. →
- 04 Core Conversions Independent, bank-side support through a core system conversion — data validation, balancing, and someone whose only interest is your outcome. →
- 05 Database Programming Import and export routines, conversions between systems that were never designed to talk, and the recurring data jobs your team runs by hand. →
- 06 Data Aggregation Pulling data out of systems that don't talk to each other and combining it into one reporting database — kept current automatically, not rebuilt by hand. →
- 07 Automation PowerShell, Python and Ansible automation for provisioning, onboarding, reporting and the repetitive work quietly consuming your team's week. →
03Why an independent
Why bring in an independent
Big integrators staff projects with whoever is on the bench. You get me — the person who scoped the work, on the call during cutover.
Estimates from measurement
Throughput gets tested on a pilot batch against production-like data, so the schedule reflects your storage and network, not a vendor datasheet.
One accountable person
You get continuity from scoping through hypercare. Nothing is handed to a delivery pod you've never met.
Documentation you keep
Runbooks, diagrams, and scripts are yours at the end — written so your team can repeat the work without me.
Fits your team
I work alongside internal staff and existing vendors, in your ticketing and change process, without turf.
04How it runs
A predictable shape to every engagement
Every engagement follows the same four steps.
Step 1
Discovery
A working session and a look at the real environment — not a questionnaire. I map sources, targets, dependencies, and the constraints nobody wrote down.
Step 2
Plan & pilot
A written migration plan with a rollback path, then a pilot batch against real data so the estimates come from measurements instead of optimism.
Step 3
Cutover
Runbook-driven execution in the agreed window, with validation gates and a clear go/no-go call at each one.
Step 4
Handover
Documentation your team can actually operate from, plus a hypercare period so the first week after go-live isn't a surprise.
05Engagements
Three ways this usually works
| Model | What you get | Typical length |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-scope assessment | A defined piece of analysis with a written deliverable — a plan, an assessment, a DR gap review. Fixed price. | 1–3 weeks |
| Project delivery | End-to-end ownership: planning, execution, cutover and handover, with acceptance criteria agreed up front. | 1–6 months |
| Retained hours | A monthly block for escalations, upgrades, design reviews and second opinions. | Ongoing |
Kansas City metro
Based in Olathe, working across the KC metro. For clients across Johnson County and the Kansas City metro, being on site for a cutover weekend is a drive, not a flight. Remote everywhere else.
OlatheOverland ParkLenexaShawneeLeawoodKansas City, KSKansas City, MOLee's SummitIndependenceLibertyGardnerSpring Hill
Next step
Have a project in mind?
Send the source, the target and the downtime you can tolerate. You'll get an honest read on scope.
Not currently accepting new project work. Please still reach out. I'm scheduling future work, I'm glad to answer a quick question, and if I can't help I'll point you to someone who can.