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Jason Deacon (Managing Director) - Joined the company in July 2003. After gaining corporate experience working for companies such as Stellar Call Centre Solutions Pty Ltd and AAPT Mobile Pty Ltd.
During this time he has gained both training and certification in a number of industry standards such as Microsoft and Citrix. His vast experience in dealing with personnel at both ends of the commercial scale (being end user and directors) has proven a highly valuable asset to this company. His technical expertise extends throughout the Microsoft suite of applications, Windows Server and Small Business Server,Computer Associates Backup and Antivirus solutions, Citrix Metaframe, VPN’s, Broadband, website database integration, Server and network hardware design and support. Jason has built strong relationships with many vendors through his time with this company including, Acer, HP, OKI, DLINK and many others. Jason is working towards making this company the only choice for all your small business needs.
Jason is very involved in the Gold Coast regions and is currently a Vice President for the newly formed Central Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce (Central GC) and has been instrumental in assiting with the merge of two of the largest chambers on the Gold Coast to create this organisation. Jason is very passionate about small businesses and with his involvement in this chamber aims to bring a lot of support to businesses in the area.
Richard Kuschert (Director / Senior Technician) - Joined the company in March 2004. Whilst working in large multi-site corporate environments Richard has gained a great understanding in a variety of IT Infrastructure technologies, including Computer Security, servers, LANs and WANs, and enterprise level solutions from both a senior technical level and from a management perspective.
Richards’s previous employment has included being employed at AAPT supporting the Mobile divisions IT infrastructure, and AAPT’s Citrix Metaframe farms, which run a mixture of Metaframe 1.8 and Metaframe XP with NFuse and Secure gateway allowing for both internal and secure external access to the AAPT applications. Richards’s position before that was with Virgin Blue Airline where he was responsible for a variety of platforms that included Windows, Linux, and, Solaris, as well as a variety of Cisco routers and switches on all the LANs across the Australia Wide WAN. Richard has been awarded a Bachelor of Information Technology and also an Associate Diploma in Electrical Engineering (Electronics).
Jodi Brown (Team Leader - Technical Department) – Jodi has been in the IT industry for close to 10 years. He holds a Certificate in IT (Computer Applications) and a Certificate IV in Business (Frontline Management). He started his career working for Education Queensland as an IT Support Officer. During his time there he developed advanced skills in software troubleshooting including advanced Microsoft Office skills. Since moving to the private sector in 2005 Jodi has rapidly improved his IT support skills. This has been due mainly to the fact of the team at Low Cost IT who strive to help each other in the advancement of their skills. Jodi has been involved in several Small Business Server installations and is primary technician for several server sites.
Jodi holds the position of Team Leader Technical Department. He is responsible for overseeing the smooth operation of the technical department and to ensure client expectations are consistently exceeded. Jodi also holds the position of President of The HUB Chapter of Business Network International and loves public speaking and Business networking.
David Whiffin (Townsville Director/Field Service Technician) - David has been employed in various IT roles since 1998 but shown an interest since the age of just 10. Computers had always been a hobby which he was passionate about and led to a close relationship and regular work experience with a small computer store called Computer Corner. The next step of his education was three and a half years of Information Technology Levels 3, 4 & 5 in Rockingham, Western Australia. His first permanent full time role was split between two businesses, WA Data and Arachnet in 1998 which eventually led to working with companies such as Warranty Assistance Australia, Best Buy Computers and eventually WA’s computer retail giant Arrow Computers as their senior onsite technician. David’s fiancé Kelly was presented with a career opportunity in Queensland which brought him to us here at Low Cost IT in July 2006 a month before we bought into Altair Computers. David has brought with him his advanced skills in Microsoft Operating Systems (DOS, Windows 95/98/ME/XP), Microsoft Office, networking, hardware diagnostics, virus removal and knowledge of various other software packages.
Two years later David’s confidence in Low Cost IT as a business has seen him become a share holder in our new venture in Townsville. He has personally taken on the challenge of our north Queensland operation with the vision of taking Low Cost IT to becoming a national force in the IT industry. Throughout his two years with Low Cost IT he has further developed his general networking skills and Small Business Server 2003. David has also participated in the Customer Service Course via National College of Business, multiple online training courses and is a member of the Townsville Business Networking International (BNI) Velocity Chapter to further involve himself with local businesses in Townsville.
Rob Thomas (Field Service Technician) - Worked as a “technicians offsider fixing arcade games from late 1982 through till early October 1984. Worked for Digital Equipment Corporation from October 1984 through till June 1994. Started out as “Terminals & Printers” tech fixing dumb terminals and teletype printers. Worked up to “Small Systems Engineer” in 1986, looking after PDP11 & MicroVAX mini systems, as well as Shuttle, Drum and Band “Line Printers”. Promoted to Systems Engineer in 1985 taking over responsibility for Dec 10 and Dec20 36 bit Mainframe systems at QIT and Queensland Newspapers. Moved to Darwin in February 1986 to join small team looking after all of Darwin and NT. Moved to Alice Springs in March 1986 to open new office looking after township and “Jindalee Over the Horizon Radar” for the defence force.
Rob took a short break then and toured Australia on motorbike and then accepted a role as Service Manager of a small computer Company in Kalgoorlie, WA till December 1997. He then moved back to Queensland and took on a job with Altair Computers in February 1998. Stayed working in that shop till Low Cost IT bought it in July 2006. Rob now holds the position as field service technician for Brisbane and has been involved in multiple Small Business Server rollouts, configurations and maintenance.
LARRY RICH (Instore Technician) - Larry owned and operated a synthetic marble manufacturing business on the Gold Coast for 15 years. It was during this time when computers began changing the way we did business; He developed a passion for computers. This came about by using a business accounting programme, which intrigued him and has kept him involved to this date. Since then I have been involved in numerous facets of the IT industry. Working for himself and other Gold Coast companies, has kept him in the know, and up to date with the changing technology. With 10 years of experience in IT work behind him, he is now undertaking several courses to expand my knowledge and technical expertise. As part of the Low Cost IT team since Feb 2008, he thrives on restoring our customers systems and offering sound advice to give them the understanding & knowledge to maintain healthy computers. As store coordinator at our Nerang office his goal is to give the best quality and service to all our customers. There’s nothing more rewarding than going to work each day, doing what you love, and satisfying customers with a smile and a job well done.
Daniel Little (Field Service Technician) - Started with Low Cost It in mid July 2008 and after many years working in Computer Whole Sale As well as Retail Stores and onsite service decided to join the team and continue the work that he loves to do. Daniel has had extensive experience in all aspects of Desktop computing both from home and small business point of view. He has an excellent knowledge of general broadband networking and setups. In more recent times, Daniel has been studying and working on Microsoft Small Business Server product and is assisting many clients with their small business needs. Prior to this Daniel had worked Movie World on the Gold Coast dealing with people on a one to one basis from all around the world. He has also worked as a sandblaster and certainly knows the meaning of hard work. Daniel strives to not only build and repair computers but to help people understand them a little better and intends to continue giving the support and service that Low Cost IT customers deserve.
Hayden Bell (Field Service Technician) - Hayden has worked in the computer industry since 2003. Originally working in Electrical Engineering in his early days servicing a range of electrical products for NEC repair agent, ICT Management within a NZ school, Service Manager at a Gold Coast Wholesaler personally building and servicing thousands of computers here on the coast, a Computer Engineer in Brisbane servicing Servers, Workstations and Notebooks in Acer, Fujitsu, Benq and Lenovo. Previous Help Desk Manager of Gold Coast IT Consultancy Firm servicing level 1 and 2 maintaining Windows based Servers and user issues for SME businesses around Queensland and Nationally. Hayden has a New Zealand Certificate in Engineering Level 3 in Electrical/Computer Technology, Certificate in Information and Systems Technology, CompTIA A+ and Network + Certified Professional, Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Preinstallation Specialist, Microsoft Windows Small Business Server Preinstalation Specialist, Windows XP Preinstallation Specialist and a Microsoft Office 2003 Preinstallation Specialist. Hayden actively peruses more knowledge within IT and is currently undertaking more Microsoft Certifications. If Hayden is not spending time with his young family then he is usually stuck in front of some computer pulling it apart or reading something new it
Chris Harper (Field Service Technician) - Chris has worked in the computer industry since 1977, working in Melbourne, Los Angeles and Boston, and for over twenty years in London. Chris has worked in areas such as development, strategic planning and senior management position, having been Project Manager at Thorn EMI, Information Technology Manger at Micro-X (UK's largest supplier of satellite receiving systems), Technical Director at Sonnet Internet ( a London based ISP) and the Head of Operations at Mviva, an AOL/Carphone Warehouse mobile internet joint venture. His most recent roles include Technical Operations, Ebusiness Support, Internet configuration, Web and WAP portal management, UNIX & Microsoft Systems management, wide and local area network design, systems integration, Strategic Planning and Senior Management. He has run formal training courses, lecturing in data communications and Unix, taken staff through Microsoft Certification, and in previous roles, gained significant experience in programming and systems design for UNIX, Windows and MS-DOS. He has a background in software portability, software quality issues and various assemblers, including Intel and Motorola.
Chris currently serves as a volunteer member on business mentoring panels for the Queensland Government Mentoring for Growth initiative. He has a Masters Degree in Information Systems Design from Kingston University in the UK, and has been an occasional consultant to John Wiley and Sons, computer book publishing division, regarding various proposals and manuscripts they receive
Jasmin Shah (Instore Technician) - Jasmin is from Gujarat State (India). He has a Bachelor of Science. Jasmin also has a Higher Diploma in Software Engineering, Diploma in Computers, and Certificate IV in Networking. He has been working in the IT industry since 2000. He has been in Australia since September 2006 and works out of our Salisbury Office.
Jasmin is proficient in hardware diagnostics and troubleshooting, advanced virus removal and hardware maintenance. Jasmin’s key to success is positive mental attitude.
Adam Holland (Junior Instore Technician) - In 2004 he did work for the Merrimac state high school I.T department during my lunch breaks and holidays for one and a half years, his duties included networking new computer labs, installing and replacing new and old hardware, basic operating system troubleshooting and responding to helpdesk inquiries. In 2006 he then moved to Upper Coomera state college and started to explore his options in developing his skills in I.T, it was then he decided to study a certificate 4 in I.T Client Support. Due to his age and studying needs it was quite a battle to get the approval he needed from school to study at this level and still attend school, but in the end his potential was recognized and was signed up. The next challenge was to find a host employer that would support and enhance my skills in the workforce. He went to over ten different interviews, at ten individual computer companies before finding Low Cost I.T where Jason Deacon overlooked his age and saw the potential.
During his time with us he has now completed school and commenced full time work with us, over the past two years he has gained skills in advanced operating system troubleshooting, hardware diagnostics and maintenance and basic network administration. He has completed school and succesfully obtained his Certificate 4 in I.T Client Support and a Certificate 2 in Business Operations
Charlie Marie Shanks (Field Service Technician and Sharepoint Developer) - Charlie has been working within the IT Industry for approximately five years and first begun the journey into the world that is computers by enrolling in a course in college which she assumed was a simple word processing course. It was only after exploring the workings of the language that is computers, binary, that she realised she had in fact embarked on a challenge for which she would be forever grateful for. On succeeding to achieve her Higher National Diploma in Computer Science in just two years, much to the surprise of her peers and tutors she went onto find her first job, a small firm just outside of London, she was there for two years, most of her knowledge and skills now come from the teachings of her manager throughout that time, whom she still remains in close contact with despite leaving England one year ago to come to Australia to be with family.
Before embarking on the next chapter of her life that would be Low Cost It and Australia she spent the remaining three years working in London as a Systems Administrator both as a permanent employee and contract position, this variety in jobs introduced her to many different environments and a diverse range of technologies. It was one particular position at Virgin Games that Charlie was first introduced to SharePoint of which now she has become a specialist within and hopes to gain her certification for this by the end of the year. Charlie’s strengths are within her database design, SharePoint, Server systems and scripting learnt from the larger corporate firms of the financial district that is Tower Hill through to Blackfriars, London. In her spare time Charlie strives to learn new things and is constantly studying to improve her skill set, she is an avid musician and horse rider; she enjoys an outside life and unlike other technicians particularly favours shoe shopping.
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