01326 563 099
john@kernowtek.co.uk
We work with businesses to recommend, install and manage hardware, software and services that can help improve their work flows. We can advise businesses about existing solutions or develop something just for them.
Whether you are having issues with an existing I.T. component, wish to replace a compontent or would like an addition to your systems we can help.
We follow solutions at every technology readiness level ( TRL ), to get an idea of what will be available and when.
Developing programs/applications, from scripts, utilities and simple GUI programs through to complex business management suites. Whilst most workflows are now transitioning to web based ones, occasionally there are still uses for locally running software.
We typically use C#, Delphi, Electron or node.js for software development depending on the needs of the project.
Full stack means we can do every aspect of web development - unlike many web developers these days ( who are mostly just wordpress plugin installers ) we are fluent in all of the languages, software, hardware and services needed to develop and maintain nearly any custom web/cloud based site or platform.
Including frontend software development ( css+js+html ), backend software development (mainly php/node/python), SQL and other database design and development, physical and virtual server design and management, server tooling & monitoring, PCI compliance and third party web service API integration.
Most of our current work is spent in this area, given the need to interface directly with online services such as email, social media, online accounting, marketing platforms and others, the web is often the best platform for modern applications and workflows to exist.
We manage business computer, network and telephony equipment and services throughout South West Cornwall, UK, based on the Lizard peninsula near Helston. Day or night we're just a call or email away. All I.T. technologies can be potentially supported.
Monthly support contract or pay as you go, whatever works best for you. We can service areas including: Helston, The Lizard Peninsula, Falmouth & Penryn, St. Ives, Hayle, Penzance, Redruth & Camborne and Truro.
We can make public facing websites such as information sites, brochure sites or ecommerce sites, as well as member based content sites. Whatever you need, we can make it.
Rather than bolt a blogging system like wordpress together with several large plugins to create some sort of barely functioning code golem, we usually take a different approach. We use our own lightweight CMS platform and custom tailor the whole thing around the site that you want, which uses around 15-20 times less system resources for the same site visually compared to the most popular CMS software.
We can also develop wordpress, woocommerce and drupal based site where needed, as well as static or node.js based sites as needed.
These are sites that your staff login to and then access management functionality within, for example CRM & sales management systems. If they are only accessible within your own I.T. infrastructure then they would be considered an intranet, if they can be used from anywhere on the internet they would be considered an extranet.
We have developed sales, CRM, property management and general business management systems. These sorts of system are ideal for plugging in to other online services as they are always online and can communicate 24 hours a day.
From cabling to switching, routing, Wi-Fi, VPN (remote working), NAS (shared network storage), ip-cameras & NVRs / CCTV, VOIP and servers, we can advise, install and support all manner of network/device.
We have extensive experience in Windows Server, Linux & BSD, pfSense, Synology, QNAP, FreeNAS, Ubiquiti/UniFi and many other systems.
We can build our own servers, desktops and workstations where needed, which can be more cost effective for performance hardware - most hardware vendors increase their markup on performance and enterprise equipment.
Advanced: PHP, HTML, CSS, LESS, Sass/SCSS, SQL, Javascript, Node.js, Electron, Delphi/Pascal, Windows Server ( AD/GP/IIS/DHCP/DNS/Hyper-V ), Linux, Android, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, SQLite, Memcache, Network Routing, pfSense, VPN, DNS (BIND / MS-DNS), PoE, CCTV & Webcam, Synology, QNAP, Ubiquiti & Uni-Fi, Xero API, Wordpress, Dropbox API, Google APIs, Amazon AWS, Stripe Checkout/API, PayPal Checkout/API, SagePay
Intermediate: Python, Ruby, C#, C, C++, ASP.NET, CoffeeScript, Typescript, Nginx, Lighttpd, Redis/Memurai, MongoDB, Neo4j, Riak, Drupal, BSD, MS SQL, Oracle, Postgres, cPanel, WHM, Plesk, SIP, RTSP, Mac OS, iOS
Basic: VHDL, IC & electronic circuits, Assembly, Go, Dart, Arduino, Rasperry Pi, Home Automation, Lightwave, Z-Wave.
Other: Technology has a common language to it, past a certain point working with new technology becomes second nature/intuition.
We have a booking & holiday property agency management system called FlexiLett that we've been working on for several years, as an example it is used on cornishcottages.co.uk although virtually all of the visible part of the system is in the backend - the part that staff use, and the services that make it work/automated.
It has a large focus on automation, if a job can be automated well, then it has been or will be. This greatly reduces staff "busy work" letting them focus on tasks more suited to people.
This is our current development platform specifically for the ecommerce sales channel ( online shops ). It is our most mature software platform at present, being used on multiple high volume online sales sites for many years.
It runs our CMS and is very fast, it has built in caching and is fast enough to be used without relying on a reverse proxy ( such as cloudflare ) running in front of it to make it usable.
Our newer sales platform ( below ) will eventually replace this system for new deployments.
I help manage a laundry cleaning and rental service for holiday lets and we needed a system to help automate the admin side as it's a tiny business and so needs to be time efficient, so we developed this system to do that.
It is built on top of our central sales platform, with several custom admin screens and a completely custom control panel for customer use, for placing orders, viewing statements, pricing, quotes etc.
Still under heavy development and in testing with one of our clients, our sales system is built as an order, dispatch, stock, pricing and customer management system, for offline as well as online sales. Eventually we are looking to have it replace our current ecommerce platform as well as gaining point of sale functionality.
Built around similar technology as our letting software. Development so far has been focused on offline sales and sales ingest from other platforms, CRM and dispatch control.
Most of our software platforms and websites developed are built on top of our CMS / website frameworks. The website framework contains all of the libraries/modules needed to create a public website, intranet or extranet.
It has an administration control panel that is designed to be built around the type of site that it is serving, so we can make the admin side custom fitted for any type of site.
It uses around 15-20 times less system resources than a wordpress based system, which is important for the kind of sites we typically develop, where frontend caching is not really an option and the user is fully exposed to any slowness a system may have.
For Purnells we are in the process of writing a sprawling suite of case management systems and tools, focused around a central extranet web application allowing multiple offices and mobile workers to work on cases easily.
The workflow is completely tailored to their needs & specifications. The suite is comprised of node.js, php, javascript, typescript and electron inter-connected elements with a large and complex SQL database and a robust document filing and multi-site storage system with disaster recovery protection built in.
A local community football club asked us to put together a site to manage and display the public parts of club activity, so we built upon our CMS and web framework to make a management platform for it.
The system manages team series, teams, coaches, sponsors, matches and league tables. Coaches have their own logins where they can edit content related to their team/s as well as access to coach-only pages.
KernowTek is the trading name of John Hocking, based near Helston, Cornwall, UK. It is a very small business primarily operated by myself ( John ) with additional help as needed on a per-project basis.
I started programming from around 8, getting my first computer in the late 80s, coming from a farming family it was not an obvious choice for an interest but I took to it. As a moderately introverted as well as a "free thinking" knowledge/understanding fiend of a person it was a perfect match, an outlet for my energy as well as an unrelenting fountain of information to try to interrogate and attempt to understand.
After returning home from university, where I studied integrated circuit (microchip) design, initially intrigued by hardware development but eventually realising that it didn't fulfil me in the same way that software development did (also, deep-lore engineering math, quantum physics and thermal dynamics stretched my brain a quite an unpleasant way!), I decided to try and make a living out of software development and network/system design, much more visual and you can see your progress! I've been working in this area of study for over 20 years.
I really like projects that are different, that don't just draw from my existing knowledge but force me to look at new solutions or new ways of thinking, treading new ground. I also like automating processes and connecting systems together. Eliminating "busy work" is especially rewarding, letting people focus on tasks that require brain engagement, making decisions, as opposed to being stuck just transposing data from one place to another.
It's really important to me that I do right by my clients, at least to the best of my ability, to make sure that they are not paying more than they should and that the result and experience is a good one, my work is very personal to me, it's not just a job, it's a craft.
01326 563 099
This is usually the best number (it's VOIP) and it is also the preferred for voicemail.
07763 494 632
This number hardly ever has reception - please leave messages on the landline above instead.
Google: kernowtek@gmail.com
Microsoft: kernowtek@live.co.uk
Dropbox: john@kernowtek.co.uk
KernowTek, Clies Farmhouse, Gunwalloe, Helston, Cornwall, TR12 7QQ