I’m Sergo Simonishvili, an independent developer. I build websites, portals, bots and automation systems. I came to development through system administration, networking and managing a technical team. That is why I look at a task not only from the code side: I need to understand who will use the system, how it will work and what it will take to support it.
The beginning: school networks and first programs
Until 2010 I worked as a system administrator at two schools. I maintained local networks and computers, fixed failures, protected systems against viruses and helped staff get to grips with the equipment.
I got to know programming and Linux before I ever worked for an internet provider. First I wrote and launched a website on my own, then decided to set up my own hosting for it: I installed Linux on a laptop and hosted the site there. So one practical task led me to two fields at once, and I still work in both of them today.
City internet provider: from installer to head of department
I applied for a system administrator position but started as an installer. I supported the local forum and tracker, took an interest in how the network was built and took on tasks beyond my immediate duties. Later I became a system administrator, then a lead system administrator and head of department.
This is where automation became an important part of my work. I wrote scripts that monitored network services and restarted them after failures or memory leaks. For the accounting department I prepared tools to generate reports on their own. Later I set up reporting by email: an employee sent a request and received the result without my involvement.
Federal network: leading a team
After the city network was integrated into a federal operator’s infrastructure, I moved to the merged company as the leader of a group of 23 people. At first I also continued to support the former network until those tasks were handed over to a dedicated system administrator.
In management I aimed for the same self-sufficiency as in technical processes. Step by step I managed to stabilise the team and organise the work so that staff handled everyday tasks themselves, and my involvement was needed mainly in non-standard situations. The group has had no staff turnover for many years.
Independent development and business automation
I bring my administration and management experience to development: I study the workflow, find manual operations and build tools that help staff complete tasks on their own.
One of my recent projects is automating subscriber connection and service for a small internet provider. Previously, installers had to get through to an administrator by phone and wait for them to carry out the necessary steps at a computer.
Now the system detects new subscriber equipment by itself and provides temporary internet access for setup and the first payment. Through a bot, the installer links the equipment to the subscriber. On the internal portal, staff see connection details, optical line status, balance and plan, and carry out the necessary operations with buttons, without typing commands by hand.
I describe how this system works in detail in a case study.
What I mean by good automation
My goal is simple: to set up the work so that I get called as rarely as possible. So that an employee can get a report, an installer can connect a subscriber, and a support specialist can sort out a problem without waiting for a developer’s help.
When everyday processes run on their own, there is time for the next task. That is the kind of result I care about.
