Technology makes more sense when someone can connect the pieces.
Technology.Business.People.
I’ve spent more than three decades working where those three things come together.
I’ve been the engineer working through the technical problem, the executive responsible for the decision and the outcome, and the person sitting between vendors, operators and leadership trying to make sure everyone is actually solving the same problem.
That’s the perspective behind Marshall Technology.
Mark Marshall
Founder & PresidentMarshall Technology, LLC
30+ years in technology
LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)A lot of technology problems happen in the space between the conversations.
- The vendor understands the product.
- The engineer understands the technology.
- The person running the operation understands what needs to happen.
- Leadership understands where the business needs to go.
And sometimes they’re all right.
They’re just talking past each other.
A technical limitation may sound unreasonable to the person trying to run the business. A business requirement may sound impossible when it’s described in terms of how someone thinks the system should work.
But when you understand both sides, the problem often looks different.
What does the business actually need to accomplish? What is the technology actually capable of? Which constraints are real, and which are assumptions based on how something works today?
Sometimes there’s another way to get to the outcome everyone actually needs.
Sometimes the most useful person in the conversation is the one who can speak all of the languages.
That’s a role I’ve played throughout my career.
Start by understanding how the pieces work.
Technology changes constantly. The underlying discipline doesn’t.
- Understand the problem.
- Understand the system.
- Understand what depends on what.
- Separate the requirement from the way it’s being handled today.
- Then figure out the most practical way to get from one to the other.
I’ve approached technology that way throughout my career, whether the problem involved an application, a network, a business process, a security issue, an acquisition or a decision about where to invest next.
I’ve worked hands-on in enterprise support and systems engineering. I’ve led application-development teams and watched a targeted internal application grow into a mission-critical operating platform supporting CRM, HR, billing, communications, reporting, analytics, asset management and operational workflows.
I’ve worked through successive generations of infrastructure and applications, from frame relay to MPLS to SD-WAN, from traditional data centers to cloud platforms, and now into AI-assisted development and automation.
Sometimes understanding the problem means getting deep into the technology.
Sometimes it means stepping back far enough to realize the technology isn’t really the problem.
You need to be able to do both.
- Engineer to executive
- 25+ years in senior living technology leadership
- 32 senior living communities across 7 states
- M&A, Integrations, Divestitures, Carve-outs
I’ve spent my career on the inside.
Before starting Marshall Technology, I spent decades leading and supporting technology inside operating companies.
That distinction matters to me.
I’ve been responsible for technology budgets, systems, infrastructure, vendors, cybersecurity, projects and people. I’ve worked directly with CEOs and executive leadership and alongside the people using the technology every day.
I’ve had to explain why an investment was necessary, defend why another one wasn’t, work through outages and security issues, manage vendors, plan migrations and support acquisitions.
And when the project was finished or the vendor went home, I was still there.
My team and I had to operate what we implemented, support the people using it and live with the decisions we made.
For more than two decades, I led technology as Brandywine Living grew to 32 senior living communities across seven states, working across operations, finance, HR, sales, clinical leadership and executive management.
Following its acquisition, I continued in Vice President of Information Technology roles supporting technology integration and transition work, including mergers, integrations, divestitures and carve-outs involving identity, collaboration, HR and payroll, CRM, operational systems, infrastructure and data.
Technology looks different when you have to live with what happens next.
That’s the perspective I bring to a client engagement.
Complicated situations don’t need more noise.
- Something isn’t working.
- A project is behind.
- Two vendors disagree about who’s responsible.
- Leadership is asking questions.
- The technical explanation doesn’t make sense to the people affected by it.
Adding more urgency usually doesn’t make the answer clearer.
My approach is to listen first.
Understand what’s actually happening. Separate the important issue from the noise. Figure out what we know, what we don’t know and what actually needs to be decided.
Then explain it in a way the people involved can understand.
People make better technology decisions when they understand what they’re deciding.
I want the people I work with to feel comfortable asking questions, challenging assumptions and saying they don’t understand something.
Technology is complicated enough. The conversation about it doesn’t have to be.
Why Marshall Technology?
After more than three decades working inside organizations, I wanted to put that experience to work across different companies and different kinds of problems.
Marshall Technology lets me bring that experience to organizations that need it, without forcing every problem into the same kind of engagement.
Sometimes leadership needs an independent view of the technology environment. Sometimes the business needs a technology strategy or someone to step into the leadership seat. Sometimes there’s a cybersecurity concern, an AI question, a process that isn’t working or a gap between systems that needs to be solved.
The starting point isn’t the service. It’s understanding the problem.
Then we figure out what kind of help actually makes sense.
And sometimes the right answer isn’t Marshall Technology.
You may need a specialist, an MSP, a software vendor, an attorney or simply a product that already solves the problem.
Recognizing that is part of the job.
Marshall Technology doesn’t need to be the answer to every technology problem. We need to help you find the right answer to yours.
Let’s figure out what’s actually going on.
You don’t need to know which Marshall Technology service you need.
Tell me what’s happening, what you’re trying to accomplish or where you’re getting stuck.
We’ll start there.