Brian Benz

Current

CEO at DataVida
CEO at Benz Technologies

Past

WW Principal Consultant at IBM
Senior Consultant at IBM
Systems Architect at Bechtel SAIC Corporation

Owner, IT Architect, Consultant at Benz Technologies, Inc.
Project Manager, Systems Development at Air Liquide
Sales, Analyst, Developer, Systems Administrator at Early Career

see less...

3 more...

Recommended

19 people have recommended Brian

Connections

320 connections

Industry

Information Technology and Services

Websites

Brian Benz’s Summary

-More than 20 years experience with Information Technology (IT).
-Owned and operated an IT Service and Training Business/IBM Business Partnership for 10 years
-Estimated, sold, managed, delivered and supported dozens of mission-critical IT solutions
-Experienced with multicultural and multilingual environments and long-term overseas assignments
-3 years at IBM selling and delivering Master Data Management (MDM) and Entity Analytic (EAS) solutions
-15 years selling and delivering Lotus Notes, Domino and related solutions, recognized subject-matter expert.
-Developed and delivered IT training and seminars for IBM, The View, Idealliance, and others at worldwide events
-Author of the XML Programming Bible (John Wiley & Sons, Sept 2003)
-Co-Author of the Notes and Domino 6 Programming Bible (John Wiley & Sons, Apr 2003)
-Co-Author of the IBM Redbook “XML: Powered by Domino” (IBM, Nov 2000)
-Author of dozens of articles in IT industry publications
-Thousands of IT professionals have used my published techniques and advice in mission-critical solutions
-Certified IBM Instructor, IBM e-business solutions architect and solutions advisor
-Certified IBM Lotus Notes and Domino principal developer (PCLP), and an administrator (CLP)
-Author of the IT industry Weblog Software Soapbox - http://www.softwaresoapbox.com/

Brian Benz’s Specialties:

I'm an IT professional based in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Brian Benz’s Experience

CEO

DataVida

(Information Technology and Services industry)

July 2009 — Present (5 months)

Specialists in building information from data, including:

* Custom Data Analytics, Entity Analytics, and Master Data Management Solutions
* Solution Analysis and comparison
* Data Extraction and Cleansing
* Data Analysis and Interpretation
* XML, DTD and Schema Design
* XBRL solutions
* Data Integration Strategy
* SOA Development
* Data Deliivery, Presentation and Reporting
CEO

Benz Technologies

(Information Technology and Services industry)

March 2009 — Present (9 months)

Benz Technologies provides compliance and integration solutions for IBM's Lotus Notes and Domino platform. We also provide advanced Domino, XML and SOA consulting services.

Our worldwide clients benefit from our expert development, training, architecture, migration, and audit services.
WW Principal Consultant

IBM

(Public Company; IBM; Information Technology and Services industry)

September 2007 — March 2009 (1 year 7 months)

Accomplishments: Delivered threat and fraud intelligence (TFI) solutions to governments and organizations worldwide using IBM’s Entity Analytic Solutions (EAS) and Master Data Management (MDM) offerings. Principal consultants work with customers, business partners, IBM sales, project managers, and legal and implementation teams to manage relationships and ensure customer satisfaction during IBM product and service engagements. Responsibilities include estimating solution budgets and resources, drafting and negotiating contracts, managing solution delivery and customer expectations during implementation, and cultivating customer references. Developed tools for estimation and planning, and contract templates.

Benefits: The implemented systems have delivered benefits ranging from preventing terrorism and saving lives to discovering money laundering schemes and avoiding mortgage fraud. The estimation tools have reduced the cost of producing a solution services estimate by 70-80% while improving estimate accuracy and reducing sales cycles. The contract templates have reduced misunderstandings by clearly defining common implementation issues and their related assumptions.
Senior Consultant

IBM

(Public Company; IBM; Information Technology and Services industry)

March 2006 — September 2007 (1 year 7 months)

Accomplishments: Provided services to clients of the IBM Entity Analytic Solutions (EAS) Group. Delivered threat and fraud intelligence (TFI) solutions to foreign and domestic government and corporate clients. Solutions included border security for foreign governments, money laundering detection for banks, and fraud detection for foreign and domestic stock exchanges. Created several XML-based ETL tools. Advised and supported EAS product engineering and QA. Assisted in the development of MDM and EAS implementation processes. Produced extensive documentation on EAS products.

Benefits: Every solution implementation exceeded expectations, resulting in benefits such as safer international borders and less bank and stock fraud. The XML-based ETL tools and processes helped deliver projects on time and on budget, as well as enhancing solution offerings and implementation processes.
Systems Architect

Bechtel SAIC Corporation

(Information Technology and Services industry)

March 2004 — March 2006 (2 years 1 month)

Accomplishments: Responsible for an application that archives mail and application data to XML with version tracking for regulatory purposes. Created project plans and completed multiple projects with tight deadlines and complex deliverables. Provided training and mentoring to development and admin teams. Designed, implemented and managed a customized Software Configuration Management (SCM) process. Planned and managed the migration of 2500 email accounts and related collaborative applications to a new OS platform and application version.
Benefits: The XML archiving system provided Web search access to hard-to find data and exceeded regulatory requirements for version tracking. The SCM process has improved the quality and efficiency of software development and assisted in achieving CMM level 2 certification for the IT group.
Owner, IT Architect, Consultant

Benz Technologies, Inc.

(Information Technology and Services industry)

September 1994 — September 2004 (10 years 1 month)

Accomplishments: Owned and operated an IT Consulting and Training Business / IBM Business Partnership. Leveraged more than 20 years of technology industry experience to provide services to various projects to companies worldwide.

Clients included IBM, Wachovia Bank, Panasonic, Lexis-Nexis, John Wiley and Sons, NEC, BellSouth, Bell Canada, and Air Liquide.

Solutions included asset tracking, business intelligence, business partner management, CMM, competitive intelligence, content management, corporate budgeting, CRM, custom documentation, custom training materials, enterprise information delivery, group faxing, help desk support, agreement tracking, Infrastructure migration and upgrades, mailing list management, new business opportunity evaluation, process management, product development, project proposal management, repair (RMA) tracking, resource planning, SCM, system and infrastructure audits, Web applications, Web newsletters, Web portals, Web service development, workflow, and XML content syndication.

Responsibilities included solution budget and resource estimation, sales, project management, consulting, systems and infrastructure architecture, application development, system administration, messaging/application migration/upgrades, and customized user/developer training. Authored/co-authored three technical books and numerous articles. Presented dozens of IT seminars and lectures at conferences worldwide.

Benefits: Numerous complex IT solutions were delivered on time and on budget. Thousands of IT professionals have read my books and articles, attended my seminars, and used my advice and techniques to successfully deliver IT solutions.
Project Manager, Systems Development

Air Liquide

(Public Company; AL; Chemicals industry)

March 1993 — September 1995 (2 years 7 months)

Accomplishments: Managed a staff of seven developers and administrators that implemented a messaging and groupware infrastructure, and migrated messaging systems. Created applications for sales and lead management, collections tracking, safety information (MSDS) distribution, and help desk support. Developed the corporate intranet. Managed an eight-person team to customize a data warehouse and operations system. Planned, developed and implemented a distributed accounting system for order entry, invoicing, inventory, purchasing, payables and general ledger.

Benefits: The new systems resulted in a 35% cost reduction by increasing process efficiencies. The implementation of the new messaging and groupware systems reduced travel and administration costs by exploiting new ways of communication and access to information within the company and with customers.
Sales, Analyst, Developer, Systems Administrator

Early Career

(Information Technology and Services industry)

March 1983 — March 1993 (10 years 1 month)

In my early career (1983-1993) I developed my technical, leadership and sales skills while working for several companies, in Canada (Seaboard Life Insurance, Sunny Hills Hospital, MicroAge), the UK (NatWest Bank, County Unit Trusts), and Australia (AMP Society, Agoston Douglas and Partners).

Additional Information

Brian Benz’s Websites:

Brian Benz’s Groups:

The Greater IBM Connection: IBM's alumni program for past and present IBM employees
Lotus Professionals (3500+ Members)
IBM co/ex workers independent group
IBMers
Las Vegas Information Technology
Guru's of Lotus - Worldwide
SOA Service Oriented Architecture Technology Architects
Social Media Academy
Eastridge Infotech Las Vegas
TEKsystems- Las Vegas Network
Business Analytics and Optimization