Michael Free

IT Professional | System Administrator | DevOps & Automation Specialist

About Me

"A versatile automation, infrastructure, sales, and support specialist."

I am an IT professional with a deep-seated drive to automate processes and build efficient, reliable systems. Based in Waterloo Region, Canada's renowned tech capital, and with many years of experience working in Toronto's dynamic market, I've built a career across a uniquely broad spectrum of organizations. I have directly contributed to projects, support, and technology sales for non-profits, healthcare providers, municipal governments, Fortune 500 companies, and especially small and medium-sized businesses. This diverse exposure has given me a keen understanding of the distinct technological and operational challenges each sector faces.

My approach is automation-first. In my current role, I've developed scripts and frameworks in PowerShell, Python, and Ansible that have significantly improved our team's efficiency. I've automated onboarding workflows, created software deployment packages, and built systems that manage everything from domain migrations to vulnerability scanning. I take pride in seeing a process that used to take hours or days become something that runs reliably in the background in minutes.

I have extensive experience working closely with sales teams as a solutions architect, where I translated technical capabilities into compelling business value to win new business and guide customer success. This involved everything from architecting complex datacenter solutions and navigating intricate software licensing and copyright landscapes during the sales cycle to building detailed proof-of-concepts that de-risked projects and demonstrated tangible outcomes for clients.

My technical foundation is built on heavy administration skills across both Linux and Windows Server environments. I have deep, hands-on experience with container orchestration using Kubernetes, and virtualization/infrastructure platforms including VMware, Proxmox, and LXD. I manage a wide array of web services and am familiar with deploying and managing workloads in major hyperscaler cloud environments, including Azure, AWS, and GCP. My expertise extends into specialized areas such as cybersecurity, where I've implemented vulnerability management and secure authentication systems, and digital signage/kiosk management, where I've designed and automated entire deployment and content systems from the ground up.

I believe in learning by doing, and my GitHub repositories reflect that hands-on philosophy. I enjoy creating tools that solve real problems... whether it's a script to inventory all hardware on a network, a project to automate a full Drupal installation, or building a proof-of-concept Bitcoin Cash ATM from scratch. I was also part of a team that developed a decentralized library system, which was a semi-finalist at a major blockchain hackathon. These projects allow me to explore new technologies and deepen my practical skills.

My experience is broad by design. I've worked on the front lines of technical support, built infrastructure as code in DevOps environments, and provided strategic presales consultation. This gives me a valuable perspective: I understand not just how to build and fix systems, but also how technology decisions align with business needs, compliance requirements, and budgetary realities across any organization.

I hold certifications from CompTIA, Microsoft, and others, but I consider my greatest skill to be my ability to listen to a problem, break it down, and engineer a sustainable solution. I thrive on collaboration, whether it's working within an IT team, partnering with sales to win new business, or explaining technical concepts to stakeholders.

At my core, I am a builder and a problem-solver who is passionate about using technology to make operations smoother, more secure, and more effective.