// technology consulting · chicago //

Technology that serves people — not the other way around.

I help organizations turn fragile, frustrating systems into ones that quietly just work — so your team can get back to the work that matters.

Available for new consulting engagements
Portrait of Ed Cho, technology consultant
15+ yrs in the trenches infra · cloud · security
15+ years
building & leading technology teams
Global scale
infrastructure, applications & data
tools I reach for
awsazurecloudflare jiraoktanext.js phpsalesforcesql wordpress
// what i do //

Steady hands for the hard, unglamorous parts.

Whether you’re a startup, a small business, or a global nonprofit, the goal is the same: technology you don’t have to think about.

Cloud & infrastructure

Edge, migrations, resilience and cost control on Cloudflare and AWS. Fewer 2 a.m. pages, lower bills, room to grow.

Security & identity

SSO, Okta, sane access controls and DDoS mitigation that actually holds up under real traffic and real attacks.

Fractional tech leadership

A senior technology partner for strategy, vendors, budgets and teams — the value of a CTO without a full-time hire.

Privacy & data

Practical, people-first privacy and data hygiene — tools and policies that respect the humans actually using them.

// how i work //

Start with the people and the problem. The smallest change that makes the biggest difference usually wins.

01 — listen

Understand the real problem

What’s actually slowing your team down — not just the symptom that landed in the ticket.

02 — simplify

Right-size the fix

No gold-plating, no rip-and-replace for its own sake. The leanest solution that lasts.

03 — hand off

Leave it better than I found it

Documented, maintainable, and owned by your team — not dependent on me forever.

// selected work //

Things I’ve built and rescued.

A mix of systems shipped end-to-end and infrastructure quietly kept standing under pressure.

Self-service badge printing web app

Self-service badging

purpose <print visitor & employee badges on demand, no IT in the loop>
tech <php; jquery; ec2>

Staff shift scheduling application

Staff scheduler

purpose <schedule & manage shifts across a 24/7 operation>
tech <php; mysql; jquery; ec2>

Real-time package tracking display

Package tracking

purpose <track packages for guests & staff on a live display>
tech <php; mysql; jquery; ec2>

Global technology stack

Led infrastructure, applications and data for a global nonprofit — so the organization could focus on its mission, not its uptime.

scope <infra · apps · data>   impact <one reliable foundation, worldwide>

Edge hardening & DDoS defense

Diagnosed and absorbed a flood of 40M+ malicious requests at the edge without taking the site down for real users.

tech <cloudflare; rate-limiting; managed challenge; waiting room>

Identity & SSO migration

Designed a lean pipeline to move thousands of user profiles and photos into Okta-backed single sign-on — a clean bridge, not a forklift.

tech <cloudflare workers; r2; okta>

Ed hiking by an alpine lake Ed whitewater rafting with a group Ed at a nonprofit conference Ed running a race across a bridge Ed sitting inside a jet engine cowling Ed with friends at a Chicago ballgame
// who you’d be working with //

Hi, I’m Ed.

I’m a Chicago-based technologist who’s equally comfortable wrangling servers, writing code, or leading a team. I spent the bulk of my career making technology genuinely serve the people who depend on it — where reliability isn’t about uptime charts, it’s about real people getting what they need.

I think about privacy every day — not as a rejection of technology, but as a belief that people deserve tools that respect them. When I’m offline, I’m usually somewhere between a backpacking trail, a bizarre plane route I found on points, and the finish line of a race that questions my life choices around mile eight.

B.S. Computer & Electrical Engineering, Rutgers Speaker, ShoreTel One Partner Conference 15+ years in nonprofit & enterprise IT
// let’s talk //

Have a system that should just work?

Tell me what’s slowing you down. We’ll figure out the smallest change that makes the biggest difference — no obligation, no jargon.