IBM champion and PHP guru joins the Fresche IT Strategy team to help IBM i clients determine direction and choose the best modernization strategies to meet their IT and business goals.
Montreal, Canada, August 7, 2017 – Fresche Solutions, a leading provider of IBM i application management and modernization solutions, announced today that Mike Pavlak has joined Fresche as a senior IBM i strategist. Fresche’s explosive growth over the past few years has resulted in numerous client demands for end-to-end Power platform and IBM i services, including IT strategy, UI modernization, staff augmentation, skillset replacement, code transformation, application support and more. Mr. Pavlak will help Fresche’s IT Strategy team guide these clients to a customized path that supports their current business needs, ensures growth and readies them for the future.
“We are absolutely thrilled and honored to have Mike join the Fresche IT Strategy team,” said Andy Kulakowski, President and CEO of Fresche. “Our customer base is growing rapidly so we need senior strategists like Mike to help clients decide how best to manage and modernize their IBM i environment to support business growth. Mike’s arrival is a major development for our clients – he’ll help them analyze their situation, understand their options and map out a course of action. He’ll also help us internally as we ramp up to provide even more planning and strategy services.”
Mr. Pavlak has wide experience with IBM systems, first with the mainframe and since 1992, with midrange solutions. He spent many years developing applications in RPG, CL and PHP before joining Tripp Lite as a solutions consultant. Most recently, Mr. Pavlak was at Zend Technologies, working as a solutions consultant with their IBM i sales team.
Mr. Pavlak has written extensively on IBM i solutions, notably for IBM Systems Magazine, and as technical editor for iPro Developer and System iNEWS. A noted expert on PHP, he recently participated in a lively iTalk with Paul Tuohy on the Influence of PHP on Open Source, and has contributed to blogs, podcasts and webinars at Zend and other organizations. He’s a familiar face at user groups, trade shows and industry events, leading sessions on modernization, PHP and the future of i.
“Mike Pavlak is one of the most experienced IBM i modernization specialists in the field,” said Fresche's Chief Commercial Officer, Robert Heroux, himself a 31-year veteran of IBM. “He’ll draw on all of his knowledge and expertise to help our IT Strategy team guide our clients. The demand for strategy, planning and clear direction is more critical than ever. Many corporations are looking at major decisions about the future of their IBM i environments, and they can’t make those decisions without a clear and complete picture of their IT systems and an understanding of how they can easily be leveraged to maximize business growth. That’s where Mike Pavlak comes in – he has the depth of experience to help our clients make the best decisions.”
On joining the Fresche team, Mike Pavlak says: “The length and breadth of solutions and the incredible energy of the executive team made Fresche a perfect choice for me. I love the fact that these folks understand the IBM i community. From solutions to services to support, Fresche provides a one-stop shop for any company to move forward with their modernization and new application initiatives. I am thrilled to be part of the Fresche team and can’t wait to continue working with the best customers in the world.”
Emmanuel Tzinevrakis, Fresche Vice-President of Pre-Sales, added: “I am so proud that we were able to attract such a talented and outstanding individual. Mike fits perfectly with our culture, which is built on team, transparency and integrity. He’ll help us to continue delivering the IT strategy and planning services that build the foundation for our clients’ modernization initiatives.”
Mr. Pavlak begins his duties with the Fresche IT Strategy team immediately.
About Fresche Solutions
Fresche helps IBM i customers meet all their challenges. As a leading expert in IBM i, we provide products and services that span the complete IBM i application modernization and management spectrum. We enable IT with modernization strategies to support business and improve financial performance, increase market competitiveness, remove risk and add business value. With the widest solution portfolio in the IBM i marketplace and 100% referenceability, our team of experts helps organizations future-proof their business by modernizing business processes, technologies and applications. Companies running RPG, COBOL, CA 2E SYNON and Java applications rely on us for comprehensive, automated solutions that optimize IBM i systems and help take advantage of technologies such as Web, Mobile, Cloud and RPGOA on IBM i. Our complete portfolio includes solutions in the following areas:
For further details, please contact:
Marcel Sarrasin
VP Marketing and Business Development
Tel: +1 250.655.1882
Cell:+1 250.857.5023
Email: marcel.sarrasin@freschesolutions.com
Christine McDowell
Senior Marketing Director
Tel: +1 514.747.7007 ext: 8851
Cell:+1 514.220.1309
Email: Christine.Mcdowell@freschesolutions.com
