Honest answers to common questions.

HiTek is a technology consultancy based in Fort Collins, Colorado. We are technology-agnostic: depending on the problem, the right answer is a best-in-breed product configured properly, a custom system built around your workflow, or — most often — a hybrid of the two, connected so they behave like one thing. The core team is small and senior, backed by a network of specialist contractors and 25 years of industry relationships we can draw on when a problem needs particular expertise.

Four capabilities: technical leadership (fractional CTO, architecture and product decisions, technical rescue, vendor oversight); custom software (multi-tenant SaaS, internal operating tools, customer portals, modernizing existing applications); integrations and automation (APIs, EDI and B2B workflows, ERP, CRM and e-commerce connections); and AI systems (grounded knowledge systems, agents and copilots, document workflows — with human review and approval boundaries). Across all four we are product-neutral: we will recommend buying, building, or combining, based on what actually serves the result.

We are not tied to one industry — the common thread is operational complexity. Recent work spans B2B marketplaces and procurement, franchise e-commerce across 50+ locations, funeral-home software and memorial commerce, and horticulture ERP with retail EDI. If your business runs on systems that do not talk to each other, or on a workflow that has outgrown a spreadsheet, that is the kind of problem we take.

HiTek is a remote-first practice based in the Northern Colorado region (the Fort Collins area), serving clients across the United States and beyond. We collaborate over video, shared documents, and the tools your team already uses, so geography isn't a constraint — you get the same senior people whether you're nearby or across the country.

A fractional CTO is a senior technical leader who works with your business part-time, giving you CTO-level judgment without a full-time executive hire. You should consider one when your business depends on software but no one technical owns the roadmap, when systems don't talk to each other, when you're about to spend real money on a platform or vendor decision, or when you're weighing AI but aren't sure where it would actually help. The role is mostly decision support: what to build, what to buy, what to integrate, what to fix first, and what risk is hiding under the surface.

Choose a fractional CTO when you need senior judgment and ownership of technical decisions but not 40 hours a week of it; choose a development agency when the decisions are already clear and you mainly need building hands; choose a full-time hire when technology is core enough that you need someone in the business every day. The cleanest setups often combine them: a fractional CTO sets direction and reviews the work while an internal team or an agency executes. The mistake to avoid is buying building capacity before anyone owns the decision about what should be built.

Practical AI means using AI inside a real workflow where it saves time, improves a decision, or removes repetitive work — not a chatbot bolted onto the side. In practice that means giving the AI the right context (a clean source of truth), clear permissions, human approval points for anything risky, logging of what it did, and a fallback when it's unsure. Good first use cases are usually specific and unglamorous: summarizing new leads before a call, flagging stale follow-ups, drafting a weekly report from live data, or organizing incoming requests for human review.

An AI project is worth building when it targets a process that is painful enough to fix, where the relevant information is identifiable, a human clearly owns the decision, and you can tell afterward whether it's working. Before writing any code, the most useful question is: what context would a capable person need to do this job well, and can we give that context to a system safely and consistently? If those answers are vague, AI will still sound confident but won't be safe to trust — and the honest call is often to clean up the workflow or data first.

Start AI where the work is repetitive, the rules are reasonably clear, and a mistake is cheap to catch — so the system can earn trust before it touches anything high-stakes. Common strong starting points are document intake and summarization, internal knowledge search over trusted docs, lead and CRM enrichment before a human makes the call, and drafting reports or replies for human approval. Keep a person in the loop on anything customer-facing or hard to undo, and widen the AI's scope only as the logs show it working.

You connect disconnected systems by first deciding which system is the source of truth for each kind of record, then moving data between them with APIs, an integration platform like Boomi, or EDI for B2B exchanges — with clear error handling and ownership so nothing silently drifts. The hard part is rarely the wiring; it's resolving identity (matching the same customer or order across tools) and agreeing which system wins when two disagree. Done well, integration replaces copy-paste work and keeps your systems aligned without anyone babysitting them.

Yes — technical rescue is a core part of what HiTek does: stabilizing software that has become risky to change, recovering from a vendor handoff that went badly, auditing integrations that keep breaking, and producing a prioritized plan that reduces risk without forcing a premature rebuild. The work usually starts with a system and codebase review and an integration audit, then a stabilization plan and clear technical direction for your team, contractors, or leadership.

HiTek engagements are scoped to the problem rather than sold as open-ended hours, and they usually start small. Common formats are a focused technical strategy session to clarify the problem and next steps, a system audit or rescue sprint to review and stabilize an existing product, a defined build sprint with concrete deliverables, or an ongoing fractional technical partnership for roadmap and oversight. The right format and budget depend on scope, so the honest first step is a short conversation — we'll tell you if something isn't worth building.

HiTek is a lean, remote-first technical partner — led by founder Andrew Erie — that builds practical AI workflows, custom software, integrations, and technical rescue plans for businesses with complex, real-world operations. It's the right fit when the problem is operational, technical, and business-critical: teams running on spreadsheets and inboxes, systems that won't stay in sync, AI that needs to live inside a real workflow, or a roadmap that needs a realistic owner. It's not the right fit for a simple brochure website or when an off-the-shelf tool already does the job.

HiTek is a remote-first practice based in the Northern Colorado region (the Fort Collins area) that works with clients across the United States and beyond. Engagements run over video, shared docs, and the tools your team already uses, so location isn't a constraint on working together — the same senior people do the work whether you're nearby or across the country.

We start by understanding the workflow, the constraint, and what success would look like. From there we define the smallest useful scope, make the key architecture and buy-versus-build decisions, build in visible increments, test against real use, and plan the release and ownership handoff. The exact cadence changes with the engagement; the important part is that decisions, risks, and progress stay visible.

It depends on the amount of uncertainty, integration work, and change involved. A focused diagnosis or technical review may take days or a few weeks; a defined build may run for several weeks or months; a platform or modernization program is usually delivered in stages. After the initial discovery, we provide a scope, assumptions, and timeline specific to the work rather than forcing it into a generic package.

Directly. You talk to the person doing the work, not a coordinator. Expect a regular check-in at a cadence that suits the engagement, written notes on decisions and trade-offs so the reasoning is not lost, and access to the tracker and repositories for the work in progress. We adapt to the tools your team already uses rather than asking you to adopt ours.

We agree on handoff and support before launch. That can include documentation, training, repository and account transfer, a defined period for correcting defects in the delivered scope, and an optional ongoing maintenance or fractional-CTO arrangement. The exact responsibilities, response times, and support period are written into the project agreement rather than implied by a blanket website promise.

It depends entirely on the problem, and we would rather scope it honestly than quote a range that means nothing. Engagements usually begin with a short, focused diagnosis — enough to understand the workflow, find the real constraint, and decide what is worth building — which produces a concrete estimate before any large commitment. Plenty of engagements stop there, as advice, and that is a perfectly good outcome. Tell us what is not working and we will tell you what it takes.

The biggest cost drivers are uncertainty, workflow complexity, the number and quality of systems being integrated, data migration, security or compliance requirements, interface design, testing, deployment constraints, and how much operational support is needed after launch. We reduce uncertainty before expanding scope so the estimate is tied to evidence rather than optimism.

Engagements are commonly billed by milestone, time period, or an agreed block of work. The payment schedule depends on scope, duration, and risk and is documented in the proposal or services agreement. HiTek does not advertise consumer financing or promise that every project qualifies for a particular payment arrangement.

Proposals separate HiTek's work from third-party costs such as hosting, software licenses, model usage, transaction fees, or specialist services. Assumptions and exclusions are written down, and scope changes are discussed before the additional work begins. Unknowns can still surface in complex systems; when they do, we explain the impact and options rather than burying them in an invoice.

We are technology-agnostic. Recent work includes TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node.js, Python, .NET, PostgreSQL, cloud services, APIs, EDI, and AI model providers. We also work inside existing platforms and older systems when replacing them would add cost without improving the outcome. The stack follows the operating problem, the team's capabilities, and the long-term ownership plan.

Yes — most of our work involves systems that already exist, and we are deliberately technology-agnostic about them. That includes API and data integration, EDI and partner exchanges, ERP, CRM and e-commerce connections, and putting a stable interface around an older application so it can be modernized one workflow at a time instead of replaced all at once. Keeping a tool that works and connecting it properly is frequently a better outcome than replacing it.

Yes, when cloud architecture is part of the problem. We help with application hosting, managed data services, serverless workloads, deployment pipelines, observability, cost review, and moving or modernizing existing systems. We do not push a multi-cloud or container strategy by default; the right setup is the least complicated one that meets the reliability, security, and scale requirements.

Security is designed into the work: authentication and authorization that match real roles, least-privilege access, careful handling of credentials and personal data, dependency hygiene, logging, and review of consequential actions. Where an engagement has regulatory or contractual requirements, we design to those requirements and work with the client's security or audit partners. HiTek provides engineering services, not a pre-certified product, and no website statement substitutes for an engagement-specific security review.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a standard way for trading partners to exchange documents such as purchase orders, acknowledgements, ship notices, and invoices. Large retailers and supply-chain partners often require it. The value is not the format itself; it is reducing manual entry while making validation, exceptions, and ownership explicit.

We work primarily with X12 transaction sets and also integrate XML, JSON, flat-file, API, AS2, SFTP, and platform-specific partner formats. Common X12 work includes 850 purchase orders, 855 acknowledgements, 856 advance ship notices, and 810 invoices. The exact standards and transport are confirmed against each trading partner's implementation guide before scope is set.

We start with the business document and source-of-truth systems, then define partner requirements, mappings, validation rules, acknowledgements, transport, retry behavior, alerting, and who owns each exception. We test with representative data and partner certification flows before production traffic moves. The aim is not merely to transmit a file; it is to make failures visible and recoverable.

We design, implement, and support EDI workflows — X12, EDIFACT, XML, AS2, SFTP, and API-based partner exchanges — including acknowledgements, validation, retry behavior, alerting, and partner onboarding, so a rejected document becomes something actionable instead of disappearing into a queue. We are not a 24/7 managed-hosting provider; where that is needed we implement on a platform that supplies it and stay responsible for the integration itself.

Custom platform development creates software around a workflow or business model that off-the-shelf products cannot support cleanly. It may include multiple user roles or tenants, permissions, billing, APIs, data workflows, and operating tools. A custom platform is a significant ownership commitment, so we first test whether configuring or integrating existing products would solve the problem with less risk.

Consider a custom platform when the workflow is central to how the business operates or differentiates itself, existing products force costly workarounds, and the expected value justifies ongoing ownership. Extensive integrations or multiple user types can support that case, but complexity alone is not a reason to build. If a product already solves most of the problem, we will usually recommend buying and integrating it.

We design for the load and failure modes the business can reasonably expect, then measure real behavior as usage grows. That usually means clear service boundaries, efficient data access, caching where evidence supports it, observability, load testing at critical paths, and a deployment architecture the team can operate. We do not default to microservices or Kubernetes; unnecessary infrastructure is its own scalability problem.

Yes, when an API is the right boundary. We design authenticated, documented APIs with validation, rate limits, versioning, error behavior, and auditability appropriate to their consumers. Some integrations are better served by events, managed connectors, file exchange, or an existing platform API, so we choose the interface rather than forcing REST everywhere.

We build mobile-first web applications rather than native iOS and Android apps. Most of what clients need on a phone — storefronts, portals, internal tools, approvals — works well as a responsive web application, without app-store review or a second codebase to maintain. If your problem genuinely requires a native app, we will tell you, and help you scope it honestly rather than talk you into the thing we happen to build.

Design is part of how we build, not a service sold separately. Interface and workflow design happen alongside the engineering, so the screens match how the work actually gets done. We do not take on standalone branding or marketing-design engagements.

Yes, when it is part of a system or technical-rescue engagement. That can include data modelling, schema and query review, migrations, performance investigation, access controls, and backup or recovery planning. We do not sell a generic database tune-up package; we start with the behavior and risk the business is actually seeing.

Yes. We usually modernize in stages: identify the risky or expensive parts, put stable interfaces around them, move one workflow at a time, and keep a rollback path. Sometimes replacement is justified; often a careful integration or targeted rewrite is safer. The migration plan is built around business continuity rather than a promise of zero disruption.

Send a short note about what is not working, what systems are involved, and why it matters now. We will use the first conversation to decide whether HiTek is a fit and what the smallest useful next step is. If deeper discovery is needed before anyone can estimate responsibly, we will say so and scope that work separately.

Bring the business outcome, the current workflow, the people affected, the systems involved, and any deadline or budget constraint that is real. Screenshots, sample documents, error examples, and a rough diagram are useful. A polished requirements document is not required; finding the missing requirements is often part of the work.

The initial fit conversation is free. It is for understanding the problem, deciding whether we should work together, and identifying a sensible next step. Detailed architecture, investigation, specifications, or project planning are paid work because they produce decisions and artifacts you can use even if HiTek does not build the final solution.

Two things. Engagements are run by senior people who stay responsible for the result — no junior handoff and no account layer between you and the work — and when a problem needs specialist depth we bring in people from a network built over 25 years rather than stretching someone into a role they do not fit. HiTek also resells no third-party platform and takes no vendor commissions. We build our own tools, but consulting recommendations are not contingent on buying them; the honest answer can still be ‘configure what you own,’ ‘buy instead of build,’ or ‘do not do this project.’

The main difference is who does the work and what we are incentivized toward. Senior people run the engagement and stay responsible for the result, so advice and delivery are not separated, and we can pull in specialist contractors and long-standing industry contacts when a problem calls for depth we do not carry in-house. We resell no platform and take no vendor commissions, so buy-versus-build is decided on the merits — including when the honest answer is that nothing needs building. We would rather be the partner you call for the next five decisions than the vendor who maximized the first one.

The portfolio is public: a three-sided B2B marketplace for the beverage industry, franchise e-commerce running storefronts for 50+ locations with Stripe and Roller integration, and a funeral-home platform whose memorial commerce has generated over $1M in flower and gift sales since launch. Behind that is 25 years of industry experience — including six years at Boomi as a Senior System Engineer and Enterprise SME, and co-invention of a Boomi AI and workflow patent — plus the professional network that came with it.

Yes, when ongoing ownership is part of the engagement. Support may include maintenance, dependency and security updates, monitoring review, incident response, feature work, or fractional technical leadership. Coverage, response expectations, and what is out of scope are agreed in writing; we do not imply 24/7 managed support unless an engagement is specifically staffed for it.

Mostly by building. HiTek runs its own products — TekPartner, an AI-native platform for client work, and TekMail — which means new tools get tested against real operations before they are recommended to a client. That is a deliberately slower filter than following announcements, and it is why we will sometimes advise against a technology that is currently fashionable.