About
Emile du Toit
Founder of BrainIT Consulting. 30+ years in enterprise IT, 24 of them at GTE and Verizon. Now I build AI tools and software for small businesses, from Lakemont, Georgia.
For most of my career I built the kind of systems nobody notices until they stop.
At Verizon that meant the least-cost routing platform: a SQL Server cluster holding 164 TB, with failover and disaster recovery, and a routing engine that worked out the cheapest way to carry each call. That work contributed to more than $150 million in operational savings and earned a U.S. patent. When Verizon retired the data center, I led the move of the whole platform to MySQL on Red Hat Linux without any production downtime.
I started BrainIT Consulting in 2023 to bring the same care to small businesses. AI coding agents now let one experienced person plan, build and run software that used to need a team. I use Claude Code and Codex every day, and I’m an Anthropic Certified Developer for Claude Code.
Most small businesses don’t need a platform. They need the phone answered, the booking confirmed and the spreadsheet to stop being retyped. I build that, write down how it works, and teach the people who will use it.
Career
Thirty years, most recent first
2023 to now
Founder, BrainIT Consulting and DreamForge World
AI automation, training and custom software for small businesses, and a family of my own products. 50+ builds so far. Based in Lakemont, Georgia.
2023
Senior IT Platform Administrator, Arietis Health
A three-month contract in Fort Myers, Florida, for a healthcare revenue-cycle company. Secure file transfer, user access and permissions in a PHI-sensitive environment.
2009 to 2023
Senior Tech Manager, SQL Database Architect, Solutions Architect, Verizon
Owned the architecture of Verizon’s least-cost routing platform. Designed a 10-server SQL Server cluster on a 164 TB data tier. The routing engine contributed to $150M+ in operational savings and earned a U.S. patent. Then led the move to MySQL on Red Hat Linux with zero downtime.
Earlier career, 1991 to 2009
1999 to 2009
Manager, Database Development, Infrastructure and Server Administration, GTE and Verizon
Joined GTE, which became Verizon, and led the move off Banyan VINES onto Microsoft networking. Ran the SQL development, DBA, server and production support teams, and cut infrastructure costs 25% year over year.
1995 to 1998
Systems analyst and consultant, ComEd account, Chicago
Led a team of five consultants that built hands-free automated software rollouts for 3,000 computers. The automation replaced a 200-person manual support effort and saved ComEd $500K a year.
1991 to 1995
Network engineer, Persetel Networks
Built nationwide networks and data centers for Caltex and Woolworths: automated PC rollouts, Microsoft server builds and Banyan VINES network administration.
Credentials
Certifications, patent and degree
- Anthropic Certified Developer
- Claude Code
- U.S. patent
- Least-cost routing design, Verizon
- PMP
- Project Management Professional
- MCSE
- Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
- Bachelor’s degree
- Advanced Information Systems and Programming, Nelson Mandela University
- Jotform
- Foundations and Apps
- CBS
- Certified Banyan Network Specialist
- Healthcare Digitization and Automation
- Certificate
- AI Agent Building and Business Process Automation
- Certificate
Elsewhere
More about me
Want to talk about a project? Get in touch.