about

Oikos aims to make technology simple for your businesses or organisation, helping you to use the internet, websites, social media and other tools for:

  • communication: telling others about who you are and what you do, and having conversations with your clients and customers
  • collaboration: working together efficiently, sharing resources, and keeping people informed
  • community: bringing people together for social, commercial or charitable endeavours – using online networks to build offline relationships

About me

Hi, my name is Ross and I run Oikos (pronounced “oy-koss”).

I do the technical stuff so that you can focus on your customers, do business efficiently, and fulfill your organisation’s aims.

I gave myself a three-part job title: “Creator – Engineer – Advisor”. Let me explain those three things:

Creator: I’m a software engineer at heart with established and growing web development skills. My work is creative – building not just applications or websites, but businesses and communities.

Engineer: I’m experienced in IT operations with a good computer science degree and a background in software engineering. I’m a multi-disciplinary technician who learns quickly and thrives on problem solving.

Advisor: I’ve led teams, managed projects and delivered training courses. I’m always on the lookout for ways to work better as a team, and enjoy helping others benefit from technology.

Find out more:

About Oikos

Oikos’ Name

Oikos is an ancient greek word (οικος) meaning a household or family.

I liked the idea of Oikos being able to provide people a digital “home” and create community.  It’s my modern interpretation of an ancient concept.

In Greek culture the oikos was also distinct from the “polis”, which was the city.  This expresses that my aim with Oikos is not to grow into a huge business (a “metro-polis”) but to keep small and local.  I believe that I can better serve my customers and provide a more personal service that way.

Oikos’ History

Oikos started as me volunteering in my spare time to help a small local charity.

As my skills grew and word spread about what I was doing I started getting paid work until there was so much to do I quit IT operations to pursue web development and communications consultancy more seriously.

The spirit of wanting to help, make things simple, and provide good advice continues in my work, as does the ethical aspect of working with organisations that provide social good.

Of course, I also need to make a living, so there is a commercial aspect too.  But whether working for charities or businesses the aims are the same and understanding the customer’s needs comes before any technical solution.

Oikos’ Future

I’d love Oikos to grow and become my full-time job. I’d love to be able to help as many different organisations as possible.

I’m investigating getting funding to provide technical and advisory services cheaply to charities and community groups.

If you think you can help support work of this kind, please drop me a line or give me a call.