My Story

Getting Started

My journey in tech began in the early 90s when the internet was very much text-based. The connectivity was noisy and slow. 

I experimented extensively with MSDOS Basic and QW Basic at the time.

Early Career

My formal career started in an unconventional way. Due to some limitations, opportunities to break into the technical space were limited.

At this point, I had done several starter positions until I was able to earn enough money to study.

Once I had enough money, I did an A+ certification which would open a door to the tech industry.

After completing the exams, I started looking for opportunities. I was eventually given an opportunity to attend an interview at an organization in Somerset West named Rourke Outsourcing.

I arrived for an interview at Rourke Outsourcing, where I was to interview for the role of a PC technician. 

2 hours after the interview had begun, I was offered a role as a junior software developer.

I was sent home with a book named “Teach Yourself Delphi in 21 Days” and was told to report back in 21 days.

21 days later, I arrived at the door, with the book under my arm and began my career as a software developer.

Learning the fundamentals

During high school, I joined the computer science club and began actively learning coding with Turbo Pascal. 

This language would later become Delphi which I would adopt in my first professional position as a software developer.

First Pivot

By early 2001, I had been working closely with one of Rourke’s customers, Caxton CTP, when disaster struck. Rourke Outsourcing went into liquidation.

Caxton saw value in me and offered me a full-time position at their Johannesburg branch. They covered all expenses of my transfer up to Johannesburg.

This became a pivotal moment as I came to realize later, that this would fine-tune my work ethic and my thirst for knowledge. I worked under the mentorship of a great team at Caxton CPT.

Spreading my wings

Although I was content at Caxton, I felt it was time to expand my exposure in the business world. After all, I didn’t want to work for someone forever, I wanted to work for myself eventually. This would come at a price, and that price was a disruption of complacency. 

I left the nest at Caxton and joined the ranks of Brokerhelp. This again would prove to be a pivotal moment in my career as it would eventually lead me away from Delphi and into the wild world of DotNet. And so began my path into the current landscape.

My career path

  • 1998-2000

    Rourke Outsourcing

    I started by career as a Delphi Developer at Rourke Outsourcing. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity they gave me.

  • 2000-2002

    Caxton CTP

    I joined the ranks of Caxton CTP where I was mentored by Kevin Russel. The lessons here were pivotal. I learned to hyper focus on tasks and learned how to interact with customers. I was brought to this team after Rourke Outsourcing was put into liquidation.

  • 2002 - 2004

    Broker Help

    I was hired here as a Delphi developer where I embarked on creating several systems for claims management, policy management and 3rd party claims for the insurance industry. in 2004, it was decided to outsource all development and the technical department was retrenched. It was at this time I was introduced to the .NET framework.

  • 2004 - 2010

    Presys Online

    After being retrenched, I decided to go into business for myself. I took my retrenchment package, paid off all my debt and went into the wild. At this time I had taken on a partner in the business. This would lead me to one of the most important lessons of my career. During my time with Presys Online, I would wear many hats. I was responsible for the day to day operations and filing of the organization, the sales, the development and design, the architecture as well as client liaison, support and marketing.

  • 2006-2009

    HR-Focus (Contractor)

    During the time at Presys, I took on a contractual position with HR-Focus where I worked at a .net developer. Here I would work on a few of their interfaces including their flagship product, MyFocus. Later, I would join their development team at Edcon where I would actively work on their internal modules as well as attend exco meetings on behalf of the team.

  • 2009-2015

    MyRoof / MyCars (Contractor)

    In early 2009, I joined the ranks of MyRoof at their first internal developer. Here I would work to build the MyCars infrastructure. During my time here I would act as developer, architect, infrastructure maintenance and customer liaison with the various banks. MyCars, under the leadership of Jano de Jager and Gert van der Walt would end up becoming one of the most publicly used projects. I am incredibly proud to have been part of the journey of the organization.

  • 2010 - 2019

    Web 3.0 Internet Services

    In 2010, I decided to re-invent my business. I closed Presys Online and opened Web 3.0 Internet Services. In this organization, I would build on some of the most pivotal projects in my career. Projects such as MyCars, Booyco Beams and Hiving Technology to name a few. In this organization, I managed the day to day operations, project management, sales, architecture and product innovation.

  • 2015 - 2018

    Booyco Electronics (Contractor)

    This project was a health and safety solution for the mining industry. There were multiple supporting projects that formed part of the engagement with Booyco Electronics such as Booyco Beams - The web interface and data analytics platform. This platform required a web interface, several projects which would extract information from hardware devices (Mining lamp charging units, vehicle tracking units, gas detection units, etc). Through this project I became very well versed in the art of binary data handling and TCP protocols. Other projects included lamp room test software, X-Group, which was a modbus management system and canbus monitoring.

  • 2014-2016

    Hiving Technology (Contractor with Web30)

    Hiving technology was focused on IoT technology. My work for them included the creation of demo software for various engagements which included Telkom and a several general demo projects. These projects included windows applications, web applications, data import services and a few minor customized implementations.

  • 2019-2020

    Truevo Payments

    Truevo payments was a great opportunity. Their dynamic team was hyper focused on micro service architecture which was again, a pivotal moment in my career. I was hired as a Senior Software developer at Truevo. Here I developed several projects incuding the re-engineering of their internal debtors book.

  • 2020 - 2023

    Eccenscia

    I was hired here as the Chief Technology Officer to drive cyber security products to market. This was by no means a small challenge. During my time here I developed software using microservice architecture, drove product innovation, managed a team, handled all infrastructural issue and took the products to market. I took 3 products to market during my service at Eccenscia.

  • 2024-present

    Genasys Technologies

    I was engaged in the capacity of a Backend Architect, tasked with collaborating closely with the team to evolve our current product offerings into a scalable architecture. My responsibilities include designing the architecture and leading the team towards adopting a microservices and event-driven architecture. This role presents an exciting opportunity and promises to be challenging.

What people say about me

I am writing to wholeheartedly recommend Andrew Jensen, who has served with distinction as the Chief Technology Officer at Eccenscia, a company at the forefront of cybersecurity innovation. Over the past four years, I have had the pleasure of working alongside Andrew and have consistently been impressed with his exceptional command of technology and software development. Andrew stands out not only for his technical expertise but also for his leadership skills. He has a natural ability to guide teams through complex challenges, always maintaining a clear vision and strategy for our technology department. His collaborative approach and commitment to team play have significantly contributed to our company's achievements and the positive work environment.

Moreover, Andrew's contributions to Eccenscia go beyond his job description. He has a keen eye for detail and a proactive attitude that drives continuous improvement in our processes and products. His passion for technology is infectious, and he often goes the extra mile to ensure that our team is equipped with the latest tools and knowledge to stay ahead of the curve in the fast-evolving cybersecurity landscape.

Andrew is an asset to any organization, and I have no doubt that he will continue to excel and drive innovation in the tech industry. I can confidently say that any company would be fortunate to have Andrew on their team.
Edson Pindza CEO
Whilst Andrew was contracted to Booyco Electronics between 2015 and 2018 myself and Andrew successfully built and developed a number of applications as part of the BEAMS package.

Andrew is a developer of the highest quality. He is versatile with numerous software applications. No task is too small for Andrew. He can make it happen.

I truly cannot recommend Andrew enough and would hope to one day work with him again. He would be an absolute asset to any company that has the honor of employing him. He is truly a wizard of development.
Gary Hewitson BEAMS & Data Administrator
It is my pleasure to confidently recommend Andrew for a Senior software and leadership role. I have known and worked with Andrew for 3 years at Eccenscia, where he serves as Chief Technology Officer. What stands out most about Andrew is his ability to break down complex projects into clear, executable delivery milestones. Throughout his tenure, Andrew has led the successful development and launch of two major projects at Eccenscia. His structured approach involves mapping out practical plans that transform complex technical projects into achievable stages. Even on rapidly changing initiatives, Andrew maintains focus by outlining incremental markers of success.

Equally impressive is Andrew's leadership style. his commitment to measurable progress empowers his teams to deliver consistently. He strikes a careful balance of guiding team strategy while providing autonomy for creative problem-solving. Andrew sets the vision and motivates his teams to devise innovative solutions while monitoring progress closely. This instils a sense of accountability and drive within his teams. He promotes ownership of work while remaining hands-on to keep initiatives on track amidst ambiguity.

Andrew has proven himself an invaluable asset in both his technical approach and leadership capabilities over the past 3 years.
Dr. Jordan Kondi Kondi
Head of Human Resources
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Building tomorrow
Personal Ethos

Driving technology in 2024

Understanding technology encompasses grasping its core principles, applications, its multifaceted impact, and the dynamics of its interaction with society. This comprehension is achieved through:

  1. Technical Knowledge: Gaining a deep insight into the fundamental workings of technology.
  2. Applications and Use Cases: Exploring how technology is implemented in real-world scenarios to solve practical problems.
  3. Impact on Society: Acknowledging the significant ways in which technology influences societies, economies, and cultures, both positively and negatively.
  4. Ethical and Legal Considerations: Being cognizant of the moral dilemmas and legal implications associated with technology use.
  5. Future Trends and Innovations: Staying abreast of cutting-edge technologies and forecasting their potential developments.
  6. User Experience and Design Thinking: Understanding the design process of technology solutions tailored to user needs and behaviours.

My Professional Philosophy:

  • I am dedicated to the principle of ongoing education and the continuous mentoring of peers, employing critical thinking and problem-solving strategies to navigate challenges.
  • My approach leverages technology to deliver optimal solutions to end-users, recognizing that there are no universal solutions.
  • I am committed to guiding and supporting developers who show a keen interest in learning.
  • Building and maintaining trust with clients and employers is paramount in my professional conduct.
  • I prioritize the development of high-quality, maintainable code, ensuring long-term value and reliability.

Let’s Do Some Work Together!

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