Synergetic has been developed by CDA using our history of over 25 years in providing solutions to school management through increasingly integrated computer systems.

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Computing Directions

Managing Director

Timothy Dawson

Business Director

John Lynch

Development Manager

Andrew Rose

Resource Manager

Chris Steel

Support Manager

Andrew Paydon

Database Administrator

Stephen Lynch

Accounts & Administration

Jeremy Livera, Sarah Gray

Software Development

Rob Shepherd, Simon Welsh, Yoga Santosa

Development & Implementation

James Overell, David Armstrong, Ian Johnson, Terasa Benson, Nick Jandric

Senior Trainers

Anelie Somodio, Tony Pentogenis

Customer Support

 

Luke Wilhelm, Bill Triskelidis, Adam Morse, Rovita Almeida, Chamil Fernando


 

Established in 1978 by John Lynch, Computing Directions Australia has secured a strong client base of independent schools and colleges in Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, ACT, Tasmania, South Australia and New Zealand.

 

John’s involvement with management information systems for educational institutions was initiated during his time with the Management Consultants division of Price Waterhouse. He was responsible for the recommendation of computer systems to audit clients.

At the time of John’s decision to establish his own software company, schools were moving in the direction of first-time, in-house systems. John’s personal commitment to clients has, over many years, won him a loyal client base and a reputation for software of quality and reliability.

To maintain the high level of personal support to clients and continue growth, John recognised the need to expand the company. Tim Dawson joined CDA in 1986.

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s as clients invested in networked PCs and a range of operating environments - a major impact for applications software systems - John and Tim responded with the DOS based NICHE Management Systems for Schools.

Throughout 1998/99 Computing Directions Australia progressively released SynergyOne, an ODBC compliant database designed specifically for educational institutions management in the Windows environment.

SynergyOne was renamed in 2002 becoming SYNERGETIC Management System for Schools.

As a director and co-owner of the company Tim is responsible for the planning and design of SYNERGETIC into the future. Together, John and Tim have demonstrated their expertise and experience in the complex world of changing technology, languages and development tools.

With the appointment of Andrew Rose in 1993, the company further demonstrated its commitment to product evolution, client service and support. Andrew is responsible for many of the advanced features of SYNERGETIC and he is now involved in evolving our next generation of software – web access.

During 2004 in recognition of our company’s growth we relocated from Mt Waverley to our present office in Burwood East. Our new facilities also include a custom computer lab to facilitate ongoing client training.

Rob Shepherd, Simon Welsh and Yoga Santosa make up our Software Development team. The Team experience in Delphi, .NET and SQL Servers. Rob also has a background in development for scientific and commercial applications. Simon Welsh has experience in Delphi also, and has been involved in developing a Point of Sale software system.

Tony Pentogenis and Anelie Somodio are our Senior Trainers. Tony conducts the finance training courses and also has the role of Project Manager, responsible for the scheduling and planning of new installations. Anelie has a teaching background and looks after training in the Assessment, Development and Future Student areas.

Our Resource Manager is Chris Steel. He is responsible for the preparation and costing of task specifications and the allocation of appropriate staff to fulfil client requests in the areas of Crystal Reports and training. Chris has the support of two specialist developer, Terasa Benson and Nick Jandric, to assist in the production of Crystal Reports and custom work required by clients.

Stephen Lynch our Database Administrator, joined the company mid 1999. He started in support and now looks after server implementation at schools. He specialises in programming performance and tuning of SQL Server.

Our Conversion team comprises of James Overell, David Armstrong and Ian Johnson. James has degrees in IT and Commerce and is also involved in graphic design and internet development. He joined us from an existing Synergetic school, so we welcome his hands on Synergetic experience. David has a Bachelor of Computer Science, and has moved into conversion from the support team. Ian is the newsest member of our implementations group which all work together to ensure the migration of new clients to Synergetic is made as smooth as possible.

Our Support team comprises of Andrew Paydon,, Bill Triskelidis, Luke Wilhelm, Adam Morse, Rovita Almeida and Chamil Fernando.

Andrew is our Support Manager. He has a Diploma in IT Software Development with proven retail customer service abilities. Bill has a background in bookkeeping and providing support for other commercial accounting packages. Luke comes to us from an existing Synergetic school and brings to the support team finance and IT experience. Luke is also involved in the running of client finance training courses. Adam brings to the team 7 years experience in customer service, software support and desktop support. Rovita has a teaching background and her interest and experience lies in management information systems, particularly the development and support of educational tools. Chamil has had extensive experience in support centres and has a reputation for quality in this area.

Jeremy Livera and Sarah Gray look after the Accounts and Administration. Jeremy is an experienced accountant with membership of CPA Australia. As well as performing accounting and business management duties for the company his experience and knowledge are used by our support and development teams. Sarah has an extensive customer service and administration background and now looks after the general administration of the office, including coordination of internal client training courses held at our lab.

Computing Directions Australia P/L specialises in the development and support of management information systems for schools and colleges. While leading product development and rigid adherence to standards are the trademarks of SYNERGETIC, the continuing support by our experienced staff ensures that our client’s software investment remains secure.