Listen closely
Get beneath vague or shifting requirements to find the real need.
Independent software consultancy · Cardiff, UK
Legacy systems, made modern.
I'm Dan Bridge, a software engineer and CTO with 30 years’ experience building and modernising the database applications organisations depend on. I see technology as a tool for solving human and user problems — not an end in itself — and I use it to make essential systems modern, maintainable, and genuinely useful.
Start a conversation01 / The approach
The work that matters is often hidden beneath the surface.
I take legacy, poorly documented systems and turn them into something clear, dependable, and trusted by the people who rely on them every day.
Three decades as a hands-on software engineer and CTO, grounded in a Computer Science degree, have taught me that reliability matters more than novelty. I'm particularly drawn to organisations with a strong mission to help people — the technology matters most when it's in service of something worth doing.
02 / How I work
One person who understands the problem and the code.
I sit down directly with the people who actually run things — not through a layer of business analysts — to properly understand the real problem, then lead design and development with a small, hands-on team. I write things down clearly and make that documentation freely available, so your understanding of your own systems never depends on one person being around — including me.
Build pragmatically
Use the right technology for a durable result, not the newest for its own sake.
Stay accountable
Take ownership from the initial build through long-term support.
03 / Selected work
Cardiff University, NHS Wales & the Welsh University Network
Legacy database migration & long-term maintenance
Led end-to-end migration of legacy, monolithic applications and databases onto modern cloud platforms for NHS Wales and the healthcare university network of Cardiff, Bangor, and Wrexham — then extended to Trinity College Dublin, the University of Galway, the University of Edinburgh, and Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia. Ran client requirements gathering, led development with a small team, and maintained the resulting systems reliably for twenty years.
Valley Diagnostics
High-volume diagnostic data processing on AWS
Thousands of people managing COPD were submitting lateral flow test results from home every day. I built the system that processed those results reliably and securely at scale, on AWS cloud infrastructure, however much testing was happening on any given day.
South Staffordshire & Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Secure mobile dictation for clinical teams
As technical delivery lead, I designed and built a secure mobile app that let clinical psychologists dictate client notes by voice while working in the community — recordings were sent securely to a central typing pool for transcription into confidential patient files. I visited the Trust regularly throughout the project to run through builds and gather feedback, making sure the solution was as trustworthy as the paper records it replaced.
SubHub
Membership platform strategy & product leadership
SubHub is a platform used by organisations worldwide to manage paying members and subscribers. I led technical strategy and the development team, refocusing the product and cutting running costs — while keeping member records reliable and well organised for the people who depended on them.
04 / What I do
Practical change for the systems your organisation depends on.
- 01Modernising outdated systems so they're reliable and easy to build on
- 02Making software that works well for everyone, including people with accessibility needs
- 03Getting logins, access, and security right, so people's data stays properly protected
- 04Building apps and tools that fit naturally into how people actually work
- 05Bringing clarity and priority to unclear requirements, so the right things get built first
- 06Staying involved for the long term — from first build through ongoing support
05 / Selected references
What people say about working together.
“Dan delivered high quality product development with exceptional professionalism — open, engaging, and always willing to explain technical approaches clearly and patiently.”
Quality & Governance Professional — Valley Diagnostics
“Dan is a first class engineer and technical director, able to get directly to the vital essence of an issue — in code, team management, or strategy. Highly approachable and unflappable.”
Software Engineering Manager, Bridgend Housing Association
“In the polarised world of waving your arms about and talking, and getting on with it, Dan is firmly in the getting-on-with-it camp. A quality guy — highly investable.”
Chair, DVLA · Non-Executive Director
“Dan and I worked closely on several Welsh language projects for Tafol. A great communicator and highly proficient developer with a can-do attitude — diligent, professional, and a pleasure to work with.”
Founder, Tafol Educational Apps
Currently exploring
A trusted technical partner for organisations doing good work.
My long-term goal is helping organisations whose systems have aged past the point of comfort move onto modern platforms — with better security, reliability, and user experience. I'm especially drawn to charities, faith and community bodies, and others doing work that makes a real difference locally, usually as a fixed-term project with ongoing support rather than a permanent hire. If that sounds like the problem you’re dealing with, I’d be glad to talk.
dan@cardiffdatasystems.co.ukWorking with
GCP
AWS
React
SQL
Supabase
NoSQL
GitHub