Technology leadership
for established businesses
Most established businesses are being pushed into AI decisions before they're ready. I bring three decades of IT leadership — across manufacturing, architecture, and civil engineering — so you can adopt the tools that move the business and govern the ones that don't.
Services
Technology consulting that connects strategy to execution. Every engagement starts with understanding your business — then building the systems, processes, and governance that make it faster.
AI Strategy & Implementation
Practical AI adoption grounded in what your business actually operates on — not vendor hype. Readiness assessments, tiered approved-tools lists, human-in-the-loop governance, and pilots that measure outcomes (hours saved, quality signals, win-rate impact) before you commit across the firm.
- AI readiness assessment and roadmap
- Use-case identification and prioritization
- Vendor and platform evaluation
- Governance framework and approved-tools tiering
- Human-in-the-loop and audit-trail standards
- Pilot design and outcome measurement
Fractional CIO & Technology Leadership
Executive-level technology leadership without the full-time overhead. Strategic planning, governance, vendor management, and team development — the perspective of a director-level leader, engaged on your terms.
- IT strategic planning and roadmap development
- Steering committees and governance frameworks
- Vendor and contract management
- Budget development and optimization
- Team structure and talent planning
Enterprise Systems & ERP
ERP, CRM, and MES platforms are only valuable when they match how your departments actually work. Configuration, reporting, integrations, and the cross-functional governance that makes adoption stick.
- ERP optimization and platform governance (PLEX, Deltek, and others)
- Dashboard and reporting development
- Cross-system integration (Salesforce, Smartsheet, MES/Ignition)
- User access, security, and permissions design
- Requirements intake and stakeholder alignment
Infrastructure & Security
Networks, servers, identity, and security controls designed for reliability and scale. From multi-site manufacturing environments to corporate offices — infrastructure that doesn't fail.
- Network architecture and multi-site design
- Cloud strategy and hybrid infrastructure
- Identity, access management, and MFA
- Monitoring, incident response, and DR planning
- OT/IT segmentation for manufacturing
Integration & Automation
Eliminate re-entry, reduce cycle time, and increase trust in your data. Workflow automation and system integrations that connect departments and remove friction from operations.
- System integration architecture (API, iPaaS)
- Workflow automation (Smartsheet, Power Platform)
- Data governance and reporting standards
- Cross-departmental process design
- Onboarding and operational workflows
How I Work
The same operating model, refined across three decades and four industries. Every engagement follows the same logic: standardize the foundation, connect the systems, then accelerate the business.
Build the base
Networks, servers, security, standards. The infrastructure that keeps operations running and creates the stable platform everything else depends on.
Integrate the systems
ERP, CRM, MES, PLM — connected to each other and aligned to how your departments actually work. Eliminate re-entry, reduce data mismatches, and build trust in your information.
Drive decisions with data
Reporting, dashboards, automation, and AI. The right information reaching the right people through governance, training, and practical tools that make the business faster.
This isn't a framework or a methodology deck — it's the pattern that has produced results at every organization I've led technology for, from a 200-person architecture firm to a multi-site automotive battery manufacturer. The same logic applies to AI adoption: governance, data hygiene, and a clear approved-tools list are the foundation — the fun stuff comes after.
AI in AEC Practice
Clients now expect AI-enabled delivery. Competitors are piloting it. Regulators are drafting guidance. Waiting is a position too.
For architecture, engineering, and construction firms, the window to shape your own AI policy — rather than inherit someone else's — is now. I help AEC leadership teams cut through the vendor noise, stand up the governance that has to exist before AI touches client work, and pilot the two or three tools that actually move a metric.
Practice areas where AI is landing
Governance before tools
- 01Human-in-the-loop is non-negotiable — no AI output leaves the firm without licensed-professional review.
- 02Stamp-and-seal responsibility stays with the architect or engineer. “The AI did it” is not a defense.
- 03An approved-tools list is the first governance artifact to publish — not the last.
The full briefing is available on request.
The leadership briefing is a limited-release document. If you'd like access, reach out directly and I'll share it.
Contact me →Depth of Experience
Three decades of building, connecting, and scaling technology across manufacturing, architecture, and civil engineering. The same patterns, refined through every environment.
Automotive & Manufacturing
American Battery Solutions, Mahindra GenZe
- 12 years of IT leadership across automotive and battery manufacturing
- Modernized multi-site infrastructure across corporate and manufacturing facilities
- Led PLEX ERP enablement — reporting, governance, and cross-functional alignment
- Designed OT/IT network architecture with Fortinet security stack
- Built Smartsheet-based workflow automation reducing multi-day processes to minutes
- Deployed manufacturing network monitoring and anomaly detection
Architecture & Engineering
Hamilton Anderson Associates, The Orcutt/Winslow Partnership
- 20 years as IT/Operations Director managing technology, budgets, and teams
- Led Deltek Vision ERP migration and built reporting across projects, CRM, and accounting
- Designed staffing projections and resource planning systems driving strategic decisions
- Managed data center modernization, virtualization, and disaster recovery programs
- Built collaboration platforms and knowledge management systems at firm scale
Civil Engineering
Wood, Patel & Associates — Phoenix, AZ
- Deployed WAN acceleration across branch offices improving application performance
- Managed ERP upgrades with virtualization-based testing and controlled rollout
- Developed IT budgets and vendor/license renewal governance
About Shabbir Boxwala
For more than three decades, my work has been about one consistent outcome: turning technology into dependable operations, clear decision-making, and scalable growth.
I started in architecture — trained as an architect in India, then earned a Master's in Engineering in the U.S. That background taught me how to think in systems: how structures connect, how plans become buildings, how design decisions compound over time. When I moved into technology, I brought that same discipline.
Over 30 years, I've built and led IT operations for six organizations — from a 200-person architecture firm to a multi-site automotive battery manufacturer. At each one, the pattern was the same: build the foundation, connect the systems, then deliver the information and automation that makes the business faster.
Now, through Boxtect Technologies, I bring that depth to established businesses that need experienced technology leadership — whether that's AI strategy, enterprise system optimization, infrastructure modernization, or the governance that ties it all together.
Certifications
- ITIL Certified (Associate)
- Associate Computing Professional (ICCP)
Education
- M.S. Engineering, Civil Structures — University of Detroit Mercy
- B. Architecture — L.S. Raheja School of Architecture, Bombay
- Computer Aided Design — Arizona State University
Let's Talk
Whether you need AI strategy, technology leadership, or help connecting your systems — it starts with a conversation.
Reach out directly
Email or phone is the fastest way to get in touch — both are listed to the left. Tell me a bit about what you're working on and I'll get back to you within a day or two.
Send an email