Hi, I'm Michael Barton.
I'm a software engineer with 23 years of professional experience and the founder of Smartware Design. I started programming in high school, earned a Computer Engineering degree at Georgia Tech, and have been building software for corporations, small businesses and the Department of Defense ever since.
Why I started Smartware Design
I grew up in an entrepreneurial family, and in 2011 I founded Smartware Design to build apps, games and websites for small businesses and for myself. Since then I've shipped more than ten iOS apps, eight Android apps and well over fifteen client websites, alongside a corporate career building software used at enterprise scale.
That combination is what I bring to clients. I have enterprise discipline from airline, insurance, credit, telecom and defense software, and I move like a small business owner who knows every dollar counts.
How I work
- Direct. You talk to the engineer doing the work, not a project manager relaying messages.
- Honest. If something isn't worth building, or I'm not the right person, I'll say so.
- Cost-aware. I've seen plenty of runaway cloud bills. I design for what you can afford to run.
- Built to hand off. Clean code, documentation and your accounts. You're never locked in.
Outside of work
I live in Woodstock, Georgia, with my family. I'm a Georgia Tech fanatic, a regular runner and softball player, and a Christian. We love to travel.
23 years, eight industries
Smartware Design, founder & principal engineer
Client apps, websites and custom software for small businesses, nonprofits and startups, plus my own App Store products.
Southwest Airlines, mobile engineer
Internal crew-mobility apps used daily by flight crews. Native iOS.
Progressive Insurance, mobile engineer
The customer-facing Progressive app. Native iOS and Android.
FormAssembly, full-stack engineer
SaaS form platform. PHP, CakePHP, Laravel and React.
Global Emergency Resources, mobile engineer
HC Standard emergency-response apps with barcode scanners and medical devices. iOS, Android and Xamarin.
U.S. Department of Defense, software engineer
GSAT, BaS&E and other custom systems. Java, JSF, Struts and RichFaces.
Equifax, software engineer
Credit-decisioning systems. ILOG, JSF, WebSphere and WebLogic.
Cox Communications, software engineer
IVR, call-center and iTV platforms. Java, JSF, Avaya, Cisco Call Studio and webMethods.
AutomationDirect, software engineer
High-volume B2B e-commerce. JSP and IBM DB2.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Computer Engineering with a focus on computer science and electrical engineering.
Have a project, or a project in trouble?
Tell me what you are building or what is broken. You will get a straight answer on whether I can help, how I would approach it, and a ballpark cost, usually within one business day.