Buzy Bee Software Services is located in the picturesque Gem Town of Whitehaven on the West Coast of Cumbria and is co-owned by Keith and Trish McWhan who also happen to be husband and wife.

 

Keith McWhan

 

From childhood he loved programming his Commodore 64 seeing the results he could achieve in the BASIC language. Whilst finishing college he found that all potential employers were looking for work experience so as it was the 80's he joined the YTS scheme at his local ITeC (Information Technology Centre) in Dumfries. This provided him with many work placements and gave him the experience and grounding needed for a career in IT.  Whilst on the YTS he had access to a wide variety of technology helping fire his enthusiasm even further for all things tech (he is a nerd afterall).

 

He went on to work in a variety of industries developing multi-user applications on Unix/Windows servers using a variety of database technologies including cash book controllers, timesheet software, fleet vehicle maintenance systems, booking systems, image scanning libraries and so much more. Some projects even involved having to learn new technologies very quickly because outside contractors had failed to deliver the required software or supplied software that just didn't work. This prepared him for working on challenging software projects and taught the skills and expertise to work under pressure.

 

Keith’s first challenge as a trainee programmer was to learn Turbo Pascal on the Apple Mac to create a piece of software that would search the machine's entire disk for snippets of text. This was a challenge that was attacked with enthusiasm and determination. In this ever changing industry learning new skills has been a constant feature that Keith has enjoyed. Most recently development for Android and iOS has been the latest technology to be tackled.

 

Keith's strengths lie in his thinking outside the box and his passion for good system design. This is critical for the future changes that even customers don’t yet realise they want.

 

Trish McWhan

 

Trish has got a natural creative talent and is responsible for all the design work creating visual concepts to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate as well as managing Buzy Bee Software Services.

 

From Childhood she loved to draw and entered many design competitions. She got down to the final 200 out of over 3000 in a 'Just 17' magazine design competition in the 80's and won first prize for designing a chapel at her local high school in her early teens. In her late teens Trish chose a nursing career and was a mental health nurse for many years prior to being diagnosed with MS but has never lost her skill and passion of art & design. She went on to design the newsletter for the Copeland Branch of the MS Society and got down to the final three finalists at the very first MS National Awards in 2009 for her layout of the Copeland Branch MS Society website, the website was even used by head office for training purposes.

 

Since setting up Buzy Bee Software Services she has taught herself how to use design programmes including inkscape and gimp which has enabled her to do all the in house graphics for websites, mobile Apps, business cards, flyers, pop up banners, icon design and so much more. Every day brings new challenges but Trish is undeterred and if she doesn't know how do do something she will find out how to do it. She strives to produce eye-catching designs, every-time.

 

Trish's strengths lie in being able to adapt, work under pressure and believes you cannot fail if your determination to succeed is strong enough.