Strategic IT leadership
Connecting technology decisions to business priorities—from investment planning and vendor management to operations across multiple countries.
IT leadership / Applied AI / Business systems
Better systems.
Bigger possibilities.
I’m Dillan Archer, a technology leader and entrepreneur. I connect business priorities with the systems that deliver them—from practical AI and cloud automation to the tools people use to run an operation.
Nashville born. Always building.
The value I bring
Practical AI adoption
Bringing AI into everyday business through useful assistants, workflow automation, and a clear approach to governance.
Significant cost savings
Reducing unnecessary spending, simplifying technology, and getting more value from infrastructure, platforms, and vendor relationships.
Business modernization
Turning manual processes and disconnected systems into organized, connected operations that support business growth.
01 / AI in practice
AI that earns its place
in the business.
Useful tools, clear ownership, and thoughtful controls. My focus is turning AI capability into work that people can actually use.
IT administration / In production
From searching through systems
to asking a useful question.
I built a Copilot Studio assistant and its custom MCP server to bring Microsoft administration tools and internal knowledge into one conversational workflow.
The friction
A simple question about an employee or virtual machine can mean visiting several consoles, searching documentation, or assembling a script.
The work
The assistant connects to Entra, Intune, Exchange, and Azure, with SharePoint and Confluence knowledge grounding. Its permissions are tightly scoped, administrative actions require confirmation, and actions are logged.
The difference
A typical lookup of an existing employee’s details, groups, and configuration profiles now takes approximately 2 minutes instead of 15. That information provides a reference when someone joins in a similar role.
Built over three months and in administrative use by me, with leadership rollout underway. The time estimate applies to the reference lookup, not the entire onboarding process.
Interactive walkthrough Fictional data
A useful answer. A deliberate action.
Explore a simplified example of the patterns I built. Every record here is fictional; no live systems are connected.
Sample request
“Show me Alex Morgan’s groups and device configuration so I have a reference for someone joining the same role.”
Read-only example
Relevant context, together.
- Employee profile Entra ID
- Alex Morgan · Operations specialist
- Group memberships Entra ID
- Demo-Operations · Demo-Standard-Access
- Configuration profile Intune
- Demo-Managed-Windows
See the sample knowledge grounding
SharePoint · IT access guide
Use the role reference as a starting point and confirm access with the responsible owner.
Confluence · Role reference
Review the relevant device configuration before preparing a new starter’s setup.
Illustrative notes, not excerpts from internal documents.
This prepares a reference. It does not copy permissions or provision an account.
Natural language scoped tools useful contextProduction assistant: Copilot Studio + custom MCP server
Adoption & governance
Give AI a direction.
I proposed and now co-lead an AI council with security leaders to coordinate Microsoft 365 Copilot and ChatGPT Business adoption. The work includes planning an AI inventory and creating a SharePoint hub to track initiatives and ownership.
Council operating · Purview rollout in planning
I’m responsible for developing the governance implementation, with security oversight from the CISO.
AI-assisted development
Build around a business need.
Using Codex, I built a partner-development portal that organizes prospective partners, shared goals, and documentation. It gives a team a more deliberate approach to prospecting and is now in early use.
Portal in early adoption
I also evaluated Microsoft Foundry through agent prototyping before choosing Copilot Studio for the production IT assistant.
02 / Selected projects
The work behind
the improvement.
Business systems, cloud operations, and the practical decisions that make technology more useful. These examples focus on the work and outcomes.
Buying & inventory / International rollout
From paper records
to a connected buying line.
An 18-month Power Apps rollout connected approximately 10 buying locations across the U.S. and Indonesia.
The starting point
Buying and inventory depended on pen, paper, and Excel. The digital process needed to work with the physical buying line and its equipment.
The delivery
I built the Power Apps application and coordinated development, warehouse management, and the equipment vendor. The solution brought together weight scales, moisture-testing SQL data, QR codes, handheld scanners, and receipt printing.
The outcome
Successful adoption across both countries, fewer errors and better inventory visibility. Hardware requirements, integration testing, and coordination were as important as the application itself.
Weigh & testScan & recordPrint receiptInventory visibility
More ways I’ve improved operations
Cloud operationsOne place to manage the VM fleet.≈50 VMs
I built an Azure Workbooks interface that works with Azure Automation runbooks and Azure Update Manager across approximately 50 Windows and Linux VMs. It supports monitoring, update execution, and monthly reporting.
Delivered in one month, the system saves an estimated five hours of administration each month.
Infrastructure consolidationA smaller, more purposeful environment.4 months
I consolidated an environment of approximately 10 servers: two moved to Azure, the remaining servers were decommissioned, and storage moved to Azure. Some of the retired systems were old and unused.
I handled the migration and retirement work and coordinated DNS and DHCP changes with the firewall team.
Business communicationsConsolidated calling. Connected workflows.3 months
I independently migrated company-wide calling from GoTo to Zoom Phone, consolidating telephony with the Zoom platform already used for meetings and reducing costs.
The work included client-assigned phone numbers, security-operations call flows, caller-ID conventions, and forwarding unanswered calls to an external answering service.
Cost & vendor managementSpend on what the business needs.≈$60k / year
A four-month effort removed unnecessary vendors, software, and service contracts, brought suitable work in-house, and retired unused Azure VMs and storage. The result was approximately $60,000 in recurring annual savings.
The broader initiative represents $100k+ in savings and cost avoidance, including a shift to computer purchases as needed. That total includes spending avoided or deferred as well as recurring savings.
Service operationsA support backlog brought under control.90%+ reduction
I reduced a support backlog by more than 90% within approximately two to three months, combining hands-on issue resolution with clearer documentation and operational improvements.
The result was a smaller queue and a more manageable starting point for ongoing support.
Distributed operationsIT ready for the next warehouse.≈4–5 launches
I owned the entire IT scope for approximately four to five new warehouse openings spanning the U.S. from coast to coast, supporting the technology needs of expanding logistics operations.
Related work included a bring-your-own-device mobile program that reduced annual costs by approximately $5,000.
03 / A growing perspective
From fixing systems
to shaping what comes next.
Each layer of experience adds to the next: understanding the technology, connecting it to operations, and taking responsibility for the business outcome.
Technical foundations
Hands-on work with servers, networks, identity, backups, and the daily realities of keeping systems running.
Connected operations
Cloud infrastructure and business applications that bring people, equipment, and information together.
Business leadership
International delivery, technology investment, vendor decisions, and an entrepreneur’s view of responsibility.
Practical AI adoption
Working assistants, AI-assisted development, and a governance program that gives implementation a clear direction.
04 / Skills & perspective
Technical depth.
Business fluency.
The tools and disciplines behind the work, connected to the outcomes they support.
AI & automation
Build useful assistants and make routine work easier.
- Copilot Studio
- Codex
- MCP integrations
- Microsoft Graph
- Knowledge grounding
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- ChatGPT Business
Cloud & identity
Operate, simplify, and automate the environment.
- Azure
- Microsoft 365
- Entra ID
- Intune
- Azure Workbooks
- Azure Automation
- Azure Update Manager
- Windows & Linux
Business systems
Connect the digital workflow to the physical operation.
- Power Apps
- SQL integration
- SharePoint
- Workflow design
- Hardware integration
- Zoom Phone
- SD-WAN
- Disaster recovery
Leadership & delivery
Connect technical decisions with business priorities.
- IT strategy
- Budget ownership
- Vendor management
- International delivery
- Cross-functional leadership
- AI governance planning
- Business ownership
Also in practice: Microsoft Foundry for agent prototyping and evaluation; Microsoft Purview selected for a governance rollout I’m planning under CISO security oversight.
05 / Credentials & curiosity
Foundations that
support the work.
Certifications earned
- CompTIA Project+
- Earned 2018
- CompTIA Security+
- Earned 2013
- CompTIA Network+
- Earned 2012
- CompTIA A+
- Earned 2011
Microsoft certification / Earned
Microsoft Certified:
AI Transformation Leader
AB-731 · Earned October 2026
Membership
Mensa
Current member.
06 / The person behind the work
A life beyond
the screen.
Nashville born. Father of three.
Entrepreneur. Always curious.
I was born in Nashville, and I’m a father to three young children. Alongside my technology work, I’m an entrepreneur with a healthcare business.
Outside work, my interests include bodybuilding, knife collecting, and my 1982 Ford Bronco. There’s room for all of it: family, building a business, and the things I enjoy for their own sake.
Home & business
Family & entrepreneurship
Raising three young children and growing a healthcare business are important parts of who I am.
Training & progress
Bodybuilding
An interest in training and physical progress, alongside the technical and business side of my life.
A personal interest
Knife collecting
A collection and a reason to explore something beyond technology, operations, and the next project.
A classic in the mix
1982 Ford Bronco
A little old-school character alongside a life spent working with modern technology.
07 / Start a conversation
What could work
better in your business?
IT leadership, practical AI adoption, or a business system that needs a fresh approach—let’s talk.
Send me a message
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