Sound familiar?
Typical situations companies approach me with – representative scenarios, not specific client projects:
- Monthly reporting is still manually compiled from disparate Excel exports.
- Inquiries, receipts, or documents are repeatedly handled and re-typed by hand.
- No one is certain whether AI is genuinely worth the investment for a specific workflow.
- A department urgently needs a software tool, but major standard enterprise platforms are oversized and costly.
- Workflows are fragmented across email, spreadsheets, and isolated software tools.
My name is Sven Träger. As an independent freelance consultant and software developer based in Hamburg, Germany, I support small and medium-sized businesses locally in Northern Germany as well as remotely worldwide.
Not sure yet which solution fits?
Then consulting is the right place to start – as an independent evaluation, never a sales pitch for a specific product.
- I analyze the workflow and uncover the root causes of the bottleneck.
- I assess whether a process adjustment, automation, a low-code app, AI, or improved reporting fits best.
- I prioritize by business value, effort, technical risk, and your existing IT infrastructure.
- You receive clear, actionable recommendations for next steps.
- When implementation makes sense, I build and deploy the solution myself.
Not every problem requires AI or brand-new software. Sometimes a revised organizational responsibility or a cleaner template is the most cost-effective path – and I will tell you that openly.
Five Paths to the Right Solution
Which path makes sense depends on your current situation – often it is a pragmatic combination.
Consulting & Process Analysis
Starting point: You notice a workflow is inefficient or error-prone, but aren't sure where to begin.
What I deliver: I map the current process, identify underlying causes, and evaluate available options.
Possible next step: A prioritized assessment with transparent, concrete next steps.
Process Automation
Starting point: Repetitive, rule-based tasks waste valuable time: manual typing, forwarding, archiving, reminding.
What I deliver: I connect your systems and automate workflows, e.g. using Power Automate or n8n.
Possible next step: Select one concrete process and automate it as an agile, low-risk prototype.
Low-Code & Business Apps
Starting point: Excel sheets, forms, or email handovers have reached their limits – enterprise software would be oversized.
What I deliver: I develop lean applications built precisely for your workflow, with Power Apps or modern web frameworks.
Possible next step: Outline key requirements and review a rapid interactive click-prototype.
AI Consulting & Implementation
Starting point: You want to know where AI genuinely creates business value – such as in document extraction, emails, or knowledge search.
What I deliver: I evaluate concrete use cases, advise against AI where simpler tools suffice, and implement the high-impact ones.
Possible next step: Assess two to three candidate use cases and test one in a small proof of concept.
Power BI & Reporting
Starting point: Reports are stitched together from multiple spreadsheets, data contradicts itself, or numbers are always outdated.
What I deliver: I unify your data sources reliably and build clear, automatically refreshed dashboards.
Possible next step: Take an existing report as a starting point and re-architect it cleanly.
How We Collaborate
A proven, pragmatic approach – not a rigid framework. We enter wherever you currently stand.
- Understand the baseline: We discuss the workflow, the stakeholders involved, and the underlying operational challenge.
- Evaluate options & potential: Process refinement, workflow automation, custom app, AI, or reporting – or intentionally none of them.
- Define roadmap & scope: What comes first, at what effort, building on your existing IT infrastructure.
- Validate with a prototype: A lean, working build demonstrates early on whether the approach delivers real value.
- Implement & hand over: Full implementation including thorough technical documentation and team onboarding.
- Continuous optimization as needed: Refinements, feature extensions, or tackling the next operational bottleneck.
Real-World Case Study
Document Processing: Fast OCR Instead of Costly AI
Problem: Approximately 25,000 paper documents per year were scanned in batches and needed to be automatically extracted, separated, and archived. An agency estimated an AI-based solution at €10,000–€12,000.
Solution: A targeted Power Automate flow retrieves scans from SharePoint, processes them with high-speed OCR and keyword matching, splits the PDFs, and files them into dynamically generated customer folders.
My role: Analyzing the actual requirement, recommending the simpler alternative, and end-to-end implementation.
Result: Identical business outcome delivered in the same timeframe for under €500 instead of €10,000–€12,000.
“The collaboration with S|Traeger fully met our high expectations for professional IT services.” – Mr. Ott, Managing Director & Owner
Let's Discuss Your Workflows
In an initial conversation (approx. 30 minutes, free of charge), you briefly outline where your bottlenecks lie. I ask the right questions, assess the challenge, and tell you honestly whether and how I can help. No preparation required – an overview of the process is plenty. You don't need to know the technical solution yet.
Prefer a quick self-assessment first? The Automation Check provides a quick preliminary evaluation in about one minute on whether automating a process is likely worthwhile for you. No personal data is stored.