How I Helped Teams Cut Costs and Move Faster in Q2 2026

Key Takeaways

• Jira automation for value-based time logging helped one client exceed quarterly revenue goals by 25%
• A Dropbox-to-SharePoint migration is projected to save one small business team nearly $10,000 annually
• Operational clarity consulting identified hundreds of dollars in unused or duplicate Google and Microsoft license costs across client environments
• COO-level operational strategy, backed by the technical execution of a CIO or CTO, gives small businesses full CXO-level support without a full-time hire

Q2 2026 reminded me why I jumped into starting this business. The strategic perspective and hands-on implementation work I’ve been able to bring to teams across Q2 2026 for organizations building software, supporting medical teams, IT Service Management and the construction industry has been a lot of fun. From teams of 1 to 100s.  It’s helped me understand my value, focus my efforts, and simplify my messaging for leaders looking to integrate my services. 

I’ve gotten into more diverse projects, built stronger partnerships, and helped teams focus on what they do best to preserve their revenue streams while improving security, augmenting automation capabilities, and reducing license costs. 

The most fun I’ve had this year is working with small business teams to bring technical strategy and operational process to help teams scale and automate their business. I’ve found I’m enjoying setting the direction as much as going heads down to do the work. This Swiss Army knife capability allows me to bring a unique value beyond a traditional consultant. I’m not just leaving some PowerPoints and ideas, I’m jumping in with the teams to get things working. 

There are a few projects from Q2 2026 that really stood out to me that I’ve been both proud to work on and had real revenue impact on the business. 

Value-Based Time Logging Automation

I wrote about this in my Q1 wrap up but we took it much further to automate the time entries for supporting project roles this next quarter. I’ve built out a system using Jira’s native automation tooling to create a hands-off time logging capability. The full details are worth a post on their own. To keep it simple, where in Q1 time logging was based on taking a percentage of the individual contributor’s time log entry and logging to the project support lead, the work in Q2 added the ability to keep the time logs in sync based on changes. If a time log is updated, the matching work log’s amount and date are updated. If a log is deleted, the system deletes the matching work log. More control was given to project leads to give them tags to auto-log to specific tasks where needed. This automated system allows project leads to be hands-off with their work time entries to support a percentage system based on work completed. Now these client-focused individuals can focus on building relationships to foster additional business and spend less client time managing time cards. This system allowed the client to exceed revenue goals by 25% across the quarter. 

Operational Clarity Consulting

I’ve done a number of projects this quarter for groups of very smart small business people that needed some direction on their technical operations setup. These project consistently had people that knew their business well but were not technology people. They smartly recognize the value of building a business with a technology-focus early and needed guidance on their current approach and their path ahead. In many cases, we found some small projects to dive into to tighten up their security, leverage features they didn’t even know they were already paying for, and consolidate systems that duplicated functionality. We reduced some unneeded expenses and tightened up security. These growing businesses recognize the value of building strong foundations in their technology and operations to allow them to expand smoothly without collapsing under the exponential weight of no process and broken tools. I identified $100s in recurring license costs across Google and Microsoft products. I also reduced phishing and spam risk by using features included in licenses to help add in safeguards where 1 mistake can  cost a business $1,000s in lost time, revenue, or client trust with their data. 

Dropbox to SharePoint Migration

One of the larger efforts that I completed this quarter was a Dropbox to SharePoint migration. This also deserves its own post to dive into the details. Alongside the migration, I developed a transformation strategy to deliver clear next steps to continue the amazing growth they’ve had over the last few years. By pulling their working files into SharePoint, the team is able to use the capabilities built into Microsoft’s products like co-editing, secured sharing, and use a product they were paying for. They’ll be able to remove the recurring expense of Dropbox while also grounding their future AI tooling alongside Microsoft. As part of these efforts, we also identified clear security risks and misconfigurations that were dragging their operational teams down during colleague onboarding and offboarding work. As their team grows, they are now building on a stronger foundation. The move will result in a nearly $10k annual savings. I also identified $100s in monthly recurring costs for Microsoft 365 licensing that was incorrect or not used. For a small business team, this adds up and compounds as you scale. 

To accomplish these highlights and all the work this year, I had to pull together my knowledge across my leadership, strategic, and individual contributor knowledge sets. This included:

• Microsoft 365 Administration and Configuration
• Atlassian, Jira, and Confluence administration
• Jira Automations
• Scriptrunner for Jira Cloud calculated fields
• GitHub Configuration
• Team Training & presentations
• OpenAI’s ChatGPT Configuration
• Anthropic’s Claude Configuration
• Microsoft’s Copilot Configuration
• Microsoft Security Auditing

Alongside these individual pieces of work was a strategic plan, directing leadership, and empowering the team to manage the setups moving forward. 

I’m excited for what the second half of the year will bring. I’m building Valdivya’s work to be the right mix of strategic and contributor work to help small businesses take advantage of technology without needing to hire a full time COO, CTO, or CIO. My work brings the capabilities of these CXO roles into the small businesses world. 

If you're ready to reduce license costs, automate workflows, and free your team to focus on revenue, let's have a conversation