Mike Merlin

Mike Merlin is Co-Founder and Software Engineering Lead of PracForms, bringing more than 25 years of experience in software development, systems architecture, databases, cloud infrastructure and DevOps.

His career has centred on building technology that solves complex operational problems and continues to work reliably in real-world environments. His experience spans custom software development, database and infrastructure architecture, workflow automation, API integrations, cloud systems, security and the development of business-critical platforms.

Mike has worked extensively across Linux and Windows infrastructure, Azure, AWS and Google Cloud, relational databases and modern web application development. His current work combines infrastructure architecture, Laravel development and DevOps, including secure cloud environments, automated deployment, multi-factor authentication, network isolation and auditable infrastructure management.

A recurring theme throughout his career has been connecting systems and removing unnecessary manual work. He has designed integrations between SaaS platforms, accounting systems, CRM and ERP applications, automated complex business workflows and developed systems that allow information to move securely between otherwise disconnected platforms.

His experience also includes developing and maintaining systems where reliability and data integrity are critical. One financial advisory system he developed remained the practice’s principal system of record for 18 years, while an ERP system he built for a commercial organisation scaled as the business grew from approximately $8 million to more than $100 million in annual turnover.

At PracForms, Mike leads the software engineering and technical architecture, with a focus on creating a secure, scalable and dependable platform capable of managing sensitive information, complex measurement rules, automated workflows and future practice-management system integrations.

His approach to PracForms reflects a principle that has characterised much of his engineering career: good technology should manage complexity behind the scenes, automate what can safely be automated, and make the experience simpler for the people using it.