About Byte and Bole

Pine stem

Background

Byte and Bole was founded in 2026 by Bernard Prosser.

Bernard has more than 18 years of experience in the forestry industry, spanning resource information and technical forestry, IT, harvesting operations and carbon project management. Bernard's experience is backed by a Bachelor of Applied Science (Forestry), a Bachelor of Computer Science and a Master of Data Science.

Expertise

Bernard's areas of expertise include, but are not limited to:

  • Desktop and web software development
  • Database design and management, including data warehousing and ETL processes.
  • Developing integrations between systems, including web and IoT devices.
  • Improving and designing new business processes, and the systems to support them.
  • Building advanced spreadsheet models, hidden behind clean, simple workflows.

Bernard has a particular interest in applying optimisation techniques to forestry problems, whether that's minimising operational costs, maximising carbon yield, aggregating coupes into practical operational units, or balancing casual worker requirements in a nursery.

Philosophy and Approach

Byte and Bole is guided by the belief that:

  • Simple, practical solutions often deliver more realisable value than overly configurable and complex systems.
  • Technology should reduce friction, not become another 'beast' to be fed and maintained.
  • Improvement is achieved by challenging assumptions and 'the way things have always been done'.

Behind the Name

Byte - a unit of digital information. Bole - the stem, or trunk, of a tree. The name reflects Byte and Bole's focus on bringing together technology, data and computer science to develop solutions for the forestry industry.