Shannon, Mississippi · Serving MS & beyond
Eight bits.
One byte.
Zero guesswork.
Custom software, networks, and IT support built by someone who has spent his career keeping schools and public safety agencies running. One point of contact, start to finish.
Capabilities
Built, wired, and supported
From a single laptop that won't boot to a statewide web application. Same standard of work either way.
How it works
No sales maze
Send a request. You get a real answer from the person who will do the work — scope, timeline, and price in plain language before anything starts.
Services
What 8Bits 1Byte does
Every service below is something we have actually built, fixed, or run. If what you need isn't listed, ask — odds are it's adjacent.
Pricing
Straightforward rates
Hourly for repair and support. Flat project rate for software and cabling jobs. Monthly agreements for managed support and hosting. Quotes are written down before work starts — no surprise line items.
Who we work with
Small business to statewide
Local businesses, school districts, municipal departments, law enforcement agencies, and nonprofits. Comfortable with procurement paperwork, W-9s, POs, and vendor onboarding.
Government & public safety
Already set up to do business with the State
8Bits 1Byte Technologies is a registered State of Mississippi supplier. If you're an agency, district, or municipality, the paperwork is already done — you can issue a PO and we can start.
- Registered supplier in MAGIC, the State's procurement system
- W-9 on file with the Department of Finance and Administration
- Annual license, hourly, or quarterly billing — services rendered only, itemized time reports
- Experience with law enforcement training records, CJIS-aware design, and audit logging
- Sales to State agencies, counties, cities and school districts are Mississippi sales-tax exempt
Work
Things that are running right now
A few of the systems 8Bits 1Byte has built and keeps running. Client names are shared on request.
Statewide impaired-driving training portal
A state public-safety agency needed one place to manage SFST, ARIDE, and DRE certifications, evaluations, instructors, and reporting across every agency in the state — replacing spreadsheets, paper rolling logs, and email.
- Built
- Secure web portal with role-based access, MFA, audit logging, PDF generation, statewide reporting, and a public program website.
- Runs on
- AWS, encrypted at rest and in transit, daily backups, 99.5% availability target.
- Result
- Coordinators see certification status statewide in real time; officers and instructors document evaluations the way the curriculum is actually taught.
Live vehicle-tracking dashboard
A police department had GPS data coming off its in-car routers but no useful way to see it. They wanted a live map, history, and alerts without paying for another subscription platform.
- Built
- Real-time fleet map fed by Sierra Wireless AirLink routers, trip history, geofence alerts, and a supervisor view.
- Result
- Dispatch and command staff see every unit on one screen; no per-vehicle SaaS fees.
Device inventory and paperless workflows
Thousands of student and staff devices tracked on clipboards and spreadsheets, plus consent and referral processes that lived in paper folders.
- Built
- Barcode-scan inventory app for check-in/check-out; automated form-to-document workflows for nurse referrals and drug-testing consent; SPF/DKIM/DMARC email authentication for the district domain.
- Result
- Accurate device counts at any moment, faster audits, and staff time back.
Routing, VLAN and firewall projects
Multi-site network redesigns: moving routing off aging site switches, cleaning up VLANs, deploying and hardening firewalls, and documenting everything so the next person can follow it.
- Built
- Migration plans, cutovers scheduled around the people using the network, Wi-Fi coverage designs, structured cabling.
- Result
- Fewer outages, faster troubleshooting, and diagrams that match reality.
About
Chris Garrard
I've spent my career keeping the technology running for people who can't afford for it to stop — a school district's network and devices by day, and public-safety systems built on the side that officers, instructors, and state coordinators now depend on. That work taught me the thing most IT shops miss: the job isn't finished when it powers on. It's finished when the people using it can do their work without calling you.
8Bits 1Byte Technologies is where those side projects became a company. A statewide impaired-driving training portal. Live fleet tracking for a police department. Inventory and paperless workflows for a district. Networks rebuilt from the closet out.
The name is the simplest idea in computing: eight bits make one byte. Small pieces, assembled correctly, become something useful. Understand the pieces, put them together right, and make sure it holds up after I leave.
When you hire this company, you get me — not a ticket queue, not a call center, not a subcontractor you've never met.
Certifications
Service Request
Tell us what you need
The more detail here, the faster you get a real answer. Everything is reviewed the same business day.
Contact
Start a conversation
General questions, partnership, procurement paperwork, or just checking whether something is in our wheelhouse.
Direct
(662) 296-1513
Shannon, Mississippi
Onsite across North Mississippi · Remote nationwide
Mon–Fri 8a–6p CT
Emergency support by arrangement
8Bits 1Byte Technologies LLC MS Business ID 1573526 MAGIC Vendor # 3102156552 NAICS 541511 · 541512 · 518210
Privacy & Terms
Plain-language policies
Last updated September 2026.
What we collect
When you use the service-request or contact forms, we receive what you type: your name, organization, email address, phone number, and the details of your request. We don't use tracking pixels, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics that identify you. Basic, anonymous traffic statistics (page views, country, browser) may be collected through Cloudflare's privacy-first analytics.
How we use it
Form submissions are emailed to us and used only to respond to your request and, if you become a client, to deliver the work. We do not sell, rent, or share your information with anyone except the service providers needed to run this site (Cloudflare for hosting, Resend for form email delivery), and we only share what those providers need to do their jobs.
Client data
When we work on your systems, your data stays yours. We access only what the work requires, protect credentials with a password manager and multi-factor authentication, and return or destroy access when the engagement ends. Project-specific data terms are set out in each Statement of Work or Support Agreement.
Your choices
Email info@8bits1bytetechnologies.com to see what we hold about you, correct it, or have it deleted. We'll respond within 30 days.
Terms of service
Quotes are valid for 30 days unless stated otherwise. Work is performed under a written quote, Statement of Work, or Support Agreement, which controls scope, pricing, and warranty. Configuration and installation work carries a 30-day workmanship warranty; hardware and third-party software are covered only by their manufacturers. Time-and-materials work is billed for services actually rendered in quarter-hour increments after the first hour. Government clients are billed monthly or quarterly for services rendered, per agency preference.
This website
Content is provided for general information and may change without notice. 8Bits 1Byte Technologies LLC is a Mississippi limited liability company (Business ID 1573526). These policies are governed by Mississippi law.