IT strategy and advisory
IT strategy and advisory for small businesses in Lancashire
Before you renew a support contract, sign off on new software or accept a supplier's quote, we review what you need and write down what we would do.
Definition
What is IT strategy and advisory?
Independent help with the decisions that sit around your technology: what to buy, what to keep, what to replace, and who to buy it from. It covers audits, procurement, vendor selection and security reviews, and it ends with a written recommendation rather than a sales pitch.
Most small businesses don't need a full-time IT director. They need a few days of straight thinking at the right moments, usually just before a large renewal, a large purchase or a large change. That is what this is.
Services
What we do
- 01
IT audits
A proper look at everything you pay for: hardware, software, subscriptions, support contracts. Most audits turn up a licence nobody remembers buying and a tool doing a job another tool already does.
- 02
Procurement
When you buy something substantial we work out the specification you actually need, which is usually less than the person selling it says. We gather comparable quotes and read the small print before you sign.
- 03
Vendor selection
Choosing a support company, a software vendor or a developer is hard when every proposal uses the same words. We translate them, ask the awkward questions, and score them against what your business needs.
- 04
Security reviews
A practical check of how exposed you are: passwords, backups, who can reach what, and what happens the day a laptop goes missing. Most of what we recommend costs little to put right.
Process
How it works
No discovery workshops, no twelve-week engagement plans. Most of our strategy work follows the same four steps.
- 01
The first conversation
Half an hour on a call. You tell us what has prompted this, and we tell you whether we can help. If we cannot, we say so there and then.
- 02
The review
We look at the relevant parts of your setup: contracts, costs, systems, and any quotes you have been given. For most small businesses this takes two weeks.
- 03
A written report
Findings and recommendations in plain English, with the reasoning shown and the costs attached. We walk you through it on a call, where you can challenge any of it.
- 04
Your move
Act on it yourself, hand it to your existing IT company, or ask us to take the next step. The report is yours either way.
Independence
Advice with nothing to sell you
Most IT advice comes from companies that also sell IT. The audit is free because the recommendation pays for it: more licences, a bigger support contract, a migration to whatever they resell. They may be perfectly decent people, but the maths only leans one way.
You pay for our time, and our time costs the same whether the answer is a small fix or a large project. That changes the advice. Do nothing for now becomes a recommendation we can afford to make, and so does the cheaper option is fine.
Things we get asked
Frequently asked questions
Tell us what you're weighing up
Tell us what has prompted this, a renewal, a quote, a nagging doubt, and we will tell you whether a review would pay for itself. If the answer is that you don't need us, you'll get that too.