1. Define the decision
We agree the question in one sentence, who has to be convinced, the budget range and the deadline. Half the value of consultancy is refusing to answer the wrong question.
IT Consultancy
IT Consultancy for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses: Independent Advice Before You Spend
Software selection, technology audits, IT roadmaps and outsourced CTO cover from advisors who earn nothing on what they recommend. Rates agreed in writing, a written recommendation after every session, and a straight answer when the right move is to change nothing.
Written recommendations after every session Rates agreed in writing before we start Advice you can act on without us
Independent advice before you spend
The expensive technology mistakes in small businesses are rarely technical. They are a CRM bought on the strength of a demo, a server replaced when it should have been retired, or a transformation project that moved the same broken process into new software. The fix is a decision made with the facts in front of you, by someone with no stake in which product wins.
Our consultancy is paid by the hour or on retainer, never by commission, so the recommendation can be to buy less, to wait, or to change nothing. Every session ends with a written recommendation you can act on with or without us. If you want the background first, our digital transformation guide for SMEs covers the common traps.
What every engagement includes
Rates agreed in writing before the first session
A written recommendation after every session, with the reasoning
Options with costs, not a single answer
No reseller commission on anything we recommend
Advice you can act on without hiring us to implement it
Areas we advise on
AWSAzure and Microsoft 365Google CloudProcess mappingData and reportingSecurity and complianceVendor selectionIT budgeting
What we advise on
Six kinds of decision. Most engagements start with one of the first three; the Retainer and Transformation plans cover the rest over time.
IT strategy and roadmap
A one-to-three-year plan that sequences changes by business pain rather than by what is technically interesting: what to fix first, what to replace, what to leave alone, and what each step costs. Delivered as a document your board or your bank can read, with the trade-offs written down. On Retainer it is maintained month by month; on Transformation it comes fully costed.
Technology audit
An inventory of what you actually run: software and subscriptions, infrastructure, cloud usage, security controls, backups, vendors and contracts, and the processes they support. You get a plain-English report of what it costs, what is at risk, what is redundant and what is worth fixing first. Unused subscriptions and duplicated systems are the usual findings, and the report shows the numbers.
Software and vendor selection
Requirements written before any demos, so vendors answer your questions instead of steering the conversation. We shortlist, run structured evaluations, check references and contracts, and recommend with reasons. Because we take no commission, the recommendation can be the cheaper option or the one you already own. Our guide to choosing business software explains the method.
Outsourced CTO and virtual CIO
Senior technical judgement on retainer for businesses too small to employ it full time: architecture decisions, hiring and reviewing developers, vendor negotiations, budget planning, risk review and a technology roadmap presented to your board in plain language. The Retainer plan gives you 20 hours a month and a monthly review meeting.
Digital transformation planning
Transformation that starts with the process, not the software. We map how work actually flows, find the steps that cost time or lose information, then decide what to automate, what to change and what to leave manual. The result is a costed implementation roadmap with change management and staff training, which is what the Transformation plan delivers. Whether to move to the cloud at all is part of it; our cloud versus on-premise comparison sets out the trade-offs.
Security, compliance and risk review
A review of the technology, vendor, backup and compliance risks that would actually hurt the business, measured against the rules you operate under: UK GDPR, Cyber Essentials, HIPAA, SOC 2 or the UAE data protection law, as relevant. Framed with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework so the gaps are prioritised rather than just listed. Fixing them is a separate job, which our web security and IT support teams quote on request.
How it works
How an engagement runs
The same four steps whether it is a two-hour decision or a year-long programme. Every step ends with something written down.
2. Gather the facts
An audit sized to the decision: what you run, what it costs, how the process actually works and what the contracts say. Short interviews with the people who do the work, not only the owner.
3. Options with costs
Usually three, including the one where you change nothing. Each with the cost, the risk, the effort to adopt and what it rules out later.
4. Recommend in writing
A recommendation with the reasoning, sent after the session so you can act on it with or without us. On Retainer and Transformation we then oversee the work.
Transparent pricing
IT Consultancy plans
Rates agreed up front, with written recommendations after every session so the advice is yours to keep.
Advisory
Pay by the hour for a specific decision
$45/ hour
- Technology assessment and review
- Vendor and product evaluation
- Written recommendations after each session
- Email follow-up on the advice given
Retainer
A part-time CTO for growing businesses
$649/ month
- Everything in Advisory, plus:
- 20 hours per month at a reduced hourly rate
- Architecture and roadmap planning
- Project oversight
- Monthly review meeting
- Priority access between sessions
Transformation
Audit, roadmap and implementation oversight, quoted per project
Customtailored quote
- Everything in Retainer, plus:
- Full IT audit and process mapping
- Costed implementation roadmap
- Implementation oversight and change management
- Staff training
Written recommendations
Vendor and product evaluation
Email follow-up included
Senior advisors on every session
Not sure which package fits? Send us the details and we’ll recommend the right option.
Common moments
The moments that usually prompt a call
Most consultancy requests come from one of a handful of situations. These are the ones we handle most.
You are choosing software
Requirements written before the demos, so vendors answer your questions rather than steering the conversation, and a shortlist scored the same way for every candidate.
You need a CTO, but not a full-time one
Senior technical judgement on retainer for businesses too small to employ it, including hiring and reviewing developers you cannot evaluate yourself.
Your board wants a plan it can read
Budget planning, risk review and a technology roadmap presented in plain language, with the trade-offs stated rather than hidden.
You suspect you are overpaying
A technology audit that shows what you run, what it costs, what is at risk and what is redundant, with the numbers beside each item.
Everything is urgent and nothing is sequenced
An IT strategy that orders changes by business pain rather than by what is technically most interesting.
Someone is selling you a transformation
An independent review of the proposal, with no reseller commission, including when the honest answer is to change nothing.
Coverage
Where we deliver IT consultancy, and what changes by country
Advice is only useful when it accounts for the rules you operate under and how you are expected to buy.
Pakistan
Local vendor and connectivity knowledge, realistic budgeting in PKR, and honesty about which international tools are practical to run here.
United Kingdom
Roadmaps that account for UK GDPR, Cyber Essentials certification where clients or tenders require it, and typical UK procurement cycles.
United States
Advice framed around sector regulation such as HIPAA or SOC 2 where it applies, and the multi-state complexity that catches growing US businesses.
United Arab Emirates
Guidance on the UAE Personal Data Protection Law and free-zone versus mainland structures, which materially changes what you can host where.
Start a conversation
Tell us the decision you are facing
Describe the problem and we will come back within one business day with how we would approach it and what it costs.
No obligation and no follow-up sales pressure
Rates agreed in writing before any session
Written recommendations after every session
Your details stay private and are only used to respond to your enquiry.
Request your free quote
We normally reply within one business day.Questions people ask before they hire a consultant
Straight answers on independence, pricing, audits, outsourced CTO cover and what we need from you.
How is IT consultancy different from IT support?
+
Support keeps what you have running: the help desk, patching and backups. Consultancy decides what you should have: which software to buy, whether to move to the cloud, what to fix first and what to stop paying for. Many clients use both, but they are priced and staffed separately, and consultancy never depends on you buying anything else from us.
Are you independent, or do you resell what you recommend?
+
Independent. We take no commission, referral fee or margin on any product or vendor we recommend, and we say so in the engagement letter. That is why the recommendation can be the cheaper option, the one you already own, or to change nothing.
How does the hourly Advisory plan work?
+
You describe the decision, we agree an estimate of hours in writing, and you pay only for the hours used at $45 an hour. Each session ends with a written recommendation and email follow-up on it. A single software decision typically takes a few hours, and we tell you the estimate before starting.
What does a technology audit involve, and what do we get?
+
An inventory of your software and subscriptions, infrastructure, cloud usage, security controls, backups, vendors and contracts, built from your records and short interviews with the people who use the systems. You get a plain-English report of what it costs, what is at risk, what is redundant and what is worth fixing first, with the numbers.
What is an outsourced CTO, and when do we need one?
+
A senior technical lead on retainer rather than on the payroll: architecture decisions, hiring and reviewing developers, vendor negotiations, budgets and risk. You need one when technology decisions are being made by whoever shouts loudest, when you are hiring developers you cannot evaluate, or when a supplier is the only person who understands your systems. The Retainer plan is 20 hours a month with a monthly review.
Can you implement what you recommend?
+
Yes, through our development, IT support and security teams, quoted separately and never assumed. The recommendation is written so that any competent provider can act on it, and we will say if someone else is the better fit.
What do you need from us to start?
+
The decision in one sentence, the budget range if you have one, access to the people who do the work, and the contracts and invoices for the systems involved. If you do not have an inventory, that is usually the first thing we build.
Free consultation
Facing a technology decision?
Describe it. Within one business day you get how we would approach it, what it costs, and whether you need us at all.