Service 01
Technology advisory
Independent advice on architecture, strategy, data, customer experience, BSS and OSS, and software selection.
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Advisory + vCIO + vBusiness Analyst
Technology Consulting
Better technology decisions, from people who have delivered them.
Independent advice across architecture, data and systems, plus experienced people when you need them: a virtual CIO to lead your IT strategy and a virtual Business Analyst to turn business needs into clear requirements.
What we cover
- Architecture
- IT strategy
- Data
- CX
- BSS
- OSS
- RFPs
Built on open systems, to avoid vendor lock-in.
Our technology consulting services
Service 02
vCIO
Senior IT leadership for organisations without a dedicated CIO. Your virtual CIO sets the direction, controls the budget and manages your suppliers.
Service 03
vBusiness Analyst
An experienced analyst on demand. Clear requirements, mapped processes and solid business cases, for as long as your project needs them.
Service 01
Technology advisory
In a fast-moving economy, strategies must evolve as quickly as the market. We combine industry knowledge with advanced technology expertise and deliver value through working models, not theory.
Architecture
Align business and technology so you can adopt new tools smoothly and stay ahead.
Technology strategy
Proven frameworks and expert insight to create long-term value, especially when markets or regulation shift.
Digital transformation
Technology-led improvements to profitability, efficiency, collaboration and customer experience. See Digital Transformation.
Data management
A data strategy that turns information from ERP, CRM, OSS and billing systems into decisions.
Customer experience (CX)
Map, measure and monitor customer journeys, with data-driven personalisation that builds a customer-centric business.
Business support systems
Selection, implementation and operation of CRM, ERP, billing and order management, built on open systems to avoid vendor lock-in.
Operational support systems
Agile, decoupled service delivery and provisioning that supports continuous integration and change.
Software evaluation & RFP
Standards-based RFP documentation and objective vendor evaluation to select the right solution.
Service 02
vCIO
Senior IT leadership, without the full-time hire.
A virtual CIO is an experienced technology executive who joins your leadership team part time. Your vCIO sets the technology direction, aligns IT with your business goals, controls the budget and manages your key suppliers, while your IT team or provider keeps daily operations running.
- Lower costExecutive IT leadership on a retainer, without a full executive package.
- Business-led technologyEvery investment tied to a business goal, not a vendor's roadmap.
- Flexible commitmentMore hours around a major decision or project, fewer once it lands.
What your vCIO does
Strategy and roadmap
Turn your business goals into a prioritised technology roadmap, so everyone knows what comes next and why.
IT budget and cost control
Build the IT budget, challenge existing spend and show the return on every major investment.
Suppliers and RFPs
Run objective software and vendor selections, negotiate contracts and hold your key suppliers to account.
Architecture and systems
Guide decisions on ERP, CRM, billing, cloud and data platforms, so your systems work together and stay open.
Projects and change
Prioritise the project portfolio and steer major programmes, keeping them on time, on budget and on purpose.
Board reporting
Explain IT performance, risk and investment to your management and board in plain business language.
vCIO or dedicated CIO?
Both are valid. The right choice depends on your size, how central technology is to your business and how much day-to-day leadership you really need.
| What matters | vCIO | Dedicated CIO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | A monthly retainer sized to the hours you need, with no recruitment fees, bonus or benefits. | A full executive package: salary, bonus, pension and recruitment fees. |
| Time to start | As soon as scope is agreed. | Often a long executive search. |
| Experience | Lessons from many organisations, sectors and technology decisions. | Deep knowledge of one organisation, built over time. |
| Flexibility | Scale hours up around a major decision or project, then back down. | A fixed, permanent role, whatever the workload. |
| Day-to-day presence | Agreed hours, remote and on site. Daily IT operations stay with your team or provider. | Embedded in the leadership team and in daily decisions. |
| Perspective | An independent view, free of internal politics and existing supplier relationships. | An insider's view, with close relationships across the business. |
| Best fit | SMEs and mid-sized organisations, a major system decision, or a gap between hires. | Large IT departments and businesses where technology changes constantly. |
How a vCIO fits with your team
Your IT team or provider
Keeps systems running day to day: support, maintenance and operations.
Your vCIO
Sets the direction: which technology to invest in, why, and in what order.
Your vCISO
Keeps it secure and compliant: frameworks, risk, incident readiness and regulatory reporting. See vCISO.
How it works
Assess
Review your systems, spend, suppliers and projects against your business goals.
Plan
Agree a prioritised technology roadmap, the budget and the hours you need.
Lead
Your vCIO steers projects and suppliers, and reports to your management.
Evolve
Continue, scale up or down, or hand over to a permanent CIO when you outgrow the model.
Service 03
vBusiness Analyst
The link between your business and your technology.
A virtual Business Analyst is an experienced analyst who joins your team for as long as you need one. Yours works out what the business really needs, maps how it works today and how it should work tomorrow, and turns that into clear requirements that suppliers and developers can deliver.
- Right the first timeClear requirements up front, so less is misunderstood and reworked later.
- Available on demandBring in an analyst for a project, and stop when it is done.
- A fresh, neutral viewAn outside perspective that works across departments and suppliers.
What your vBusiness Analyst does
Requirements
Run workshops and interviews, then write clear, prioritised and testable requirements.
Process mapping
Map how work happens today, find where time and money are lost, and design how it should run.
Business cases and options
Compare the options on cost, benefit and risk, so your management can decide with confidence.
RFP and vendor selection
Prepare the specification, score the responses and run demonstrations against your real needs.
Testing and acceptance
Define test scenarios and run user acceptance testing, so what is delivered matches what you asked for.
Change and adoption
Support procedures, training and handover, so people actually use what you have built.
Compare
vBusiness Analyst or in-house analyst?
An in-house analyst pays off when change never stops. A vBusiness Analyst makes more sense when the work comes in projects.
| What matters | vBusiness Analyst | In-house analyst |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | You pay for the days you use. | A full salary and employment costs, including quiet periods. |
| Time to start | As soon as scope is agreed. | A recruitment process, then time to get up to speed. |
| Experience | Lessons from many sectors, systems and projects. | Deep knowledge of your business and your systems. |
| Flexibility | Scale up for a peak in demand, and stop when the project ends. | A fixed role, whatever the workload. |
| Day-to-day presence | Agreed days, remote and on site. Needs time from your subject experts. | Part of the team and on hand for everyday changes. |
| Perspective | A neutral view, able to challenge how things have always been done. | An insider's view, with established relationships. |
| Best fit | System selections, specific projects, peaks in demand or a first-time need. | A steady, full-time stream of change. |
How it works
From first conversation to handover
Discover
Understand your goals, your people and the problem you need to solve.
Analyse
Map current processes, find the gaps and weigh up the options.
Specify
Write clear, prioritised requirements and, where needed, the business case or RFP.
Support
Stay with the project through delivery, testing and handover to your team.
Better together. Your vCIO sets the direction, your vBusiness Analyst defines the detail, and your vCISO keeps it all secure and compliant. A senior team, sized to what you actually need.
Questions
Good to know
Do we still need an IT team or provider if we have a vCIO?
Yes. A vCIO works at strategy level. Daily support and operations stay with your IT team or provider, and your vCIO helps to direct them and hold them to account.
What is the difference between a vCIO and a vCISO?
A vCIO decides where technology should take the business. A vCISO makes sure it stays secure and compliant. They are separate functions, so security keeps its own voice when priorities compete. Many organisations start with one and add the other as they grow.
When do we need a vBusiness Analyst rather than a vCIO?
Choose a vCIO when the question is what to do and why, across the whole business. Choose a vBusiness Analyst when a specific change needs defining in detail, such as a new system, process or report.
How long does a vBusiness Analyst engagement last?
As long as the project needs. Some are short, such as writing the specification for a tender. Others run through delivery and testing. We agree the scope and the days with you up front.
Need experienced people, without the full-time hire?
Tell us what you are planning. We'll tell you whether advisory, a vCIO, a vBusiness Analyst or a mix makes the most sense.