Clearly, if you are simply looking to buy a single PC - then the chances are there are plenty of "experts" out there who can help you find the right model.
Sometimes, however, your buying needs are more complicated, and whilst "everyone's an expert" when it comes to IT - we have significant experience buying, implementing, using and supporting major IT systems in businesses of all shapes and sizes.
An Independent IT Advisor will help you implement IT systems that actually work for your business, and we would definitely recommend taking such advice when:
In each of these cases we can advise your business on the best course of action, or where you require very specialist guidance we can evaluate and select suitable alternative specialists.
Even when you already have suppliers in mind or even in place we can work closely with all parties to ensure a smooth delivery.
No. A middleman is someone who takes a "cut" from a deal and adds no value. We do neither - we provide highly focussed technical and commercial advice, consultancy and training based upon our many years of experience delivering major IT projects in everything from privately owned firms to global plcs.
We act as your own part time IT Director and ultimately we save our clients significant amounts of money by ensuring that they choose the right suppliers and the right technologies and then go on to implement those projects on time and in budget.
Mandy is doing a fantastic job on the IT - in fact she's probably spending more time on IT matters than she is chasing debtors and preparing the management accounts for the bank!
We can support Mandy by giving her some proper training which will help her make better IT decisions and deal more effectively with your IT suppliers. We can also provide independent advice should she be asked to investigate a major change such as a new CRM or accounts package, or address issues such as IT security or Data Protection.
Oh, and while we are at it, we will show her how to use tools such as Crystal Reports to automate those management accounts and aged debtors reports. All in all we'll save her hours of messing with Excel and IT problems every month, which will more than cover our costs.
A little knowledge is always a dangerous thing in terms of IT. That is why all of our practitioners have a minimum of 15 years experience running real IT systems within real businesses just like yours.
We are also professional members of the British Computer Society, the only professional institution serving the IT industry.
Our backgrounds in Project Management, Business Process Re-engineering, Software Development, Systems Architecture, Information Security, User Acceptance Testing, Validation and Web Development afford us a greater command of Information Technology.
We charge by the hour and our minimum charge is one hour. For smaller projects and businesses that simply only require a small amount of "steering" - one hour from time to time may be all they need to keep abreast with developments or on top of their IT commitments. Our rates vary according to the nature of the work (for example, supplier mediation work will attract a higher rate than general consultancy which is charged at £75 per hour).
Many of our larger clients have longer term needs and choose to pay a small monthly "retainer" which guarantees our availability and also reduces our rates.
Our consultancy and knowledge transfer services are normally carried out on a fixed-price basis - the price we quote is the price you pay.
Although we have clients outside of this range our "typical" client falls in the range of 10 - 100 users and will not have a senior (Board level) IT presence.
They will spend between £25,000 and £500,000 per annum on "IT" (including staff and support costs). Naturally, this figure will vary according to the industry sector.
Many of our clients are within the demanding recruitment and financial services industries, the majority of our clients fall broadly within the "professional services sector" umbrella.
It is true that many IT companies have built their business on the healthy commission / referral schemes of the vendors whose products they sell. We do not believe that this is necessarily a bad thing, however there are situations (particularly with larger or more complex projects) when this is no longer appropriate. Complex IT solutions needs to be selected purely on the basis of sound commercial and technical rigour and nothing else.
Unlike most conventional IT Companies we operate commercially independently from all partners and vendors we work with meaning that any commission or referral fees are paid to you or discounted from any orders you place with our partners.
It is this transparency which allows us to be 100% confident that the recommendations we make are in your company's best interests - not ours..
We do not sell or resell computers, hardware or software. We do not provide software or hardware support services. We believe that our competences lie in other areas.