The Right IT Advice for Your Business, When You Need it

I work with organisations to help them make the right choices with their IT

How to buy a complex IT system without losing your mind

We all have experience at using an IT system in our organisations that don't funciton properly, or cause issues and frustration.

Organisations purchasing IT systems that are not fit-for-purpose or are limited and inflexible can have devastating consequences for the organisation.

The issue is grounded in the fact that IT system procurement is typically handled by non-experts, which leads to a mismatch between buyers and sellers and contributes to the majority of IT system failures.

To address this issue, I have written a book that helps executive teams make the decisions around IT system procurement such that they buy the right solution at the right price.

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If you're currently making a complex IT system purchase and can't wait for the book, you can always engage me to help your organisation directly as a Consultant CIO.

Expert Assistance for Resolving Disputes and Getting IT Projects Back on Track

If an IT system has been delivered and is not working, or if an IT system is being implemented but is a “death march, there is a chance that it can be made to work. All that you have to do is get it over the line.

Our legal system in the UK is an adversarial one, where both sides argue a position and ultimately a judge will make a decision over which side is likely to be correct. The remedy that the courts can make is typically limited to making one side pay the other, which may or may not include costs.

For complex projects, the process of getting to trial takes 12-18 months, on top of the time you spent on the project prior to going to court. That is a tremendous amount of wasted time.

If the project can be made to function, it can be very difficult to get both sides working together again as the trust will almost certainly have completely broken down. It can also be the case that the supplier (or the customer) cannot see certain issues with the project because they have been mired for so long.

In both cases, what is required is a collaborative, mediated approach to getting the project to final sign-off.

This can’t be done with a good project manager as there will be deep seated technical and business process issues that are stopping the project working. It isn’t an administrative or management problem, this type of dispute can only resolved by bringing in a highly technical independent expert who remit is to get the project to sign-off and keep the parties out of court.

I have nearly 25+ years industry experience working with companies deliver complex IT and software systems. Now I work almost exclusively on this form of alternative dispute resolution.

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The Core Services That I Offer

Technical Project Remediation

I work with both customer and supplier to actively avoid legal action by assessing and developing remedial action steps that can be taken on your project.

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Consultant CIO/Fractional CIO

As a Consultant CTO, I work within your business as a part-time CTO supporting the IT strategy so that it creates genuine value within the business.

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Technical Non-Executive Director

I work with your organisation's board to extract the essential insights necessary for the organisation to deliver its mission.

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Go-to-Market Support

I collaborate with business owners and entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas but require technical guidance to secure investments or launch their products in the market.

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Expert Witness Services

I support you to get you the strongest possible position prior to litigation. Alternatively, both sides can engage me to deliver an independent report.

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I have been working in the field of software engineering and IT for 25+ years. Now I help IT customers and suppliers avoid lengthy and expensive legal proceedings

I have a lifelong passion for software engineering, first learning how to program home microcomputers at age 8. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked for scores of companies helping them to deliver software excellence. I’ve co-authored half-dozen books on software engineering and business, and had the opportunity to write a column on computing for The Guardian.

Like any IT professional, I know that projects go wrong from time-to-time. IT projects are typically huge, complex beasts and it is, in fairness, very difficult to pull off successful execution every time, even for experienced and talented implementation teams.

Very few technical specialists focus on the sticky end of rescuing project failures or when a project cannot be rescued, helping both parties mediate a less "nuclear" solution. 

This is how I spend my days – helping IT customers and suppliers navigate their way out of failed and failing IT projects avoiding lengthy and costly proceedings in court.

  1. Suite W26, Bletchley Business Centre
  2. 1-6 Barton Road, Bletchley, MK2 3HU
  3. 01442 504477
  4. 07799 138885
  5. [email protected]

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