IT strategy & consulting in Newmarket
Most growing businesses need IT leadership long before they need a full-time IT manager. We act as your virtual IT manager: setting a budget, planning the next three years, dealing with vendors and giving you straight answers when an insurer, auditor or client asks hard questions.
Onsite technicians cover Newmarket. Most problems are fixed remotely first; when a job needs hands, a technician comes to you.
IT strategy & consulting for Newmarket businesses
Newmarket combines a major retail centre on Broadway with mid-rise office buildings, specialist medical and dental rooms, fashion head offices and professional firms along Khyber Pass Road and Carlton Gore Road. Retail and office teams often sit in the same business.
Businesses here commonly juggle two very different needs: point-of-sale and payment terminals in a shop that must never go down, and a back office running Microsoft 365, finance and design software. Medical and dental rooms hold patient records that need careful access control, encrypted devices and backups that are actually tested.
We also deal with the people around your IT. We read software contracts before you sign, talk to vendors on your behalf, fill in cyber insurance and client security questionnaires accurately, and sit in on meetings with new suppliers so somebody on your side understands the technical details being discussed. That saves directors hours each month, avoids contracts that lock you into the wrong system and means the answers you give insurers and clients are accurate, which matters if you ever need to make a claim.
Our technicians come to Newmarket shops, clinics and offices for setups, network work and hardware faults, and handle most day-to-day requests remotely. Store work can be planned before opening hours to avoid disrupting trade.
What's included
Regular leadership meetings
A standing meeting with the directors to review progress, risks and upcoming decisions, with short written notes afterwards.
Yearly IT budget
A budget for hardware, software, services and projects, so IT spending is planned before the financial year rather than discovered during it.
Vendor management
We deal with internet, phone and software suppliers for you, chase faults and review renewals before they roll over.
Current state review
A written assessment of your systems, security, licences and contracts, with the risks ranked and explained in business terms.
Insurance and security questionnaires
Accurate answers to cyber insurance, client and tender questionnaires, with a list of anything to fix before you submit.
Three-year roadmap
What to replace, upgrade or retire over the next three years, in order, with the reasons and the expected cost of each step.
Is it right for your Newmarket office?
A virtual IT manager suits businesses that:
- Are growing and making bigger IT decisions than before
- Have IT spending that varies wildly from year to year
- Are choosing a new core business system
- Face insurance, client or tender questions about security
- Want someone to manage vendors and contracts on their behalf
- Have a director spending hours each week on IT decisions
How getting started works
- Free IT health check. We look at your devices, accounts, backups and network and tell you what we find, in plain English.
- Clear proposal. A written monthly price per user and a list of any fixes, with nothing hidden.
- Handover. We collect admin access and documentation from your current provider and keep your team working.
- Day-one fixes. Security gaps, failed backups and urgent risks are dealt with first.
IT strategy & consulting in Newmarket: questions
Can you look after both our shop and our office?
Yes. We keep the store network separate from the office network so a problem in one does not take out the other, and we look after the POS computers, receipt printers and Wi-Fi alongside your office laptops. Payment terminals stay with your bank or terminal provider, and we make sure the network they need works.
What do specialist rooms in Newmarket need to protect patient records?
Multi-factor sign-in, encrypted laptops, sensible access permissions in the practice software and a backup that is tested by restoring from it. We set those up and check them regularly, keeping within what your software vendor supports.
What do we get at the end of a review?
A written report covering where you stand, the risks in order of priority, a three-year roadmap and an estimated budget. It is yours to keep, whoever does the work.
How is consulting charged?
Small pieces of advice are billed at our hourly rate of $109 plus GST. A full review and roadmap, or an ongoing virtual IT manager arrangement, is quoted in writing first with a fixed scope.
Will you push us towards particular products?
We recommend what suits your business and explain why. Where we supply hardware or software, the price is quoted separately so you can compare it with buying elsewhere.
Is this the same as managed IT?
No. Managed IT keeps things running day to day. Strategy and consulting is about planning and decisions. The Complete plan includes a yearly budget and replacement plan; deeper consulting can be added on any plan or bought on its own.
More IT services in Newmarket
- Managed IT
- IT support
- Cyber security
- Microsoft 365
- Networks & Wi-Fi
- Internet & phones
- Backup & disaster recovery
- Cloud & servers
- Email security & deliverability
- CCTV & access control
- Printers, copiers & scanning
- Laptops, PCs & devices
- Office moves & fit-outs
- Co-managed IT
- Security awareness training