Open for consulting engagements
Most consultants will tell you what to do and hand you a bill. I'll tell you what to do — and if you need it built, I'll build it myself. Straight answers from a senior engineer with no stake in the outcome.
Sound Familiar?
In every one of those situations, what you actually need is a senior engineer with no stake in the outcome — someone who'll look at the problem, give you a straight answer, and point you in the right direction.
What I Help With
Not vague "strategy". Not a report you'll file and never read. Each of these is a bounded piece of work with a fixed price and a concrete output you can act on.
A structured look at what you're running, how it's connected, what's working, and what's quietly costing you. You get a written report: findings, risks, and a prioritised list of what to do about them. No sales pitch attached.
Useful for — businesses that have grown and accumulated systems without ever stepping back to assess the whole picture.
from £500Choosing a platform, CMS, CRM, ERP, or specialist tool — when every vendor says they're the best option. I'll evaluate your actual requirements, shortlist the credible candidates, and recommend one with honest trade-offs.
Useful for — businesses preparing to invest in new software who want a second opinion before signing a contract.
from £450Custom build, or off-the-shelf product? Businesses get this wrong constantly — in both directions. I'll map your requirements, cost both routes realistically, and give you a straight recommendation.
Useful for — founders, product managers, and CTOs facing a genuinely difficult platform decision.
from £450Your project has gone sideways — timelines slipped, budget spent, product not what you expected. I'll come in cold, work out what actually happened, and give you a realistic picture of what it would take to salvage.
Useful for — anyone in a stalled or failing software project who needs an objective assessment before spending more.
from £600You know roughly what you want built — you need to define it before you hire anyone. Requirements, architecture, risks, all ending in a specification any competent developer can work from.
Useful for — founders and non-technical owners who want to brief a developer or agency without getting taken advantage of.
from £500Is AI genuinely useful for your business right now, or a distraction? I'll look at your workflows, find where it has real ROI, flag where it doesn't, and hand you a prioritised starting point.
Useful for — businesses hearing a lot about AI and wanting a practical, honest assessment rather than a vendor pitch.
from £350A senior technical brain on call — a set number of days each month, available for questions, decisions, code reviews, vendor calls, and whatever else comes up. Senior-CTO-level input without the full-time salary.
Useful for — SMEs, agencies, and growing businesses that need technical leadership but not a full-time hire.
The Right Fit
I work best with businesses and people who want honest technical input and don't want to be sold to:
Process
A conversation about what you're trying to solve. I'll ask enough questions to work out whether there's a clear engagement here and what it should look like. Most consulting starts as a bounded piece of work with a defined output — and I'll tell you if your situation doesn't fit that model.
Fixed price, fixed deliverable. Whether it's an audit report, a software recommendation, a specification, or a day of working sessions — you know exactly what you're getting before it starts. Most engagements are 1–5 days of actual work, delivered over 1–3 weeks.
Written output where relevant, plus a live debrief so you can ask questions. And if the work leads naturally to implementation, I can build the thing I've advised you to build — one relationship, no handover friction.
The Independent Advantage
Most technology consultants have quiet commercial relationships with the vendors they recommend. They're not necessarily lying to you — but they're not neutral either.
I don't have vendor referral arrangements. I'm not a reseller for any platform. I take no commission from software companies or hosting providers. When I tell you to use a particular tool, it's because it's the right tool for your situation — not because I get a cut.
It also means I'll tell you when something is a waste of money. When a platform you've been pitched isn't right. When a project is more complex and expensive than you've been led to believe. When the simple answer is simpler than anyone is admitting.
Consultants selling you their implementation work have an incentive to make the problem look bigger. I don't.
Who You're Talking To
I've spent over twenty years in this industry — not as a career consultant, but as a working engineer who has done the job at every level, from enterprise consultancies to independent practice.
That's what the Consultant Developer label means. When I advise you on a technical decision, I'm drawing on direct experience of building those systems — not reading about them.
Logica / CGI — one of the world's largest IT consultancies.
Custom systems built and delivered at enterprise scale.
Commercial builds and advisory for business clients.
Today — working at the frontier of what's practical.
Investment
Consulting is priced on scope — a fixed price for a defined deliverable. As a guide:
Everything is quoted at a fixed price after a scoping call — you know the number before any work begins. Day rate for project work is £600–£700 depending on the nature of the work; retainer clients get a small discount on it.
That's the most common first message I get — and nine times out of ten, it is the kind of thing I do. If you've got a technology problem, a decision to make, or a situation that's bothering you, describe it. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help and what that might look like.
Independent — no vendor ties No sales pitch Typically replies within one business day