2. www.drpete.co.uk
Many of our clients come to us, in the first instance, because they are
unhappy with their outsourced IT provider, receive poor value for money and
don’t know how to escape.
Similarly, we find many providers struggling to manage their client who will
not engage with key decisions that need to be made.
Both scenarios can mean your investment in IT is under-performing and
therefore so (potentially) is the business!
We are often asked to carry out an impartial review - we can be trusted
because we are not a rival to the outsource provider, and we can gain trust
from both sides.
This is our USP.
Feeling dissatisfied?
3. www.drpete.co.uk
● Have you outgrown your provider?
● Are costs escalating and you don’t know why? The cost model may need
to change. Do you need to find cost savings?
● Can they provide the services you need to align with your strategy e.g.
Cloud.
● Would you like some hand-holding to investigate alternative suppliers?
● Do you need help to develop mitigation plans (e.g. as part of business
continuity and disaster scenarios)?
● Would you like to bring your IT in-house?
● Are you merging or demerging - what are the IT implications?
● Do you want to confirm your provider is acting in your best interests?
An independent review by someone with no axe to
grind, and no product to sell may be just what you
need.
Why spend £’000s on an IT review?
4. www.drpete.co.uk
Ask yourself this:
To what extent are the systems and processes used in the organisation
Efficient, Effective and Economic?
Only by conducting an overarching technology review, considered in the
context of:
● People and resources (your staff, your third parties)
● Technology (the actual tools you have or need) i.e. infrastructure and
software deployed
● IT and related processes (like your reporting, backups, security, disaster
recovery plans, and documentation),
can you paint a true and representative picture of the current
environments of your IT function.
5. www.drpete.co.uk
Review steps
● Identify the scope
● Gather information (including site visits) by:
○ Meeting the People
○ Assessing the Technology
○ Understanding the Processes & Procedures
and extent of documentation
● Reporting Process
● Findings & recommendations
● Next steps
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People
☐ Do IT staff have the right skills available to support the systems?
☐ Check there are no key-person dependencies (especially in critical
system support and/or software development).
☐ Is there staff cover for service availability demanded by the
business?
☐ Is there reporting on analysis of staff turnover, appraisal processes,
development and training plans?
☐ Are procedures/processes documented including a staff guide?
☐ Does everyone have a current job description and how do salaries
compare to the market rates?
People are often the biggest risk and cost; it’s important that the right
capabilities exist and are appropriately deployed.
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Assessing the technology
☐ Is the hardware/software old and in need of imminent replacement?
☐ Is the current hardware (and firmware) appropriate, supported and scaleable?
☐ Are systems robust, reliable and resilient - including infrastructure such as data
centres, power and internet provision?
☐ Do reports exist for security breaches (virus outbreak, network hacks, data
loss, physical impediment such as fire or flood)?
☐ Have the systems been tested for vulnerabilities?
☐ Are IT assets adequately controlled and managed?
☐ Is there a backup regime; has a data restore been recently tested?
☐ Are plans in place for business continuity and disaster recovery?
☐ For bespoke systems, do you follow best practice? Is the software current and
supported?zz
☐ Does the helpdesk/service desk system fulfil its requirements to provide (and
report) IT support to the business?
Are the current systems capable of supporting the business?
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Processes, controls & documentation
☐ Key IT suppliers: Understand contracts & exit plans. Identify alternative suppliers
and any mitigation plans.
☐ Are key supplier performance metrics reviewed regularly? Benchmark costs to
ensure value for money and hold regular reviews (quarterly).
☐ Are Access Control measures in place, including password policy and “break-
glass” measures?
☐ Is there a policy for BYOD (bring your own device)?
☐ Has the business gained any assessment certification, such as ISO 27001?
☐ Are helpdesk and ITIL / Cobit adopted?
☐ Are documents up-to-date and version controlled?
☐ Do documents exist relating to service level agreements (SLA) with suppliers and
internal business groups?
☐ Is documentation available for IT strategy, project management and change
control?
Understand the procedures to carry out business-as-usual activities.
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Conclusion
The final stages encompass:
● Careful analysis of gathered data, leading to
● Findings and conclusions, that describe the IT
function in terms of its maturity and
effectiveness, and lastly,
● Recommendations made to improve those areas
highlighted and importantly, outline what
business benefit can be realised.
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Need help?
● Our checklist is a simplified snapshot/highlight
of typical questions, to provide food for thought.
● In reality, every business will be different - for
example, online gaming will be different to
eCommerce - in terms of types of systems and
peak usage and security.
● We have over 30 experts, many from the Big 4 IT
audit practices, who have undertaken
technology reviews.
● We can tailor a cost effective plan based on your
requirements in the UK or around the world.
11. www.drpete.co.uk
Roelof Iball
Senior
Consultant
Roelof is a seasoned IT professional, corporate
(BP, Ernst & Young, Rentokil Initial, BDO) IT
problem solver, experienced across a range of
industries encompassing both mid-size and
enterprise organisations.
Reporting on IT investment and performance
issues for private equity and corporate finance
due diligence.
Paul
McCormack
Senior
Consultant
Paul is a seasoned IT professional, having
served as a Head of IT for a variety of
corporates. Prior to joining DrPete, Paul was
an an IT Consultant advising clients of BDO
LLP. He also undertook a discrete project
assignment for Google.
Paul has worked in many diverse sectors, from
natural resources, to property management
and cryogenics, providing IT reviews, due
diligence and IT project management services.
About the authors
14. www.drpete.co.uk
It should be noted we are up-to-date with new practices and technology paradigms.
Thought leadership
Thus we are members of
the European Cloud
Industry body - Eurocloud.
Personally, DrPete is an IT
and cloud commentator
with regular columns in
Techradar and Cloud Pro
Magazine.
DrPete thought leadership
has been featured in
broadsheets such as the
Financial Times, the
Guardian, and leading
portals like the Huffington
Post.
15. www.drpete.co.uk
Case Studies
Steljes is the UK’s leading distributor of SMART interactive
whiteboards for schools and workplaces. A big driver for
change was a desire for better communication, enhanced
efficiency and effectiveness & improved collaboration
between IT and the business. After a review, we helped
them to develop a back office roadmap to change their
systems radically and update IT processes and team. This
has led to implementation of a large-scale cloud based
enterprise resource planning package technologies to bring
cost savings and improve effectiveness.
British American Tobacco is a highly distributed business
operating in some 132 countries globally. DrPete won a
competitive tender based on our independence and staff
talent to assess the business’ readiness to move the cloud.
The work includes a review of infrastructure and IT set-ups
in 38 regional locations. (Currently ongoing).
Dafabet is part of Asialogic which runs online gaming
facilities in the Philippines with millions of customers
throughout the Far East. DrPete performed an extensive IT
strategy review In the Ukraine, Estonia, Israel, Taiwan,
Hong Kong and in the Philippines. We recommended
improvements to the processes and systems running across
the group. DrPete also helped to review around 40
processes, optimising 20 of the critical/ inefficient ones
utilising a cloud based workflow combined with on premise
data repositories based on Sharepoint.
Montagu Evans is a premier property consulting company
based in London with several regional centres around the
United Kingdom, serving prestigious global clients. They
sought independent advice to develop their IT strategy
culminating in an outsourced IT model.
For a US pharmaceutical company, we helped to deploy 9
new offices across the EU, identifying and working with
local partners; we have an insight into the challenges of
deploying and supporting infrastructure internationally and
using a standardised, “Office in a box” approach.
The Southbank Centre is a world-leading arts organisation
which holds 2000 events, has 29 million visitors a year and
400 staff. The centre had a dynamic digital strategy,
including a move to a 'digital workforce' that can free
employees from the confines of a set computer or place of
work. DrPete reviewed their IT strategy and helped them to
a “cloud-based” solution rather than the in-house, inflexible
solution they had initially started with. DrPete worked
hand-in-hand with regular users and technical staff alike,
and took them through a strategic analysis of the options
available. This included visiting Microsoft and the European
Google Headquarters.
Lewis PR is a global public relations organisation, with
offices in 28 countries. DrPete Worked with the finance
director to perform a strategic IT review in order to help
their IT Department to reduce risks and gain insight to
future IT strategy.
