Using IT and Technology to Grow Agile Businesses

How do IT and technology drive business growth?

CEO Graeme Freeman and CIO/CTO David Birnbaum discuss how designing flexible back-end systems allows mid-market businesses to stay nimble and adaptable—in good times and bad.

Watch the full version here!

Get in touch if you have any questions or to discuss how we can help your mid-market company.

And visit our Digital Transformation Knowledge Center, which includes all content related to this topic.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with ambitious organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.

Create New Services with IT and Technology

How do IT and technology drive business growth?

CEO Graeme Freeman and CIO/CTO Ben Cabrera discuss how back-end integration helped a client to create new services and generate more revenue.

Watch the full version here!

Get in touch if you have any questions or to discuss how we can help your mid-market company.

And visit our Digital Transformation Knowledge Center, which includes all content related to this topic.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with ambitious organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.

The Power of Technology: Driving Business Growth

How do IT and technology drive business growth?

We’re continuing our Hot Topic series with another brief, informative discussion for mid-market chief executives. Here we discuss how technology can drive business growth by:

• Improving customer experience to create a competitive advantage
• Providing new services to create new revenue streams and points of difference
• Designing flexible back-end systems to provide a platform for growth

Get in touch if you have any questions or to discuss how we can help your mid-market company.

And visit our Digital Transformation Knowledge Center, which includes all content related to this topic.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with ambitious organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.

Meet our technology experts

“Between us all, we’ve been there, we’ve seen it, we’ve done it.” Our IT leaders explain their extensive digital and business technology experience.

We’re a team of 85+ Board-level technology leaders (CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and IT Directors) who collaborate and knowledge share every day so that we can deliver the very best for our clients. We work across all industries including; retail, manufacturing, logistics, pharma, facilities management, professional services, construction, engineering, private equity to name a few. Its safe to say we’ve got you covered!

Visit our Knowledge centers, which include expert documents that will help your business improve and grow.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with ambitious organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.

Does My Business Need Custom Software?

If the software can be uniquely valuable to your business, then custom software offers a great opportunity. But it requires substantial investment, and you will be living with the decision for years to come.

Conversely, a huge range of off-the-shelf software is now available, and it is increasingly flexible and powerful. And modern off-the-shelf products are normally cloud-based with subscription pricing, so they are easier than ever to own and operate.

But large off-the-shelf implementations are themselves difficult and complex projects, and they will not provide your business with a point of difference. In fact, normally, these projects are deliberately aiming to drive established best-practice into business processes and to enforce standardization and rationalization.

Custom software development on the other hand is complex and risky, but it can deliver uniqueness and genuinely valuable innovation. This isn’t cheap, though, and many custom software projects fail—custom software is valuable because it’s not easy.

What are the benefits of custom software?

Custom software can deliver stand-out user experiences and functionality. This may allow your business operation to do something different and better than the competition; it may allow you to deliver valuable innovations.

But business leaders need to ask themselves this challenging question: Is this a genuine innovation, and would customers value it?

Custom software can be a means to create new market opportunities, to build engaging brand experiences for your customers, and to radically reduce cost or service. It can bring innovation and digital thinking to the heart of your business culture.

Find out how we are helping a mid-market business with a bespoke software project.

What are the disadvantages of custom software?

Custom software projects are very difficult to plan and manage, and because anything is possible, it is often difficult to manage scope.

Conversations between non-technical business leaders and highly technical software developers are often fraught. It’s very difficult for non-technical leaders to assess the completeness, security, or quality of software, and developers often struggle to explain the implications of their design decisions. Estimates are notoriously unreliable, and problems may only become apparent very late, so relationships can become strained.

All custom software requires ongoing fixes and changes, either to address errors (which are inevitable) or keep up with the constant evolution of IT. As there really is no end to a custom software project, you need to ensure that experts are always available and involved. And tools and approaches that work for small-scale software are not appropriate for large, important software products, so if the project is successful, there is a constant need to upgrade.

Many business leaders are frustrated that the costs never seem to end.

How can I ensure custom software delivers innovation?

Businesses that embark on custom software need to understand the likely cost and effort in the short-, medium- and long-term. They need to create a robust business plan that demonstrates the value and remain entirely focused on delivering it.

They need to ensure that have the necessary technical skills and leadership skills to deliver the software on time and budget and to deliver the intended business outcomes.

Visit our ERP and Integration Issues Knowledge Center, which includes all content related to this topic.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) IT Directors, CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with SME and mid-market organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.

Cyber Security is a Leadership Challenge

These days perhaps half of all companies face a cyber attack. The usual response is to insist that it’s the IT team’s problem. But in our experience, the buck stops with the CEO. This short video explains how you can quickly educate yourself about cyber security and how Freeman Clarke can help.

Visit our Cyber Security Knowledge Center which includes more content related to this topic.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with ambitious organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.

My Company Is Under Cyberattack! What Do I Do?

What to do if and when your company suffers a cyberattack.

You can listen to the other audios in this series here.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with ambitious organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.

How Do You Start a Cyber Security Plan?

So many CEOs, however capable, are unsure about how to start a Cyber Security plan. Gerry explains where and how to start.

You can listen to other audio clips in this series here.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with ambitious organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.

How Can a CEO Get the Sales Team Focused on Cyber Security?

So many security risks come in through the sales team. Listen to our quick guide to getting the salespeople to take these risks seriously.

You can listen to the other audios in this series here.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with ambitious organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.

Cyber Security: How to Judge Your Real Level of Risk

A quick guide to assessing your company’s actual risk of cybercrime, and how to get started on prevention.

You can listen to the other audios in this series here.

Freeman Clarke is the largest and most experienced team of part-time (we call it “fractional”) CIOs and CTOs. We work exclusively with ambitious organizations and we frequently help our clients use IT to beat their competition. Contact Us and we’ll be in touch for an informal conversation.