Moving a 200-user broker to the cloud
- What I did
- Moved the business onto Microsoft 365 and its SQL databases to the cloud, with disaster recovery and backups put in place as part of the move.
Proper IT leadership, without the full-time hire.
I'm Mark Noble, an independent IT director based in Leeds. After 30 years in insurance, retail, manufacturing and distribution, I help small and mid-sized businesses get their IT working, keep it working, and get through big changes like acquisitions and system upgrades.
When businesses call me
We've outgrown our IT.
What worked at 20 people is creaking at 80. Nobody owns IT strategy, the budget is a guess, and you're not sure what your suppliers are doing for the money.
We're buying, or being bought.
Two businesses, two sets of systems and a deadline. I've been through it from both sides: at Romero, which was bought twice, and with the Gallagher team bringing acquired agencies across.
Our systems are old and risky.
An ERP version that's no longer supported, servers in a cupboard, backups nobody has tested. I'll tell you what matters, what can wait, and what it will take.
What I do
Part-time IT director
Senior IT leadership for the days you need it: strategy, budget, suppliers and projects.
IT health check
A short, honest review of what you have, what could hurt you and what to fix first.
Cloud, security and recovery
Microsoft 365, backups, disaster recovery and Cyber Essentials, planned properly.
ERP and business systems
Navision and Dynamics NAV upgrades, project rescue, and linking your systems to your website and customers.
Acquisitions and integration
Bringing a bought business onto your systems, or being bought, without stopping the day job.
Recent work
Bringing acquired insurance agencies onto Gallagher's systems
- What I did
- Worked alongside the AssuredPartners CIO, then with Gallagher's M&A team, on moving the agencies onto Gallagher's infrastructure. Ran local IT in the meantime, and worked with Gallagher's service teams when problems came up.
Keeping the main business system current, and connected
- What I did
- Upgraded the ERP from Navision 3.6 to Dynamics NAV 2009 R2, then to NAV 2016. Introduced EDI to automate ordering and invoicing. Built trade and retail e-commerce websites linked to the main system.
What colleagues say
“Knowledgeable, approachable and someone you can rely on.”
“Good manager with a sound grasp of the technologies and issues.”
“He isn’t a ‘yes man’ and yet he is able to bear the responsibility for the necessary improvements.”