Mark Noble Independent IT director, Leeds

Selected work

Projects from the last 20 years, newest first. Each one says what the job was, what I did, and what changed.

Romero Insurance Brokers

Insurance broker, Leeds

2016 to 2026

Moving a 200-user broker to the cloud

The job
Move an insurance broker with around 200 users from infrastructure in its own offices 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.
What changed
Core systems no longer depended on hardware in the office. Disaster recovery and backups were part of the new setup.

Romero Insurance Brokers

Insurance broker, Leeds

2016 to 2026

Building an in-house helpdesk and introducing cyber security

The job
Give a business of about 200 people its own IT support, and bring cyber security into the business.
What I did
Built an in-house helpdesk. Introduced cyber security, including staff training and Cyber Essentials, the UK government-recommended baseline for getting the basics right.
What changed
Staff had an in-house helpdesk to call and had been trained on security, and the business had a recognised baseline to work to.

Romero Insurance Brokers

Insurance broker, Leeds

2016 to 2026

Joining the offices up on one reliable network

The job
Align the remote offices on a network that could keep working when a connection failed.
What I did
Introduced SD-WAN across the offices, replacing the old MPLS network, working with network supplier Principle Networks.
What changed
Every location has two circuits with automatic failover, and the changeover caused no downtime. That is as reported in the supplier's published case study.

AssuredPartners and Gallagher

Insurance broking group

January 2024 to October 2026

Bringing acquired insurance agencies onto Gallagher's systems

The job
Keep day-to-day IT running across 14 insurance agencies, then bring them onto Gallagher's systems after Gallagher completed its purchase of AssuredPartners in August 2025.
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.
What changed
The agencies moved across while their day-to-day IT carried on.

Buckley London

Jewellery business, Leeds and London

2005 to 2016

Keeping the main business system current, and connected

The job
Keep the company's ERP system up to date, and link it to customers and to the web.
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 changed
Ordering and invoicing were automated, and online orders went into the same system as the rest of the business.

Buckley London

Jewellery business, Leeds and London

2005 to 2016

Recovery, infrastructure and office moves

The job
Make sure the company could operate around the clock, and keep the infrastructure up with the business.
What I did
Put a disaster recovery setup in place. Replaced and upgraded the infrastructure. Project-managed moves to additional offices in Leeds and London. Reduced the department's spending while managing its budget.
What changed
The company could operate 24/7, and customers got better service from the upgraded infrastructure.

Doric FPD

Burnley

April to October 2016

Re-implementing a company's ERP system

The job
Move the company from Navision 1.1 to Dynamics NAV 2016, including its website and sales ordering.
What I did
Project-managed it from IT infrastructure through to new business processes. Worked with third-party contractors and resellers to keep it on time and within budget.

Earlier work

At G&A (Abbeycrest), a jewellery manufacturer and distributor, I set up a centralised IT helpdesk covering 10 servers and more than 300 users, and moved an IT team of 12 to project-based working. I coordinated the selection and purchase of new time and attendance, personnel and payroll systems, and was involved in an SAP R/3 upgrade. I also wrote the group's IT standards and policies for security, disaster recovery and maintenance, to meet external audit requirements.

Before that, I ran day-to-day IBM AS/400 operations and supervised 24-hour support at Peter Black Distribution, and supported users and administered an NHS database at Leeds Family Health Services Authority.

Tell me what's not working.

A short email is enough. Say what the business does, roughly how many people use IT, and what has gone wrong or what's about to change.

mark@marknoble.co.uk