Skip to content
Scryla

Financial services

Technology as the competitive lever in a slow-moving sector

A professional services provider supporting the majority of large UK IFAs, in a sector that was slow to follow technology trends. Technology was used as an accelerator for change, not simply an enabler, with operational processes redefined around it.

Client
An award-winning UK financial services firm with annual revenue of £5m or more
My role
IT and Operations Director, reporting to the executive board
When
Multi-year engagement, delivered as an executive on the leadership team

The numbers, as recorded

Recovery Time Objectives
Reduced by 50%
Client annual revenue
£5m or more
Board relationship
Direct, as IT and Operations Director

Only figures stated in the written engagement record appear here. Where an outcome was described without a number, it is described without one below.

The situation

The firm wanted to challenge the status quo in a market where technology adoption lagged. The objective was efficiency and competitive advantage through digital transformation, with a measurable return on the investment — not a modernisation programme for its own sake.

Underpinning that was a control-of-data problem. Management information reached operations and the board late and incomplete, which meant the business ran reactively. Client data sat in inconsistent places, so no one had a single holistic view of a client they were about to speak to.

What I did

I performed the IT and Operations Director role, giving the firm a continuously evolving technology strategy rather than a one-off plan. I worked directly with the executive board, supporting the core strategy of growing and extending the client base with minimal employee overhead — and made sure the technology strategy mirrored the value statement and culture of the business rather than fighting it.

That included comprehensive advice on emerging technologies and operational process, covering the consequences for information security, disaster recovery and business continuity policy. Technologies were reviewed continually for cost reduction or productivity gain, using lean and agile methods.

Outcomes from the engagement

  • Implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM, improving data access and control. This reduced the risk of critical data being held in inappropriate places, strengthened access controls, and improved the quality of management information reaching the board and staff.

  • Ran an operational review of all processes to produce measurable KPIs. In the sales process that meant effort, lead quality, conversion rate, lead source and elapsed time across the full pipeline — so issues could be acted on rather than discovered late.

  • Built a time-logging system that brought overheads under tighter budgetary control. Costs in this area had routinely run over budget beforehand, and the visibility removed the need to take on staff that had looked unavoidable.

  • Identified an online direct debit payment system, ran the due diligence and the review, and worked with the Finance Director to cut reconciliation effort against standing orders. This reduced time spent chasing payments and mandates, gave real-time visibility through a dashboard, and delivered the strategic objective of moving clients from standing orders to direct debits.

  • Designed and delivered websites that proved a business premise as a proof of concept before committing to a full build, giving a lean route into multiple service offerings.

  • Reviewed emerging cloud technologies through an RFI process and due diligence, and led the roll-out as technical lead in Microsoft technologies.

Resilience and standards

I implemented disaster recovery and business continuity plans that reduced Recovery Time Objectives by 50% — halving the time the business needed to become operational again after an incident.

Best practice was instigated where it fitted the culture, the business values and the objectives, rather than adopted wholesale. In practice that meant working to ISO 27001 and BS 25999.

Involvement ranged from strategic level and programme management through to being as hands-on as the situation required, which was frequently the case when building teams and processes from nothing.

What made it work

Key to the success

  • Redefined and transformed how the business operated internally
  • Technology used as a disruptor and accelerator for change, not just an enabler
  • A review first, to understand the business and establish a baseline
  • Constant communication with the board, the operational team and users
  • Transparency and trust in both directions — to the board and to the teams
  • Continual improvement in both technology and operational process
  • KPIs that supported performance and value goals together
  • Agile methodology, so tactical changes in the business could be absorbed
  • Long-term relationships with key suppliers and vendors

The same pattern sits behind board and advisory work now: establish the baseline, get honest management information in front of the board, and make the operational process match the technology rather than the other way round.

How I work with founders now Board and advisory roles

Other case studies

Next step

Facing something similar?

Tell me where you are and what is worrying you. If I am not the right person, I will say so.

Start a conversation