Microsoft 365 migrations
From Google Workspace, on-prem Exchange, hosted Exchange, IMAP. Mail, contacts, calendars, files. Parallel run with both inboxes during transition. Zero data loss, zero blackout weekends.
IT Projects · Migrations + moves + M&A
IT projects, scoped to a fixed fee and run by a senior engineer.
Email migrations, office moves, M&A integration, server-to-cloud transitions. The work that sits outside day-to-day support — scoped properly, fixed-fee, run by Simon (Technical Director) or Brett. Not handed to a junior with a Gantt chart.
What's included
The pieces that make up IT Projects.
Office moves
New premises connectivity, desk wiring, printer relocation, AP repositioning, comms cutover, systems testing the night before. We've done over 40. The list of things that go wrong is finite — we have a checklist.
M&A IT integration
Two tenants becoming one. Domain consolidation, mailbox migration, identity merge, file repointing. Whether you're acquirer or target, we've sat both sides of the table.
Server-to-cloud
On-prem file server to SharePoint or Azure Files. On-prem Exchange to Exchange Online. Line-of-business apps assessed for Azure migration vs SaaS replacement vs leave-alone.
Network refreshes
Switches, firewalls, wifi, VLAN redesign. Site surveys, gear specced, installed in change windows. Almost always a step-up in performance and a step-down in maintenance.
Cyber Essentials Plus prep
Sometimes the work needed to pass CE+ is genuinely a project — not a tweak. We scope it as one, not buried in monthly support.
SecureState™ · IT Strategy category
Aligned to our IT health benchmark.
Sits inside the SecureState™ IT Strategy category — roadmap, vendors, lifecycle and budget alignment. Quarterly review with your leadership keeps it honest and current.
See how SecureState works
How it works
A predictable shape, every time.
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01
Discovery
Free 1–2 hour discovery session. Senior engineer reviews scope, dependencies, risks. You get a written summary.
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02
Scope & price
Fixed-fee proposal — what's included, what's excluded, what assumptions we made. Signed before we start. Change requests handled formally.
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03
Delivery
Project plan with named owner, weekly status, change windows agreed in advance. Out-of-hours cutovers as default.
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04
Handover
Documentation pack, asset register updated, monitoring configured, project-mode finishes and managed service picks up. Clean line.
Sits inside our managed service
IT Projects is part of how we run IT — not a stand-alone product.
Projects are fixed-fee. Discovery is free for existing managed-service clients and £450 for prospects (credited if you proceed). Typical M365 migration £2,500–£8,000 depending on scope; office move £1,800–£6,000 depending on size and complexity.
Common questions
IT Projects — frequently asked.
Why do projects need to be fixed-fee?
Time-and-materials projects punish you for the consultant's mistakes. If something takes twice as long as it should, you pay twice as much. Fixed-fee means we carry the risk of getting our estimate wrong — which is the right way round, because we're the ones with the experience to estimate accurately. We use change-control formally for genuine scope additions.
Who actually runs my project?
A named senior engineer — Simon Ball (Technical Director) or Brett Casterton — leads every project end-to-end. They might delegate specific tasks (image building, after-hours cutover) to other team members, but the named lead stays the same person from kickoff to handover. You won't get an account manager you've never met as your 'project sponsor'.
Do you run projects for businesses you don't already support?
Yes — about 30% of our project work is for new clients we haven't yet onboarded for managed service. Often a project is how the relationship starts: we deliver something cleanly, you see how we work, and managed service follows. There's no obligation to take on managed service afterwards.
How do you handle out-of-hours cutovers?
As standard. Email cutover at 7pm Friday, file-server moves over the weekend, office moves on a Saturday night. We charge the same rate — out-of-hours is built into the fixed fee, not bolted on. The exception is if you want OOH change windows for ongoing managed service (separate bolt-on, £250/month plus £500 per 5-hour block).
What's a discovery session, and why is there a fee for prospects?
1–2 hours, on-site or video, with Simon or Brett. We dig into the scope, look at your environment, identify dependencies and risks, and write up a summary. The £450 fee for non-clients reflects that this is real senior-engineer time. It's credited in full if you proceed with the project. For existing managed-service clients it's free, because the relationship already covers that.
How long does a typical M365 migration take?
From signing the project to managed-service handover: typically 4–8 weeks for a 10–50 user migration from Google Workspace or Exchange. Discovery 1 week, prep 2 weeks, parallel run 2–3 weeks, cutover 1 weekend, post-cutover hypercare 1 week. Bigger or more complex environments stretch this out.
Will my team need training?
For most projects: a 30-minute walkthrough is enough — the apps people use day-to-day don't change much. For genuine platform changes (Google Workspace to M365, switching from one CRM to another), we deliver tailored 60–90 minute sessions, recorded for newcomers. Training is included in the fixed fee.
What if our project goes off-track?
Projects do drift sometimes — usually because a dependency wasn't visible at scoping (legacy system that nobody documented, third-party that's slow to engage). Our policy: as soon as we know, you know. We re-baseline the timeline, identify the root cause, and propose options. We've never delivered a project late without the client knowing weeks in advance.
Ready when you are.
Talk to Brett or Simon. 30 minutes, on the phone or video. No deck, no decision pressure — we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.