I'm James Kelly, and together with Jenny, I run Storeganise, a UK-based IT consultancy. We help small and medium businesses sort out their IT infrastructure, cloud environments, data systems and software workflows. Basically, we turn tech headaches into tech that actually works for you.
When I'm not elbow-deep in servers and systems, I'm usually tinkering with new tech or trying to figure out how to make complex things simple. I genuinely believe that good technology should be invisible, you shouldn't even notice it's there because it just works. That's what we try to create for every client.
After years in tech, I kept seeing the same problems everywhere. Businesses would have five different systems that didn't talk to each other. Data lived in spreadsheets that three people had different versions of. IT was always something that cost money and caused stress, never something that actually helped the business grow.
Jenny and I talked about this constantly. We knew it didn't have to be this way. When IT is set up properly and looked after proactively instead of reactively, it stops being a problem and starts being an advantage. That's the whole point of Storeganise.
What really drives me is seeing businesses suddenly "get it" when their tech starts working for them instead of against them. That moment when a business owner realizes they can actually scale without their systems falling apart? That's what makes this worth doing.
The lightbulb moment came from watching businesses grow past their IT setup. A company would start small, cobble together some systems, hire their nephew to set up their network (we've all seen it), and then wonder why everything's a mess three years later.
The pattern was so consistent it was almost funny. Companies needed someone who could look at the big picture, understand where they wanted to go, and build tech that would get them there. Not just fix today's problem, but actually think ahead.
Most IT support is reactive. Something breaks, you call someone, they fix it. But that's like only going to the dentist when you have a toothache. We wanted to be the regular checkups, not the emergency root canal.
We started with people we knew, which is how most consultancies begin. Friends, former colleagues, contacts who trusted us enough to let us mess with their systems. We'd migrate their servers, untangle their data, build actual processes instead of the chaos they'd been living with.
Word spread pretty quickly once we had a few wins under our belt. Turns out businesses talk to each other, and if you fix someone's IT nightmare, they'll tell everyone they know.
Early on, I made templates for everything. Project checklists, architecture patterns, integration frameworks. It felt a bit obsessive at the time, but it meant we could deliver consistent quality even as we took on more clients. Plus, it stopped us from reinventing the wheel every time.
Scope creep was brutal: Clients would say "just set up our email" and then halfway through ask if we could also rebuild their entire network. We learned to do proper discovery phases with clear deliverables and proper change controls. Boring but necessary.
Standing out in a crowded market: There are a million IT consultancies out there. We had to figure out how to talk about what we do differently. Turns out, speaking in terms of business outcomes instead of technical specs helps a lot. Decision makers don't care about servers, they care about not losing customers because their website went down.
Building trust with new clients: Nobody wants to hand over their entire IT infrastructure to someone they just met. We got obsessive about transparency and communication. Our clients always know what we're doing and why. No mysteries, no jargon they have to pretend to understand.
We've come a long way from those first few projects. Now we work with professional services firms, creative agencies, small manufacturers, consultants, basically anyone who's reached the point where their tech needs to actually work properly.
Our services have expanded quite a bit. We started with project work, but now a big chunk of what we do is managed services. That means we're monitoring systems, doing backups, handling security, before problems happen. It's more sustainable for us and way better for clients.
The data and automation side has really taken off too. Businesses have so much manual work that doesn't need to be manual. We help eliminate that stuff and make sure data flows properly between systems.
Content has been huge: We write blog posts, break down architectures, share case studies, make videos. It shows people we know what we're doing and attracts clients who already understand they need help (which makes everything easier).
LinkedIn and YouTube: We put real content there, not just "tips and tricks" fluff. Actual walkthroughs, real problems we've solved, architecture patterns that work. People find us through that.
Happy clients bring more clients: Still the best source of new business. When someone's thrilled with their new setup, they tell their business friends. Simple as that.
We translate between business and tech: Most IT people speak tech. Most business owners speak business. We're fluent in both. That means decision makers actually understand their options, the trade-offs, what things cost and why.
We're not one-size-fits-all: We have frameworks and building blocks we use, but we adapt them to each client. A law firm doesn't need the same setup as a creative agency, even if some of the underlying tech is similar.
We prevent fires instead of fighting them: This is probably the biggest difference. Most IT support is reactive. We're proactive. We monitor, maintain, update, and review regularly. Problems get caught and fixed before they become disasters.
No BS communication: Our clients know what's happening. Always. We don't hide behind jargon or make things sound more complicated than they are. If something's simple, we say so. If it's genuinely complex, we explain why.
We build for growth: Short-term patches are expensive in the long run. We design systems that can scale with the business. Costs more upfront sometimes, but saves a fortune down the line.
If I started over, I'd build a proper client portal from day one with status tracking, ticketing and reporting, all that good stuff to reduce admin overhead while clients love being able to check on things themselves. I'd invest in content way earlier because the blog posts, videos and case studies we create bring in our best leads, and starting that earlier would have compounded over time. I'd formalize partnerships sooner with cybersecurity specialists, compliance auditors and design agencies, having formal partnerships with complementary providers lets us offer clients complete solutions.
We're expanding our managed services, particularly around cybersecurity, resilience and backup. The threat landscape keeps getting worse, and businesses need proper protection, not just antivirus software and hope.
We're also developing packaged programmes that combine audit, modernization and ongoing support into one neat bundle. Makes it easier for clients to understand what they're getting and what it costs.
Our plans include more and better content with video series, detailed case studies, maybe a podcast and technical workshops, building integration tools because we keep seeing the same integration problems, growing the team carefully because I'd rather grow slowly and maintain quality than hire fast and mess up what we've built, and stronger partnerships working more closely with software vendors, cloud providers, and service providers.
The tech landscape keeps changing, and we need to stay ahead of it. But our core focus won't change: helping businesses turn their technology into an asset instead of a liability.
Storeganise tackles common IT frustrations that hold businesses back. This includes dealing with multiple systems that don't communicate, managing data scattered across different spreadsheets, and shifting IT from a constant source of stress into a genuine business advantage. They focus on making your technology work for you, not against you.
Unlike most IT support that reacts to problems after they happen, Storeganise takes a proactive approach. They focus on regular monitoring, maintenance, and strategic planning to prevent issues before they become disasters. This is like having regular checkups for your tech to keep it healthy, rather than waiting for an emergency.
Storeganise helps any small or medium business that has reached a point where their technology needs to function properly for them to grow. They have experience with a wide range of clients, including professional services firms, creative agencies, small manufacturers, and consultants.
Proactive maintenance is crucial because it prevents small issues from turning into major, costly disasters. By monitoring systems, performing regular updates, and handling security before a breach occurs, your business can avoid downtime and ensure your technology can support your growth without falling apart.
Storeganise prides itself on translating between the worlds of business and technology. They avoid jargon and communicate clearly, ensuring you always understand your options, the costs, and the reasons behind their recommendations. This transparency helps build trust and empowers you to make informed decisions about your company's tech.
