Microsoft 365, done properly
Tenant setup and tidy-ups, licensing that matches what you actually use, and a security posture you can explain to your insurer.
Independent technology consultancy · United Kingdom
Your technology, quietly sorted.
Fourteen years leading workplace technology for two of Europe’s biggest media companies, now on your side. Straight advice for founders, executives and growing teams, without the retainer, the jargon or the upsell.
- No retainers
- Scoped and agreed up front
- Replies within one working day
- 150k+devices managed across three continents
- £20m+of workplace technology delivered
- 50+engineers led across five countries
- 99.8%uptime for 15,000 daily business-critical users
Big-company rigour, applied to businesses of every size.
Nº 01 · Sound familiar?
Small businesses get the worst of IT.
Too small for an in-house team. Too busy to become an expert yourself. And most IT firms won’t take your call without a monthly contract. That’s the gap I fill: senior-level help, one problem at a time.
- “Microsoft 365 was set up years ago and nobody’s sure it’s actually secure.”
- “Our emails keep landing in customers’ spam folders.”
- “The meeting-room screen never works when it matters.”
- “We’re paying for licences no one remembers buying.”
- “Every IT company wants us on a contract before they’ll even look.”
One consultant. Straight answers. No retainer.
15 minbilling increments, so you never pay for round-ups
£0in referral fees or kickbacks, because my advice isn’t for sale
1 daytypical reply time, in plain English
Nº 02 · What I do
The technology behind a well-run business.
From fixing what’s broken today to planning what you’ll need next year, one standard applies: it should just work, and you should understand what you’re paying for.
Sign-ins & security
Multi-factor authentication, single sign-on and sensible access controls, so the right people get in and nobody else does.
Devices under control
Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android: enrolled, encrypted and manageable, whether you have four devices or forty.
Email that lands
SPF, DKIM and DMARC configured correctly, so your invoices reach inboxes and phishing pretending to be you doesn’t.
Meeting rooms that just work
Teams Rooms, video calls and screens that start on time. No more “can everyone hear us?” at the start of every call.
Solid connections
Wi-Fi that covers the whole office, wired networks that don’t fall over, and secure remote access for people working anywhere.
Honest buying advice
Which laptop, which licence, which supplier: all evaluated on merit. I’ve negotiated multi-year enterprise agreements; I take no referral fees, so the answer is never a sales pitch.
Strategy & investment decisions
Roadmaps, budgets and build-versus-buy calls, grounded in a career of delivering workplace technology at global scale.
Something else on your mind?
If it plugs in, signs in or should-just-work-but-doesn’t, it’s probably in scope. Ask; it costs nothing to ask.
Describe the problemNº 03 · How it works
Three steps. No contract.
-
Tell me what’s wrong
Email a description in your own words; no technical language needed. I’ll reply within one working day, usually with a few questions.
-
We agree the scope
You get an honest estimate of the time involved before anything starts. If it’s a five-minute fix, I’ll tell you that too.
-
I sort it, then explain it
Work is billed in 15-minute increments, and every job ends with a plain-English summary of what changed and why.
Nº 04 · Ways of working
Priced for the problem, not from a menu.
No two businesses or problems are the same, so every engagement is scoped and priced on its own merits. What never changes: you get a written estimate before any work begins, and the invoice never surprises you.
Most common
Advice & fixes
A question answered, a problem diagnosed or a fix delivered, remote or on-site. Short engagements billed by time, so a quick fix costs a quick-fix amount.
Defined projects
A new office network, a security overhaul, a move to Microsoft 365. Scoped together, then delivered against a fixed written quotation. The price we agree is the price you pay.
Ongoing counsel
A senior technology leader in your corner, part-time: strategy, budgets, vendor negotiations and board-level advice, without the cost of a full-time hire.
Not sure which fits? Describe the problem and I’ll recommend the simplest, cheapest shape that solves it. Just ask.
Nº 05 · Why independent matters
I don’t resell hardware, licences or “managed service packages”. I take no referral fees and hold no partner agreements. When I recommend something, it’s because it’s the right answer, not because someone pays me to say so.
I’ve spent fourteen years running workplace technology inside two of Europe’s biggest media companies, most recently accountable for the technology experience of over 150,000 devices worldwide, with the budgets and boardrooms that go with it. Rward Advisory exists to bring that calibre of counsel to businesses that could never justify hiring it full-time.
Ryan Ward, Founder
Nº 06 · Questions
Asked often, answered honestly.
How does pricing work?
Every engagement is scoped and priced individually: a quick fix is priced like a quick fix, and a complex project gets the attention (and quotation) it deserves. Either way, you see a written estimate before any work begins, and time-based work is billed in 15-minute increments so you never pay for round-ups.
Do I need a contract or retainer?
No, and you never will, unless you want ongoing counsel. For everything else you pay for the work agreed, and if you never need me again, you never pay again.
What size of business do you work with?
From founders and small teams to established organisations that want senior technology counsel without a full-time hire. If your business depends on its technology but nobody owns it, that’s exactly the gap I fill.
Can everything be done remotely?
Most of it, yes. Microsoft 365, email, security and licensing work is nearly always remote. Meeting rooms, Wi-Fi and cabling sometimes need a visit, anywhere in the UK.
What if the job takes less time than estimated?
You pay for the time actually used, not the estimate. Estimates are a ceiling, not a target.
What don’t you do?
I don’t sell hardware or software, I don’t do long-term managed-service contracts, and I won’t take on work I’m not the right person for. I’ll say so and, where I can, point you somewhere better.
Nº 07 · Get in touch
Tell me what’s broken.
A few lines in your own words. I’ll reply within one working day with next steps and an honest estimate.
Prefer plain email? hello@rward.uk
Appointment-based · United Kingdom · Replies within one working day