When project work is the right shape
Most of my work is managed IT retainers, but a meaningful slice is project-based, businesses with a specific piece of work that needs scoping and delivering by someone who’s done it before. Cloud migrations, network rebuilds, office moves, asset audits, software licensing reviews, security hardening, the IT side of an acquisition.
These are bounded engagements: clear scope, clear price, clear deliverable. After it’s done, we both go our separate ways unless there’s a good reason to keep working together. A reasonable proportion of project clients do come back later for ongoing work, but that’s optional, not built in.
What “project work” actually covers
The most common project shapes:
Cloud migrations, moving from on-premises Exchange or file servers to Microsoft 365 / SharePoint / Azure. I plan migrations as proper projects: discovery, design, staged execution, stabilisation, with explicit user communication so nobody is surprised by the cutover.
Network rebuilds, typically driven by an office move, a growth surge, or a network that’s stopped coping. Includes structured cabling design, switch/firewall/Wi-Fi specification and install, and the testing that proves it works.
Office moves and IT relocation, the IT side of moving offices. Asset audit, packing plan, decommissioning the old site, recommissioning the new one, user-desk setup, day-one support so people can actually start work in the new building. Often done alongside a fit-out contractor handling the physical work.
IT asset audits and tagging, proper inventory of everything: laptops, desktops, servers, phones, software licences, warranty status, who-uses-what. Useful as a standalone piece of work for businesses that don’t really know what they have, and essential before a major migration or move.
Software licensing audits, what you own, what you’re using, where the gaps are, where you’re over-spending. Microsoft licensing alone can be a significant cost-saving area for SMBs that have licences nobody’s actively managing. Compliance and cost-saving combined.
IT strategy consulting, for a defined piece of thinking: a vendor selection, a second opinion on a proposed change, the IT side of an acquisition. Useful alongside an internal IT person who’s brilliant at execution but doesn’t have the bandwidth or perspective for strategic direction. If you want someone to own the roadmap and budget month to month, that is the Fractional Head of IT retainer. If a defined change needs more than two days a month, it is quoted as a project, one day a week from £3,600 a month.
How I scope and price project work
Every project starts with a free scoping call (usually 30 minutes). After that, if it looks like a fit, I write a proper proposal: scope, deliverables, timeline, price, assumptions. Most projects are fixed-fee, that’s the right structure when the scope is clear, because it puts the risk of scope-misjudgement on me, not you.
Where the scope genuinely can’t be pinned down up front (a complex audit before a complex migration, for instance), I’ll quote on time-and-materials with a written estimate range and a hard cap. No open-ended billing.