The situation
Capital Computer Care had built a strong business delivering on-site IT and data centre services through a growing team of engineers.
But as the business grew, operations were becoming harder to manage.
Scheduling, customer data and job tracking were largely handled through spreadsheets and manual processes. This limited:
- Engineer utilisation
- Visibility of work in progress
- Ability to scale efficiently
- Insight into operational performance
Founders, Bob Beadle and Eddie Tomlins recognised that the business needed to evolve but didn’t yet have a clear path forward.
Our role
Freeman Clarke was engaged to provide fractional IT Director leadership, bringing structure, independence and commercial insight.
Paul Larner, Freeman Clarke’s expert principal, started by understanding how the business actually worked, across both office and field operations, by:
- Mapping key processes and constraints
- Defining clear business requirements
- Establishing a vision for a more scalable operating model
At the core of that vision was a single, integrated platform to manage scheduling, customers and operations in real time.
A structured selection and transformation
Rather than jumping to a solution, Paul ran a disciplined selection process. Over 30 potential systems were identified and assessed before being narrowed to a shortlist.
Each option was evaluated against real operational needs, not just features.
This careful selection process led to:
- A clear, aligned shortlist
- Structured supplier demos
- A pilot using real business data
The selected platform, JobWatch, was then trialled to ensure it could deliver tangible improvements in day-to-day operations.
Unlocking growth
The impact of the new approach was immediate and significant.
As Dave Usher, now owner of the business, reflects:
‘It didn’t only allow us to grow. We’re now planning in excess of 100 jobs on some days, which wouldn’t have been possible without it. It also allows repeating attendance, stock allocation and full traceability of all allocated stock items.’
The move from manual processes to a structured platform transformed how the business operates, enabling scale without adding complexity.
Creating a new service line
Alongside the systems work, a further opportunity emerged. Capital’s engineers were already capturing valuable data when handling customer equipment, particularly around serial numbers and device inventories.
Paul worked with the leadership team to turn this into a new offering: IT hardware auditing.
This enabled Capital to:
- Provide clients with detailed visibility of their IT assets
- Support compliance and lifecycle management
- Generate a new, data-driven revenue stream
Following the initial engagement, the team continued to develop this concept into a formal service, which now forms part of Capital’s portfolio.
The result
Within six months, Freeman Clarke’s IT leadership enabled Capital to:
- Move from spreadsheets to a scalable operational platform
- Significantly increase scheduling capacity
- Improve control, visibility and traceability
- Launch a new, commercially valuable service line
Most importantly, the business gained the confidence and capability to grow at pace.
As Eddie Tomlins put it:
‘We wanted to engage with someone who would take our business needs, review the market and bring back solutions, as this was a new venture for us. Paul provided exactly what we needed.’