Symatrix is an award-winning Oracle HCM, payroll, and consulting provider. This case study shows how a Fractional CIO helped the business move from cyber vulnerability to strategic growth and successful multinational exits.
When Freeman Clarke Principal, Rob Wilkinson first engaged with Symatrix in April 2021, the organisation was at a critical juncture, navigating the aftermath of the pandemic and a cyber incident that required urgent system restoration and a complete restructuring of its security. Over the next 4.5 years, Rob helped transition the IT function from a reactive cost centre into a strategic resource that supported internal and international growth and two high-value business sales.
Phase 1: Resilience and Rapid Restoration
The immediate priority was stabilising the environment and ensuring a breach of a similar nature could not happen again. The estate was moved to a managed Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model to establish official support and SLAs. To build a secure foundation, they took the following steps:
- Hardened Identity Management and implemented Multi-Factor Authentication with shortened token expiries to thwart “man-in-the-middle” attacks.
- Deployed Elite Monitoring: established 24/7 monitoring through an outsourced Security Operations Centre (SOC) protecting all endpoints.
- Automated Patching: achieved and maintained 100% patch compliance across managed workstations, servers, and firewalls.
- Rolled out cyber security training to the business with regular and frequent phishing tests, resulting in failure rates falling from 18% to >1%.
This resilience was proven during a supply chain attack, where systems and SOC effectively blocked a zero-day threat with zero data loss.
Phase 2: Restoring Confidence and Leadership
A key challenge was restoring client and Board confidence. Information Security (IS) reviews were introduced as a standard agenda item in client service meetings, providing transparent audit findings. Symatrix successfully achieved ISO27001 recertification and maintained Cyber Essentials compliance.
The IT department and providers worked to strengthen this new maturity:
- A small internal IT team was supported by outsourced infrastructure, security, and 1st-line support MSPs.
- Strategic Oversight: Salesforce administration was moved into the IT team to improve product ownership and technical oversight.
- Board Transparency: regular Exco and Board presentations were provided, tracking system availability and security trends through detailed monthly reports.
Phase 3: Scaling for Growth
Under the guidance of its leadership team, Symatrix experienced rapid growth as Sales, Delivery, HR, and Finance aligned their efforts. The IT department worked diligently to support this expansion. An office in India was set up, integrated, and managed, establishing local hardware sourcing, secure firewalls, and ensuring compliance with India’s security rules.
Operational efficiency was further improved by:
- Standardising Onboarding: maintaining a buffer of hardware and implementing “automated build” processes to support rapid recruitment.
- Process Automation: replacing manual spreadsheets with Power Apps workflows in Microsoft Teams for authorisations like sickness self-certification.
Phase 4: Exit Readiness and Strategic Value
The engagement culminated in preparing the business for sale. A 12 to 36 month IT Strategy was developed that aligned technology investment with business goals, ensuring the estate was modern and scalable.
Before the final integration, a cloud migration was initiated to reduce costs, and Generative AI usage guidance and Microsoft 365 Copilot trials were implemented to keep the company at the forefront of innovation.
Technology due diligence (DD) was led for two successful sales:
- Multinational Sale (AST Corporation): exhaustive DD documentation was prepared, including technology stack architecture, solution diagrams, risk registers, and disaster recovery test results.
- 2nd Multinational Sale (IBM): just as integration projects were in full swing, AST and Symatrix were acquired by IBM. More DD documentation, meetings, calls, and forms resulted in a 9 month transition process and full handover to IBM.
The Fractional CIO Advantage
Over the 4.5 years, the fractional CIO model provided Symatrix with C-suite strategic leadership without the cost of a full-time executive. The organisation moved from the vulnerability of a cyber incident to the strength of a secure, sale-ready organisation. By bridging the gap between technical operations and business objectives, Rob helped to ensure that Symatrix was not just protected from threats but positioned as a high-value target for acquisition.
Rob transformed the Symatrix IT function, bringing leadership, confidence and strategic thinking. He implemented a thought through Cloud first approach that improved our efficiency, security and resilience at the same time as controlling the IT spend. His expertise and knowledge was invaluable when we were expanding rapidly and his previous experience of going through due diligence on the sales side was hugely beneficial during our two business sales.
Chris Brooks, CEO Symatrix
Rob was a high impact CIO for Symatrix and due to the fractional model was extremely cost effective too. The experience I had with Rob has convinced me of the beneficial nature of fractional roles at a senior level.