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Independent IT consultancy · Leeds & London

Technology decisions, made clear.

Bastion helps leadership teams decide what to build, buy, move or retire — then makes sure it happens. No vendor commissions, no jargon, one page per recommendation.

Take the 2-minute health checkHow we work
  • IndependentNo reseller commissions or preferred vendors. Paid for advice, not licences.
  • One pageEvery recommendation fits on a page, with the cost and the risk of doing nothing.
  • Hands-onConsultants who have run the systems they advise on, and stay to see it through.
decision-map.svg

6 options, 2 open questions. Everyone has a view; nobody has a plan.

01 Services

Four engagements, each with a clear deliverable.

Fixed fees, agreed before we start. Choose one to see what you receive, how it runs and the kind of output it produces.

Technology strategy

4–6 weeks

A three-year roadmap tied to the business plan, with budgets your board can approve.

You receive

  • Three-year roadmap
  • Costed budget by year
  • One-page board summary

How it runs

  1. Leadership interviews
  2. Current-state review
  3. Options and costs
  4. Board session

Cloud migration

6–12 weeks

Which workloads to move, in what order, and what it will really cost to run them.

You receive

  • Workload inventory
  • Migration waves
  • Running-cost forecast

How it runs

  1. Discover workloads
  2. Score for cloud fit
  3. Plan the waves
  4. Oversee the move

Security assessment

2–4 weeks

A practical review against Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001, prioritised by risk.

You receive

  • Risk register
  • 90-day remediation plan
  • Evidence pack for insurers

How it runs

  1. Control review
  2. Technical testing
  3. Risk scoring
  4. Remediation plan

Architecture review

2–3 weeks

An independent look at a system before you rebuild, replace or buy — so you choose once.

You receive

  • Options paper
  • Scored comparison
  • Clear recommendation

How it runs

  1. System walkthrough
  2. Requirements
  3. Option scoring
  4. Recommendation

02 Approach

From a tangle to a decision in four weeks.

The same four steps on every engagement. Each one ends with something you can keep, whether or not we carry on.

Step 1 of 4 · Week 1

Listen

Interviews with leadership and the people who run the systems. We learn what the business needs before discussing technology.

Output: Discovery notes
  • 12 interviews
  • Goals and constraints
  • Known pain points

Step 2 of 4 · Weeks 2–3

Map

A plain map of your systems, contracts, costs and risks — often the first time anyone has seen it all on one page.

Output: System map
  • Systems and owners
  • Contract renewal dates
  • Cost per system

Step 3 of 4 · Week 4

Decide

Options scored against cost, risk and time to value. You get one recommendation, and the reasons the others lost.

Output: Decision paper · 1 page
  • Recommendation
  • Three-year cost
  • Risk of doing nothing

Step 4 of 4 · Ongoing

Deliver

We oversee suppliers and hold them to the plan, or hand it to your team with a clear checklist. Your choice.

Output: Delivery tracker
  • Milestones and owners
  • Monthly status note
  • Budget against plan

Step 3 Decide, in full

Every recommendation fits on one page — and shows what would change it.

How much each criterion matters

30%
30%
20%
20%

Recommendation 04 · Sample client: regional charity, 60 staff

One page

We recommendBuy a SaaS CRM

Options scored 1 to 5 per criterion, with the weighted total
OptionCostDeliveryTimeFitWeighted
Buy a SaaS CRM3.80
Extend the current system3.60
Rebuild in-house2.40
Because
It is live in ten weeks, costs less over three years and the risks are known and contractable.
Unless
The team’s volunteer-rota process cannot be bent to fit standard workflows.
How close
0.20 ahead of extend the current system. A clear call at these weights.

03 Work

What changed, system by system.

Fictional case studies written for this demonstration. Switch between before and after to compare the systems and the outcomes.

Fictional example
Challenge
Ageing servers across three sites and a renewal bill due in nine months.
What we did
Migration plan delivered in eight weeks; running costs forecast to fall by a third.
Annual running cost
Before£1.2mAfter£0.79m
Sites to maintain
Before3After1
Recovery time
Before48hAfter4h
Fictional example
Challenge
Cyber-insurance renewal refused without evidence of basic controls.
What we did
Twelve-week programme: MFA, backups, device management and staff training.
Accounts with MFA
Before20%After100%
Unmanaged laptops
Before64After0
Basic controls in place
Before1 / 5After5 / 5
Fictional example
Challenge
Two failed CRM projects and a board losing patience.
What we did
Requirements, shortlist and scored demos; a supplier chosen with the board’s confidence.
Places donor data lives
Before5After1
Hours a week merging records
Before14hAfter2h
Duplicate records
Before18%After2%

04 Health check

Five questions we ask every new client.

Two minutes, no sign-up. Your answers stay in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere.

  1. 01 · AccountsIs multi-factor authentication switched on for every account, including admins?
  2. 02 · BackupsHave you restored a backup successfully in the last six months?
  3. 03 · Critical systemsDo you know which systems would stop the business if they went down tomorrow?
  4. 04 · UpdatesAre devices and software updated automatically?
  5. 05 · PlanningIs there a written technology plan for the next two years?

05 Team

Senior people, on every engagement.

The partner you meet is the partner who does the work. Filter by the work you need; open a name for more. Fictional people, written for this demonstration.

4 people shown

  • Ran technology for a 3,000-person distributor before founding Bastion. Leads every first conversation.

    Ask aboutBoard-level IT strategy · Supplier negotiations

  • Has handled breaches at three in the morning, so his advice starts with what actually goes wrong.

    Ask aboutCyber Essentials Plus · Incident readiness

  • Plans migrations workload by workload, with the running cost written next to each one.

    Ask aboutCloud cost forecasting · Data-centre exits

  • Translates architecture into budgets, risks and decisions a non-technical board can sign.

    Ask aboutRoadmaps and budgets · Business cases