Cloud and platform leadership

Cloud and platform leadership, hands-on.

Head of Cloud and cloud architect experience on Azure, AWS and Cloudflare. Migrations, landing zones, new platforms, cost optimisation and secure-by-design standards, from someone who has run production platforms day to day.

Also known asHead of CloudCloud ArchitectSolutions Architect

When to call

When the platform needs a senior, practical lead.

  • Moving out of data centres.

    Applications need to move to the cloud, often with missing documentation, compliance rules and no room for downtime.

  • The cloud bill is out of control.

    Spend has grown faster than usage, and nobody owns the question of what is actually needed.

  • Building a new platform.

    A greenfield product needs development, test and production environments built properly from the start.

  • Reliability problems.

    Outages, slow releases and a growing support backlog are starting to hurt customers.

  • Security reviews you cannot answer.

    Customer questionnaires, requests for information and penetration tests need a confident, accurate response.

  • Choosing the right stack.

    Azure, AWS, Cloudflare, Supabase, Kubernetes or serverless. The choice should follow the problem, not fashion.

What I do

From migration plan to running platform.

  • Migration planning and delivery

    Lift and shift where that is sound, re-architecture where compliance or performance demands it, run as a programme.

  • Landing zones and automation

    Repeatable, secure foundations, with automation for the work that would otherwise be done by hand.

  • Platform architecture

    Kubernetes and microservices, serverless functions, Cloudflare at the edge, Supabase and Postgres, chosen to fit.

  • Cost optimisation

    Right-sizing, reservations and removing waste, without cutting the services people rely on.

  • Security and compliance

    Secure by design, vulnerability management, penetration-test follow-through and GDPR.

  • Monitoring and production support

    Application Insights, Azure Monitor and clear on-call processes, so problems are found before customers find them.

Experience

Where I have done this before.

  • Insurance

    Willis Towers Watson

    Programme Tech Lead and Azure SME

    Led an international team moving 160+ enterprise applications across 20 countries to Azure. Identified £2M a year in savings for a single department, and kept the programme secure by design, heading off a significant GDPR risk before it could become an issue.

  • B2B SaaS

    Constructionline

    Platform Infrastructure Lead

    Built the Azure Production, UAT and Dev platforms for a greenfield SaaS product serving 100,000 customers across the UK and Europe. Ran production support and cut the service ticket backlog from 1,000 tickets to single figures. Also advised on development, security, testing and performance.

  • Founder, secure SaaS

    Inheritable

    Founder, architect and engineer

    Designed, built and launched an encrypted life planner on the web, iOS, Android and as a browser extension. Row-level security, layered encryption and an independent penetration test, built quickly with AI and coding agents under my own security review.

How it starts

Three simple steps.

  1. 01

    A free conversation

    30 minutes to tell me what is going on. We work out whether I am the right person to help.

  2. 02

    A short review

    I look at your systems, team, suppliers and plans, and give you a clear written view with priorities. For smaller businesses, this is the fixed-price Independent IT Review.

  3. 03

    The right engagement

    An advisory retainer, a few days a month, a defined project, or interim cover. Whatever the review shows you need.

Where I am not the right fit.

Being clear about this up front saves us both time.

  • Day-to-day IT support. Fixing individual laptops, printers or passwords. Your IT support company is better placed for that, and I can help you get more from them.
  • A developer by the day. Hands-on work, yes, but as part of owning the outcome, not as an extra pair of hands without the senior responsibility.
  • Equity-only roles. Work paid only in shares. I am happy to talk about how an engagement is structured, but partial ownership is a long-term route, not a consulting one.
  • Rubber-stamping. Signing off a decision that has already been made. If I think it is the wrong call, I will say so.
  • Technology for its own sake. AI, a rebuild or a new platform where a simpler, cheaper option would do the job just as well.
FAQ

Common questions.

Which clouds do you work with?

Microsoft Azure is my primary cloud, alongside AWS and Cloudflare. For newer builds I also use Supabase and Postgres.

Do you do the work or just advise?

Both. I lead programmes and teams, and I also write the automation, build the environments and support production myself when that is the quickest route.

Can you help reduce our cloud costs?

Yes. I identified £2M a year of unnecessary Azure spend for a single department at Willis Towers Watson, and cut Azure and Office 365 costs by around 30% at Pollen Street Capital.

Can you lead an existing cloud team?

Yes. I have recruited, onboarded and led international engineering teams, and run DevOps processes and third-line production support.

Other services

The same person, in a different role.

  • Fractional CTO

    I take the senior technology seat for a few days a month. Strategy and roadmap, architecture, budgets, suppliers, security and hiring, reported to the board in plain English.

    Read more
  • Fractional IT Director

    For established businesses that need their technology run properly. Systems, infrastructure, security, suppliers and automation, steadied quickly and handed back with a clear roadmap.

    Read more
  • Automation & AI

    Connect the systems you already have, automate the manual work, and use AI where it genuinely helps. Websites, portals and backends, designed and built properly.

    Read more
  • Technical adviser

    An independent view for founders, boards and investors. Due diligence before an acquisition, a second opinion on a supplier proposal, or a clear answer on repair versus rebuild.

    Read more
  • Operations & turnaround

    When systems and operations need fixing fast, I step in, restructure what is not working, and leave the business running better than I found it.

    Read more
Contact

Tell me what you’re working on.

A few lines is enough. I’ll reply personally, and if I’m not the right fit I’ll tell you, and point you to someone who is, if I can. The first 30-minute conversation is free.

Prefer a call? Leave your number in the form and I’ll ring you back.

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