# Technical Consultancy for UK Businesses Source: https://dijituldevelopments.co.uk/technical-consultancy/ Updated: 2026-10-10 > dijitul developments provides independent technical consultancy for UK businesses without a full-time CTO: build or buy decisions, architecture reviews, supplier and tender support, integration planning and practical AI readiness. You get plain-English advice from developers who build software for a living, written down so you can act on it. Every engagement is a fixed-price quote after a free chat. ## Problems this solves - You need to make a technology decision and nobody internally can judge the options - Two suppliers have quoted wildly different amounts for what seems like the same thing - Your systems have grown piecemeal and nobody has an overall picture - The board wants an AI plan and you are not sure what is real - You rely on one supplier and cannot tell whether their advice is sound - A big software purchase or renewal is coming up and you want a second opinion ## Key facts - Advice from working developers, not a sales team - Independent: we recommend off-the-shelf software when that is the better answer - Covers build or buy, architecture, integrations, hosting, security and AI - Written recommendations with options, risks and trade-offs you can share - Can act as your technical voice with other suppliers - Supports tenders and specifications so quotes are comparable - Trading since 2006, building software and integrations since the KashFlow and OpenCart days ## A technical second opinion when you need one Many growing businesses reach a point where technology decisions get expensive, but a full-time CTO is not yet justified. The questions are usually practical. Should we build our own system or buy one? Is this supplier's quote reasonable? Can our ERP talk to our new ecommerce platform? Is it safe to keep running this old system for another year? What should we actually do about AI? We give straight answers to those questions, backed by the reasoning, from people who build and maintain business software every day. Because we also build, our advice is grounded in what things really take. Because we are happy to recommend an off-the-shelf product or another supplier, it is not a sales pitch. ## Build, buy or integrate The most common decision is whether to build bespoke software, buy a package, or connect what you already have. Our usual framework: - **Buy** when the process is standard (payroll, accounts, email marketing) and a mature product does it well. Fit your process to the software. - **Integrate** when good products exist for each part but data is retyped between them. An integration is often the highest-value, lowest-risk option. - **Build** when the process is what makes you different, when packages need so much customisation they become bespoke anyway, or when licence costs per user grow faster than the business. We set out the options with honest costs of ownership, including licences, customisation, training, integration, maintenance and the cost of leaving later. ## Architecture, security and ownership reviews When you have several systems built up over the years, we map them: what each does, where data lives, how it moves, what is retyped, and where the single points of failure are. That picture alone often changes priorities. We then review architecture and security against current good practice, check hosting, backups and access control, and flag software approaching end of life. Where a deeper look at one application is needed, we carry out a code audit. A surprisingly common finding is that the business does not fully control its own technology. The domain is registered to a former employee, the code sits in a supplier account, or a critical integration depends on one developer's personal API key. We check who owns and can access each domain, hosting account, code repository, payment gateway and software licence, and what your contracts say about source code and data ownership. We look at what would happen if a key supplier stopped trading, and at how you would get your data out of each system. The result is a short, prioritised list of fixes, most of which cost little and remove a lot of risk. ## Suppliers, tenders and specifications Quotes are only comparable if suppliers are quoting for the same thing. We help you write a requirements specification clear enough for that: user roles, processes, data, integrations, non-functional requirements such as security, hosting and accessibility, and what is out of scope. We can then evaluate proposals, ask suppliers the technical questions, and point out assumptions and exclusions that will cost money later. Where you already work with other developers or a software vendor, we can act as your technical representative in meetings, review their proposals and keep projects on track, without needing to take the work over ourselves. ## Practical AI readiness AI advice is often either hype or fear. Ours is practical: we look at where your team spends time reading, sorting and writing, check the quality and location of the data involved, and identify two or three use cases that are worth testing, with a rough idea of value and risk. We also cover the data protection and security questions, including UK GDPR, the provider's terms, and prompt injection risk. If something is worth building, see AI integration. ## How consultancy works Engagements range from a single review with a written report to regular advisory sessions over a longer period. Every engagement has an agreed scope and a fixed-price quote after a free chat, so you are not paying for open-ended hours. If you are planning a specific build, the discovery and scoping page explains how we turn an idea into a fixed-price project. ## What we deliver - A systems map showing your software, data flows and integrations - Build, buy or integrate recommendations with options and trade-offs - Architecture and security reviews of existing or proposed systems - Requirements specifications and tender documents suppliers can quote against - Supplier proposal evaluation and technical due diligence - An AI readiness assessment with a short list of worthwhile use cases - A technology roadmap tied to business priorities Technologies: Systems architecture, Integration design, Cloud hosting, UK GDPR, OWASP, AI models ## FAQs ### Can you act as our part-time CTO? We can provide much of what a part-time CTO would: technology decisions, architecture and security reviews, supplier management and a roadmap. dijitul developments agrees the scope and cadence with you and gives a fixed-price quote, so it suits businesses that need senior technical input without a full-time hire. ### Will you just recommend building bespoke software? No. dijitul developments recommends off-the-shelf software when a mature product fits the process, and integration when good products exist but do not talk to each other. Bespoke software is the right answer only when the process is distinctive or packages would need heavy customisation. ### Can you help us compare supplier quotes? Yes. Often quotes differ because suppliers made different assumptions. We review each proposal, list assumptions and exclusions, ask the technical questions, and can rewrite the specification so suppliers quote for the same scope. You get a written comparison with our recommendation. ### Can you help us work out what to do about AI? Yes. dijitul developments runs a practical AI readiness review: where your team spends time on reading, sorting and writing, what data is involved, which use cases are worth testing, and the data protection and security implications. You get a short list of realistic options, not a hype deck. ### Do you work alongside our existing IT provider or developers? Yes. We can act as your technical representative, review proposals and work with your existing suppliers constructively. dijitul developments does not need to take over the work to be useful; independent advice is often what is needed. ### How is technical consultancy priced? Every engagement has an agreed scope and a fixed-price quote after a free chat, whether it is a one-off review or regular advisory sessions. dijitul developments does not bill open-ended hours for consultancy. ## Pricing and contact Every project gets a fixed-price quote after a free initial chat and a short scoping stage. You own the code and the data. Book a free chat: https://dijituldevelopments.co.uk/contact/ · 01623 650333 · info@dijitul.uk