32 years in IT. The last thing I want to do is sell you a server.
I'm an independent IT advisor - honest, technical-but-readable advice for businesses across the UK & Ireland, with no agenda behind it.
And I don't make a penny on hardware.
When you genuinely need kit, I'll work out exactly what - then you buy it direct, at the best price going. I don't sell it and I don't take a cut, so there's no markup and no "preferred supplier" kickback baked into the price. I just set it all up for you.
I've been doing this a long time - and seen how the industry really works.
I've spent 32 years in IT, 27 of them self-employed. For 15 of those I ran my own IT services company, employing engineers from 2001 to 2014 and looking after the kind of small and medium businesses that get taken advantage of by IT companies who know they won't ask the right questions.
In 2012 I designed OnsitePro - job-management software now used by trades and field teams across the UK and Ireland. (I designed it; a team of developers built it. I own it outright.) Since going solo I've split my time between OnsitePro, web development and IT support.
I still look after a couple of companies - around 50 users between them - on full IT. But I'm not chasing more of that; there are only so many hours in the day, and I'm not here to replace anyone's IT provider. I'll happily do the odd bit of IT for you directly when it makes sense, and it won't tread on your current provider's toes - but at 51, watching me crawl under a desk is getting a bit demeaning for everyone involved.
So what I'm really here for is the second opinion: a completely impartial review of what you've got, what you're being charged, and whether you're getting good value for it. Or just the peace of mind that you are.
Why "independent" is the whole point
Most IT advice comes from someone who profits from the answer. The company that says "you need new servers" sells servers. The provider that says "your backups are fine" is the one being paid to do them.
- I don't resell hardware.
- I don't tie you into contracts.
- I don't take kickbacks from suppliers.
So when I tell you something's fine, it's fine. And when I tell you you're being overcharged or left exposed, that's the truth too. That independence is the whole point.
So, who is RUN PHP?
Honestly? Mostly just me - and, when it comes to websites, my son Billy. A small, father-and-son set-up with no call centre, no account managers, and nobody sitting between you and the person actually doing the work.
I'm a Lichfield lad, born and raised - married, with three grown-up kids. By day I'm writing code and configuring some genuinely advanced software and hardware; off the clock, I'm not too proud to admit I spend a fair bit of time feeding the garden birds - mostly fat pigeons and one very cheeky squirrel - from the shedquarters. I've always been a keen photographer, and lately I've got properly into drone photography and terrain mapping. I'm interested in pretty much everything and everyone, and I've been known to weaponise the ADHD into researching whatever subject or science has got its hooks into me that week.