Senior IT leadership for Sussex SMEs, without the overhead.
Sussex spans a wide range of business communities, from the professional services and creative industries concentrated in Brighton and Hove, to manufacturing, logistics and healthcare businesses across East and West Sussex, and the strong commuter economy in towns such as Horsham, Crawley, Haywards Heath and Worthing.
What those businesses have in common is a need for senior IT and cyber oversight that goes beyond what an MSP can provide, and that does not come with a vendor agenda attached. The fractional model makes that level of expertise commercially accessible without the cost or commitment of a full-time IT Director.
Northstar works with Sussex businesses on a retained and project basis, providing the same quality of IT and cyber leadership that large organisations take for granted, tailored to the scale and commercial reality of a growing SME.
"The fractional model exists precisely for the stage where a business has outgrown informal IT management but cannot yet justify a full-time hire. That inflection point arrives earlier than most boards realise."
What Northstar provides to Sussex businesses
The Northstar service range covers the full spectrum of IT and cyber advisory needs for Sussex SMEs at every stage of growth.
- Fractional IT and Cyber Director retained independent oversight of IT governance, cyber risk, supplier management and technology strategy for Sussex businesses
- Board-Level IT and Cyber Risk Review an independent one-off assessment giving Sussex business leaders an honest picture of where they actually stand
- MSP oversight and accountability ensuring Sussex businesses get the IT service levels they are paying for, with proper commercial accountability
- Cyber Essentials readiness preparation and independent support for Sussex businesses seeking certification for clients, insurers or procurement requirements
- IT spend review independent assessment of whether Sussex IT budgets are delivering proportionate value, typically identifying savings of 10 to 20 percent
- AI advisory and governance vendor-neutral AI guidance for Sussex businesses navigating adoption decisions without vendor spin
- M&A IT due diligence pre-transaction assessment for Sussex businesses preparing for acquisition, investment or management buyout
IT and cyber challenges facing Sussex SMEs
Sussex businesses face a set of IT and cyber challenges shaped by the county's commercial character and its close economic ties to London.
Supply chain and client requirements. Many Sussex businesses supply London-based clients in sectors such as financial services, professional services and the public sector. Those clients increasingly require evidence of IT and cyber governance, including Cyber Essentials certification and completion of supplier security questionnaires. Northstar helps Sussex businesses meet those requirements proportionately and without unnecessary cost.
The Brighton and Hove tech and creative economy. Brighton has a significant and well-established technology and creative sector. Businesses in that environment face specific IT and cyber challenges around data protection, client data handling, AI tool governance and the management of a technically aware but often ungoverned workforce. Independent IT advisory adds the governance layer without disrupting the working culture.
Growth without structure. Sussex has a strong entrepreneurial and scale-up economy. Fast-growing businesses consistently outpace their IT governance arrangements, leaving them exposed to supplier underperformance, data protection risk and commercial IT decisions made without proper oversight. The fractional director model addresses that gap directly.
Areas of Sussex we work with
Northstar works with businesses across Sussex including Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Crawley, Horsham, Haywards Heath, Eastbourne, Hastings, Chichester, Lewes and the wider East and West Sussex area. Remote and hybrid engagement means geography is rarely a barrier and we work with businesses anywhere in the UK where the fit is right.
Start a conversation