NorthMSP was created by an experienced technologist tired of seeing SMEs treated as second-class customers — reactive support, junior escalation, weak security, and advice shaped more by margin than merit.
NorthMSP exists to do the things most providers say they do but don’t: senior technical ownership, secure foundations, clear communication and long-term relationships. We’d rather build something a smaller number of organisations genuinely rely on than a sales machine.
You get direct access to senior, certified expertise from the first conversation — backed by clear standards, automation and documentation that keep the quality consistent as we grow.
You won’t be passed down a chain. The people who scope your work are the people who own it.
Founder / Principal Consultant
James founded NorthMSP after more than 25 years in IT — from systems engineer at an IT service provider to senior technical lead inside a managed services business, owning cybersecurity, compliance, Microsoft 365, Azure and infrastructure, and trusted with the final say on the projects that mattered most. He understands the full picture: the support, the architecture underneath it, the security around it, and the commercial reality of delivering it well.
He set up NorthMSP to do that properly — security-first, engineer-led, and accountable for the outcome, not just the ticket.
Operations
[Placeholder bio] Responsible for operational coordination, client experience and process discipline — making sure NorthMSP delivers consistently as it grows.
Certifications don’t fix servers — but they do prove the knowledge is current, examined and real. Ours are listed, because “highly certified” means nothing without the names.
The Microsoft security stack, end to end — from hardening identity to running security operations.
Tenant architecture, messaging and governance for the platform most businesses run on.
Building and running Azure properly — administration, networking and the hybrid estate beneath it.
Earlier career certifications across the networking and virtualisation world — lapsed now, honestly labelled, but the miles behind them are why the fundamentals run deep.
Certification is a floor, not a ceiling — and it doesn’t stop. More certifications are in progress.
NorthMSP is being built as an employee-owned technology business — with profit share, development roadmaps and continuous learning at its core. The goal isn’t scale at any cost. It’s a company where good engineers do excellent work for clients they know well.
That long-term mindset runs through how we work, too — wasting less kit, energy and money, and being honest about it rather than greenwashing. More on our approach to sustainability.
In twenty years of working with network engineers, I’ve not met anyone who troubleshoots like this.
He’s been an incredible support through a difficult period — we’re genuinely grateful for the hard work and dedication.
Career feedback from our founder’s client work. Identities withheld to respect confidentiality. References available on request.
If you value senior people, secure foundations and a long-term relationship over the cheapest possible helpdesk, we should talk. We’d like to understand your business.