At Manchester Digital, we like to interview our members to find out a bit more about what they do and their work in the Greater Manchester digital and technology sphere. This week, we're speaking with James Renshaw, Founder of Ibly Ltd, who offer software consultancy and Fractional CTO services to help startups and SMEs deliver with confidence.
Could you begin by introducing yourself…
We are Ibly, a tech advisory and delivery business helping organisations from startups to enterprises achieve success with technology. Our services range from Fractional CTO services to software project delivery and team augmentation. For example, we partnered with Modern Milkman to take them from early-stage startup to a national brand operating across Europe, and we worked with TVS, a multi-billion-turnover international business, to enhance their logistics arm. From milk delivery to microbiology labs, we help businesses shape their tech strategy and deliver results.
What inspired Ibly to specialise in end-to-end software delivery consultancy, and how do you ensure you understand the ‘problem before proposing the solution’?
Founded on over 20 years of experience in software delivery and leadership, we’re passionate about ensuring technology drives business success by delivering the right solutions at the right stage of growth. We put real emphasis not only on understanding the direct request but gaining a deep understanding in the context and wider market. Our early discovery phases are key to setting the right direction, using techniques like Jobs To Be Done analysis to uncover what truly matters and ensure solutions are impactful and commercially viable.
With certified Scrum Masters and Scaled Agilists on your team, how have you tailored Agile delivery approaches to suit diverse clients—from startups to £1-billion turnover organisations?
Yes, our team is well experienced and qualified, we are also savvy enough to know there is no one solution that fits all. We draw on our experience, take time to understand the business and teams, and adapt our approach accordingly. For example, a startup often needs a flexible generalist who can wear many hats, while an established organisation might benefit from deep specialists embedded within structured delivery frameworks.
Generative AI is booming - how does Ibly help clients cut through the hype of AI and leverage it effectively and responsibly?
The explosion in AI really does provide great opportunities but also great pitfalls. One key thing that AI isn’t changing is the need to fully understand the problem before choosing the solution. We are currently working with AI startups and established businesses who are introducing AI to streamline their operations and helping them make a success of it, steering them through the costs, data privacy concerns and delivery of the solutions. Our role is to ensure AI adoption is effective, sustainable, and responsible.
Team augmentation and supplier management are core offerings of Ibly - what are some best practices you recommend for Manchester organisations looking to scale development teams efficiently?
For Manchester organisations looking to scale efficiently, we often work with trusted nearshore partners to provide delivery and product teams, where this aligns with the client’s strategy. There are real benefits with this approach, we can bring great experience/knowledge into the team, with less risk than a permanent hire and cheaper than a local contractor. That’s not to say that the whole team should be nearshore, the greatest successes we have are when we seamlessly augment a client's existing team, adding just enough of the right expertise to their team.
One of the possible challenges with remote team members is getting a real understanding of the business and feeling connected. We’ve gone above and beyond with that, bringing team members over to work in warehouses, do delivery rounds etc. so they really understand the context. So just as you may with a permanent employee, getting a great induction process will help deliver the best results.
Most of our past experience has been on the other side of these relationships running successful teams with a business, that means that our advice/guidance comes from a real understanding of our clients’ needs and we’ll always give an honest assessment whether augmentation is the right thing for them.
Ibly has served diverse sectors including logistics, healthcare, IoT, retail, and finance. Which sector posed the most interesting delivery challenges, and how did your team overcome them?
They all come with their own challenges, like finance and its regulated environment, or IoT with challenges in processing large volumes of data efficiently. However, the most common theme across all these sectors is creating the right team structure, culture, and processes to succeed. Helping clients get to a better mix of those creates the right environment, combine that with high quality analysis, design and technical knowledge and we’re on the path to success.
When we arrived at TVS, they had a large software delivery team. The CEO wanted us to not only deliver a new experience for their delivery drivers but use our expertise to help influence changes in working practices across tech and change. We shared our skills in product design and consulted with the CTO on the future shape for the team.
Can you share a success story where Ibly significantly transformed a client’s delivery process or product success - what was the impact?
Our work with Modern Milkman is a great example of transformation at scale. We delivered ecommerce, ERP, data, and last-mile delivery solutions while growing the IT and product team from 1 to around 50. In parallel, the business scaled to ~£50m ARR, expanded across the UK, and launched in France. This success was built on combining technical delivery with building the right people, processes, and culture to support rapid growth.
Thank you James!
Click here to find out more about Ibly Ltd.
