An investment manager with £1.7Bn AUM engaged Broadgate, part of Ortecha, to review its technology operating model following a shift to hybrid working. We assessed internal and external service delivery, designed a target retained organisation, and ran a structured supplier selection process. The result was a clearer, more flexible model that resolved capability gaps and delivered £1.9m in savings.
Scope:
Impact:
The shift to hybrid working changed how technology services needed to operate. What had worked before no longer held up.
Leadership could see the symptoms clearly. Inefficiencies were building. Delivery was uneven. Skills gaps were becoming harder to ignore.
The root problem was a lack of clarity on what should sit in-house, what should be outsourced, and how those pieces should work together in a hybrid environment.
Without that clarity, every decision became reactive.
This was not just a sourcing question. It was an operating model decision.
Keep too much in-house, and teams would remain stretched without the right capabilities. Outsource too much, and control and responsiveness would suffer. In a hybrid world, the margin for error is smaller.
Technology services need to flex with demand. They need to work across locations, time zones and partners without friction.
The client needed a model that could do both. Stable where it mattered. Flexible where it counted.
We were engaged to bring an independent, structured view of the operating model.
This was not about pushing a preferred vendor or a predefined answer.
It was about working through the evidence. Understanding how services were actually delivered today. Then designing a model that would work in practice.
Our experience in operating model design and supplier selection in this investment management industry meant we could connect the two. Not just define the target, but help the client get there.
We started by assessing the current state across four key areas:
From there, we designed the target retained organisation. This focused on what the client needed to own internally. Capabilities that required control, context or close alignment with the business stayed in-house. Everything else was evaluated through a sourcing lens.
We then ran a structured RFP process.
Suppliers were assessed against specific service towers, as well as their ability to deliver an integrated model. This allowed the client to compare:
The result was not a generic outsourcing decision. It was a model built around how the client actually operates.
The final model struck a clear balance.
Infrastructure, service management and security were outsourced to specialist providers. This reduced operational burden and brought in capability where it was needed most.
Application development and maintenance followed a different path.
A core-flex model was introduced. A stable core supplier supported ongoing needs, while additional capacity could flex in line with the demand pipeline.
This gave the organisation control without rigidity. And flexibility without fragmentation.
The impact was immediate and measurable.
Cost efficiency improved, delivering £1.9m in savings over the contract term.
Skills gaps were addressed through the right mix of internal capability and external expertise.
Delivery became more predictable. The operating model aligned more closely with how work actually flowed through the organisation.
They understood what they owned. What their partners owned. And how the whole model worked together.
Hybrid working is not a temporary shift. It has permanently changed how technology services operate.
Many organisations are still running models designed for a different world. That is where inefficiency, cost and risk start to build.
Not by outsourcing for the sake of it. But by making deliberate decisions about what to keep and what to let go.
That clarity is what turns a fragmented model into one that actually works.
A UK‑based investment manager operating in a regulated environment. Following a shift to hybrid working, the organisation needed a clearer, more flexible technology operating model to balance internal capability with outsourced services.
Partner, Technology Transformation
Partner, Technology Transformation
