Image: Brett and Jenni Riley/ITArmi
The ITArmi platform promises to connect businesses with nearby IT engineers who have the skills they need.
ITArmi was set up almost four years ago by husband-and-wife team Jenni and Brett Riley. If you were being simplistic about it, you’d call ITarmi a sort of ‘Uber for IT’, but there’s a bit more to the services-based matchmaking the app provides than just location.
The ITArmi app connects businesses in need of IT support with geo-located IT engineers who can be on site on the same day, and skill-matched to the request at hand.
“We have been able to attract a large base of highly skilled IT professionals with diverse capabilities across an array of technology stacks and vendors,” said Brett. “This means that we are able to provide organisations across the world with exactly the right type of support, no matter what their needs.”
With a strong bank of professionals waiting for the call, the ITArmi app aims to cover all IT needs, with expertise and experience to be sourced across all major OEMs – Apple, Cisco, Dell, HP, Nutanix, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks and more. The other advantages it aims to offer are speed, transparency, agility and cost savings. “Customers are only charged for the time taken to deliver,” explained Brett.
To cover the end-to-end experience, the app includes a communications tool, dynamic billing and a review system.
“The technology roadmap is extensive and will diversify across marketplaces, services and technology,” said Brett. “The recent creation of ITArmi’s API now gives the platform the ability to integrate with platform-as-a-service providers and, in so doing, providing seamless access for their clients to a global IT engineering workforce.”
‘If you have a great team and the foundations of a great business model then you will be able survive any challenge that comes your way’
– JENNI RILEY
Business director Jenni is responsible for all back-office functions and ensures the smooth daily running of the business. She previously worked in the motor trade before setting up her own consultancy business focusing on business development, events and marketing.
Originally from South Africa, CEO Brett has more than two decades’ experience in IT where he worked for major global resellers. He is now responsible for the vision and strategy of ITArmi.
Based in London, the Rileys find the programmes and government support available for entrepreneurs to be a great advantage, and a huge help for first-time entrepreneurs.
“We have had customers go bust, factoring companies pull their credit lines and now a global pandemic. Every year we have had some significant threat potentially undermine what we have created and worked so hard for,” said Jenni. “What we have learned is that if you have a great team and the foundations of a great business model then you will be able survive any challenge that comes your way.”
While the investment community in London is “vibrant, innovative and engaging”, according to Brett, the Rileys said they didn’t take enough advantage of this starting out.
“Up to this point we are completely bootstrapped. We have just started our seed Series A engagements,” said Brett. “Our total addressable market is significant, and we will look to drive scale through investment both locally and in international markets.”
So far, the company’s global ambition is taking shape. The app has 1,300 engineers signed up in 134 countries.
“We have continued to grow our sales acquisition strategy even through the pandemic and are in the process of onboarding a lot of new customers,” said Jenni. “The nature of the pandemic suits both the commercial model and the operational model that ITArmi has perfectly.”
In the end, the ultimate goal is for ITArmi to “become a global brand that uses its technology to change the way that IT managed services are delivered globally for the foreseeable future,” she added.
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