Intelogy was founded in 1995, when installing Windows 95 meant feeding 13 floppy disks into your PC one by one, dial-up internet made every phone call a gamble, and the World Wide Web was still something you had to explain to friends and family.

A lot has changed since, but our mission has stayed the same: helping our clients do great things with technology. We would like to take this opportunity to reflect on our journey as a business and thank the many people who have helped us get where we are today.

I interviewed Simon Chalfont, Technical Director at Intelogy, to understand the origin of the business and spoke with Iain Ashworth, Managing Director, about what comes next.

Q: Tell us about the origin of Intelogy. Where did the idea for the company come from?

Simon: “While I was at university, I completed a placement year with a car manufacturer. I was working in their IT department where I had my first opportunity to build real-world software solutions, implement them and see firsthand the positive impact and results of my work. I knew right then that this was what I wanted to do with my career.

On the other hand, this experience also highlighted some of the constraints of working inside an established organisation where you have to work within the confines of a fixed IT strategy and specific technologies. During this placement year, I was using some technologies that were comparatively new and innovative, but the scope with which I could apply them was limited.

I wanted to work with tech I was truly passionate about and have the freedom to bring it to other organisations. That’s why my business partner and I decided to found Intelogy.”

Q: Looking back over the last 30 years, do you feel you’ve accomplished what you set out to do?

Simon: “No, because I will always strive for something more; I like to think I’m fairly ambitious!

I believe we still have more potential because we are always curious for what’s next. I think that’s what my role, as Technical Director, is all about: looking at where the technology landscape is going and pushing us to be at the forefront. Technology is always evolving so we find ourselves in a permanent state of change. There is no end-state for me that represents accomplishment. I am proud of our journey so far, but I feel like I’m still travelling. I love that about what we do.”

Iain: “There is always more to do. The team have worked hard to build a strong relationship with Microsoft, and I’d love to see that continue to develop and for us achieve even more success through that partnership. Second, I’d like to see the business continue to evolve and to give our team the opportunities for growth while pursuing our shared interests and ambitions.”

Q: What are you most proud of?

Simon: “Without a doubt, it is the people. Whilst we are definitely a technology company, we are also a professional consultancy providing services to our clients. That makes us a people business.

When we work with our clients, we think about what their interests are, what their needs are, and how we shape a solution design around that. It’s about forever being curious and being excited about what technology can offer in a way that changes how organisations work and see real change.

All that comes from the people inside our organisation. And it’s the essence of what we’re about.”

Q: What were some of the core milestones for the business over the past 30 years?

Simon: “There are three that stand out for me.

The first one was getting our first office in 2001. Until then, we’d been using dial-up connections, working from home and spending time at our customer sites. Having a physical space gave us an anchor and an identity.

The next one was around the same time, when we became a Microsoft Gold partner. This partnership status gave us credence and “referenceability” to what we were doing as an organisation. It took quite a bit of effort in terms of investment in our people, training and demonstrating the work that we were doing. That recognition helped us understand where we could really add value.

The third milestone for me happened more recently in 2022, when we received an award for the work we delivered with London’s Air Ambulance. That project was fantastic, and the people were a pleasure to work with. The story itself was also picked up by Microsoft UK News and published as the story of the quarter. Having that published, receiving the award and getting public recognition was something we were really proud of. I hope it’s not the last one.”

Q: Given Intelogy’s long-standing partnership with Microsoft, what has made their technology ecosystem the right fit for us?

Simon: “Over the years, we’ve worked with many different technologies, and the true constant has always been the Microsoft stack. Without doubt, Microsoft is a leading organisation and the breadth of what they offer draws me in. All their technologies are working together, making it very easy to deliver large scale digital transformations.

The other factor is of course the Microsoft Cloud. In the past, working with clients meant navigating on-premises environments. We would often have conversations where we would say, “Yes, we can help you achieve this, but it requires an upgrade.” The client would push back, saying, “We just finished an upgrade a few months ago, we’re not doing it.”

The Cloud platform means that we can work with any organisation, knowing that they have the exact same technology available. It allows us to bring the same quality of solutions to any organisation irrespective of size, location or sector.”

Q: What does the next five years look like for Intelogy?

Iain: “Fundamentally, who we are and why we do what we do will not change. For the last 30 years, the essence of our work has been using technology to do great things for our clients and help them with their challenges. That will continue.

Technology, particularly AI, is changing so rapidly that it’s difficult to predict what things will look like in five years. However, we’ll be applying that technology in the same way we always have: by seeking to really understand our clients’ businesses and developing the best technical solutions for them.”

Simon: “There’s still so much more potential here. We have solid capabilities, and we can continue to grow. We’re nowhere near the extent of our capacity or ambition. It’s a great industry to be in and we’ve got great alignment with the direction Microsoft is going. Long may it continue.”

Q: How do you see AI shaping our future services?”

Iain: “AI is everywhere right now so having strong AI skills is crucial. It can’t be treated in isolation. There are so many existing systems and solutions that will be enhanced, updated and eventually replaced by AI-first solutions. This will take time and inevitably the human element will be a major factor in the speed of transition, so the careful management of the change and integration of AI will be key for successful business transformation.

Clearly, there are challenges surrounding AI governance and staying ahead and in control of such rapid technological changes. AI is an unavoidable consideration in so much of what we do now, but it’s got to be well managed, and carefully integrated to be of value.”

Simon: “It’s another one of those inflections points where things change and go in a different direction.

When we first started, client-server computing was becoming a mainstream standard. Since then, we have gone through the internet era and later the mobile era, bringing applications to people on any device anywhere in the world.

AI is the next evolution of the technology landscape which, just like all those other ones, has permeated everything we do. We see it everywhere today, whether you’re working with Microsoft 365, building agents or introducing intelligent processes directly into new applications. It’s here to stay; there’s no question about it.

Again, it’s part of my role to look around and see how we can apply AI to benefit our clients.”