Listed Manchester-based Northcoders has long been known for changing how people enter the tech industry.
Now, its subsidiary Counter is setting its sights on how technology consultancy works.
The new consultancy business is led by Northcoders veteran Amul Batra and aims to challenge traditional consultancy models that Batra believes are 鈥渘o longer fit for purpose鈥� in a fast-changing digital economy.
From teaching tech to delivering transformation
Batra, who joined Northcoders in 2016 after an entrepreneurial career spanning the music industry and tech, said Counter was born from years of listening to the frustrations of employers who worked with consultancies that didn鈥檛 always deliver value.
鈥淎fter working with businesses across the UK, it became clear that traditional tech consultancy models aren鈥檛 always designed to deliver the best outcomes for companies,鈥� he told 老九品茶Cloud.聽
鈥淭hat was the insight that inspired us to start Counter.鈥�
Counter allows the group to embed its own engineers, many of whom trained through Northcoders鈥� bootcamps, directly into client projects in an attempt to bridge the gap between talent creation and delivery.
Breaking the consultancy mould
Batra described the business as a 鈥渃hallenger brand鈥� built around fairness, transparency and long-term impact.
鈥淭he onshore consultancy model has some built-in challenges,鈥� he explained.聽
鈥淥ften, it鈥檚 in a consultancy鈥檚 favour to get paid without necessarily doing what鈥檚 best for the client.聽
鈥淭hat can mean overcomplicating solutions, deploying more people than needed, and still getting paid even if deadlines slip.
鈥淲e immerse ourselves with the client to understand what they need and hire teams specifically to meet their goals.
鈥淓very team has a tech lead who ensures they integrate smoothly and deliver on expectations.鈥�
One distinctive feature of the model is client ownership of talent, as businesses can take on consultants as full-time employees at no extra cost, making sure that skills and knowledge stay in-house.
Building for precision and avoiding burnout
Unlike large consultancies that keep a 鈥渂ench鈥� of underused staff, Counter only hires for live work.聽
This means it operates with 100% utilisation, as every consultant is engaged on a worthwhile project.
Batra said: 鈥淚t comes down to precision. We hire the right people for the work that clients actually need completing.聽
鈥淲hen you match skills to work and culture to client, quality stays high, and burnout is avoided.鈥�
Project wins
Counter鈥檚 approach has already won traction with clients such as Skipton Building Society and Manchester Airports Group, where it recently launched the new East Midlands Airport website.
鈥淥ur model works best when it鈥檚 collaborative,鈥� said Batra, who still serves as chief partnerships officer at Northcoders.
鈥淪ometimes that means supporting delivery so in-house teams can focus on strategic work; in others, it鈥檚 delivering complex technical projects end-to-end.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 about giving the client exactly what they need – not what we want to sell them.鈥�
Combining AI with people power
As the consultancy scales, AI and machine learning are at the forefront of the firm鈥檚 plans for the future.
Batra explained: 鈥淎I models aren鈥檛 鈥榮et and forget鈥� – they need people who can ensure long-term effectiveness.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where we come in. We don鈥檛 just build proofs of concept; we provide the people who can maintain and improve them after launch.鈥�
Lessons from Northcoders
The managing director believes that the foundations from within Northcoders gives the company somewhat of a unique headstart.
鈥淎t Northcoders, we created a 鈥榳in-win-win鈥� model where our trainees succeeded, their employers succeeded and the business succeeded,鈥� he explained.聽
鈥淎t Counter, the goal is similar: clients get the skills they need, consultants build meaningful careers and the business thrives.
鈥淲e鈥檝e spent years training people, understanding how teams succeed, and building trust with employers.聽
Counter is the natural next step – taking that experience and applying it to how technology is actually delivered.鈥�
Disrupting the model
Batra鈥檚 ambition is to disrupt the consultancy model at scale, embedding teams in dozens of businesses with a purpose.
鈥淭he ultimate goal is to help companies solve people and technology challenges efficiently and effectively,鈥� he said.聽
鈥淲e want to prove that doing the right thing for clients is also the smartest business model.
鈥淲e helped change how people get into tech.聽
鈥淣ow we want to change how tech gets done.鈥�