Coming Full Circle with Jamie
The team behind the technology that keeps Blue Amber moving forward
In today’s digital world, protecting client data is more important than ever. As bookkeepers, we handle a significant amount of sensitive information, so having trusted IT support is essential. Jamie and his team are the people working behind the scenes to keep our systems secure, monitor for potential threats, and help with everything from cybersecurity to stubborn printers. Their expertise gives us peace of mind, knowing our technology is running smoothly and our clients’ information is in safe hands.
An Intro from Lucy
What sets Full Circle apart is that the support doesn’t rely on one person. Jamie has built a capable team that works together to provide consistent service and keep everything running smoothly. As a business, we have clear goals for our technology and systems, and I appreciate that they understand our preference for continual, sustainable improvement rather than dramatic change. They take the time to understand how we work, helping us make steady progress while ensuring our systems remain secure, reliable and fit for the future.
Welcome, Jamie, first tell us what is your role with the company?
I’m Managing Director, so I do everything really. I’m involved with service delivery, fulfillment, accounting, marketing, and strategy. I wear all the hats, which is confusing at times.
Tell us about your business and what you do.
We primarily provide managed IT services to small and medium businesses. We also work in the public education system, providing tech support and fleet management. That’s where the business started.
Managed IT is a fixed-price IT service for businesses. Typically, it covers “all-you-can-eat” arrangements, but we also have other plans and strategies. It’s really great for businesses because you get a proactive service and a fixed-price cost, which really helps with budgeting. Managed IT services provide peace of mind by ensuring systems are regularly monitored and maintained, helping businesses avoid costly surprises and the challenges that come with accumulated technical debt.
We consume data and information out of systems, networks, and devices to identify problems before they happen, as well as providing a kind of chief information officer service where we help businesses manage technology, make decisions, plan budgets, and even strategy and technical choices.
At the core of our service is cybersecurity and data protection. This includes managing backups, verifying that those backups are working correctly, disaster recovery planning, and incident response. From a cybersecurity perspective, we continuously monitor and manage alerts and system logs from platforms such as Office 365, as well as data from hardware, devices, and network activity, helping to identify and address potential threats before they become problems.
Is there a meaning behind your business name?
Yes. I have a systems background and trained as a computer programmer and systems analyst. The name Full Circle is a nod to that early part of my career. A good system should be circular, with feedback loops flowing all the way through. When you look at biological systems, the human body, or even ecosystems, that’s how they operate. The best systems are connected, responsive and self-correcting -and that’s the philosophy we bring to our work as well.
What do you see as your business’s purpose and mission?
I think the one thing the team and I all have in common is a genuine desire to help people. That’s what motivates us. Technology can sometimes be complex, frustrating and, let’s be honest, a little dry, but seeing the difference we’ve made for a client makes it all worthwhile. Whether it’s solving a problem, reducing risk, or helping a business operate more effectively, there’s real satisfaction in knowing you’ve made someone’s day easier. Over time, that shared commitment to helping people has also led to some incredible long-term relationships with our clients.
What makes your company stand out in the market?
A few things set us apart. Firstly, while we have the capability to work in large enterprise environments, we’ve deliberately chosen to focus on small and medium-sized businesses. That means no business is too small for us. We work with sole operators right through to larger organisations, and if you’re serious about your business, we’re happy to support you.
Another point of difference is the breadth of our technical expertise. With backgrounds spanning programming, databases, websites, servers, infrastructure and systems design, we’re comfortable tackling complex challenges that many providers may shy away from.
We also take a different approach to onboarding new clients. Rather than locking people into a 12-month contract from day one, we prefer to start by understanding the business and its technology environment. During that discovery phase, we often uncover issues, opportunities and requirements that weren’t initially apparent. Once we have a clear picture of the landscape, we can provide accurate pricing and develop a service agreement that genuinely reflects the scope of work required. We believe transparency from the outset leads to better outcomes for everyone.
What has been your favourite part of your journey?
One of the things I enjoy most is the opportunity to work with such a diverse range of businesses, industries and people. Every day is different, and every client brings their own unique challenges, goals and perspectives. That’s probably the highlight for me.
Earlier in my career, I worked as a computer programmer, where I could look at the stack of work on my desk and know exactly what I’d be doing for the next six months. These days, no two days are the same. I enjoy the variety, the unpredictability and the problem-solving that comes with it. You never quite know what the day will bring.
Perhaps most rewarding of all is having the opportunity to play a small part in our clients’ success. Watching businesses grow, overcome challenges and achieve their goals, knowing we’ve helped support that journey, is incredibly fulfilling.
Describe what challenges you have faced along the way, and how you have overcome them.
Getting the staffing mix right has been a challenge, but we’ve overcome that. We have an amazing team, and I couldn’t be more proud of them, positive attitude, and their care for our clients.
Another challenge is recognising that running a successful business requires much more than being good at your core craft. No matter how capable you are in your area of expertise, you need the right people around you. Early on, I handled my own bookkeeping and accounting, but it didn’t take long to realise there were plenty of areas where I lacked knowledge and could benefit from expert support.
I’m a strong believer in the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen, which centres on the idea of continuous improvement through small, incremental changes. In business, there’s always something that can be refined, a process that can be improved, or a challenge that needs to be addressed. The key is to keep learning, keep adapting and keep moving forward.
How would you describe your leadership style and how does it influence your team?
I’m a strong believer in a bottom-up approach to leadership rather than a top-down one. During my time working in the public school system, I learned a lot about the value of listening to people rather than arriving with all the answers.
When challenges arise, I prefer to bring them to the team and work through them together, asking for their ideas on the best way forward. It may take a little longer, but it creates a greater sense of ownership, involvement and accountability, which ultimately leads to better outcomes.
Please share a little about your purpose, and aspirations for the business.
We are growing. We are a successful growing business, and I’d like to grow more, but I never want to grow to a point that I’m divorced from what’s happening and I can’t be out there, talking to people.
I want to create a respectful, positive workplace where staff are engaged, motivated and enjoy what they do. I believe that when people feel happy, productive and empowered, they provide better service to our clients, and that naturally leads to a successful business.
How would you describe your core values?
Integrity, respect, and consistency. Consistency is probably the most important thing in business.
What drives you and your team every day?
We love helping people. We love working with each other. We have a very flat structure, that allows everyone to share knowledge freely and do their best work.
We’re driven by a desire to keep learning. Technology is evolving at an incredible pace, and staying ahead of that change is essential if we’re going to deliver solutions that are both effective and appropriate for each client’s business. Finding the right balance between capability, security and cost is something we’re constantly striving for.
And, if I’m being completely honest, having a monstrous mortgage provides a fair bit of motivation as well.
What feels most important about the service you provide?
We want to provide a really high-quality service, but above all, we want to make sure we’re recommending the right solutions for our clients. The focus should always be on what works best for their business, not what’s most convenient for us.
Every business is different. That’s why we don’t take a cookie-cutter approach. We spend time understanding each client’s needs and tailoring our recommendations accordingly, because what works well for one business may not be the right fit for another.
What is your proudest achievement as a business so far?
Probably longevity – being in business for this amount of time.
And that I have so many long-term relationships with people, which means there has to be integrity, respect, and value between us. Our reputation is everything for me. I don’t want anybody to be upset with what’s been delivered – ever. It’s very important to me that we stick to what we say we’re going to do.
What innovations in your industry are you most excited about?
AI is a game changer, there’s no doubt about that. At times, it vexes me because it’s lowering the barrier for bad actors and making it easier to identify vulnerabilities and launch attacks. That’s something the cybersecurity industry is going to be grappling with for years to come.
At the same time, AI presents incredible opportunities. Many of the administrative and repetitive tasks we deal with, such as scheduling, ticket triage, reporting and summarising information, are becoming faster and more efficient. The challenge is learning how to harness those benefits while managing the risks. The pace of change is extraordinary, it can be a little frightening at times.
What’s the best piece of feedback you’ve ever received from a customer?
People tell me that they love us. They’ll say, “We love Michael,” or “We love Sushant,” or “We love these staff members.” That’s amazing because you know you’re doing the right thing.
How do you define success for your business?
To keep growing, keep attracting great clients, maintain happy, high-quality staff, producing consistently good work. That would be success for me.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about your business?
I wish people would take technology more seriously. Most businesses are tech dependent, and downtime is massive. For a moderate spend, you can reduce these risks massively. IT isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’ anymore – it’s a ‘must-have’.
Working with Blue Amber
Can you share a highlight or memorable experience working with Blue Amber?
I love coming out and seeing people in their offices. When you get around a lot and you’ve been in loads of places, you get a feel pretty fast. I get a great feel about Blue Amber – it’s clear how productive, efficient, and well-organised you are.
How did your relationship with Blue Amber begin?
I think it was through networking, but we later found out we had a lot of mutual contacts and had worked in the same areas before. Networking is a very powerful way to improve your business.
What services or products do you provide to Blue Amber?
We provide data security, backup and disaster recovery, prevention and practice simulation, and cyber security. We also provide a pathway to improve Blue Amber’s security posture in a way that matches the risks headed your way.
We’re starting soon with the government’s Essential 8 framework. It’s a journey we’re on together, and we need to be mindful of how the business operates so we’re not disrupting staff or causing problems.
How would you describe your working relationship with the Blue Amber team?
We love it. We love working with the team.
We’re like a partner rather than just a supplier because we have intimate knowledge of what goes on in the business. There’s also a good synergy between the types of people who are bookkeepers and people who are into technology.
We’re very detail orientated, organised, and like having things mapped out.
What do you value most about partnering with Blue Amber?
It’s wonderful to be able to help and assist the team and show them things about security and technology they maybe hadn’t thought of before.
For me it’s also a feather in our cap to have Blue Amber as a client because it’s such a good business with a fantastic reputation. I think people who know both of us probably think, “Oh, Jamie works with Lucy – he must be good then!” It creates a halo effect.
Lucy on Full Circle
What were you looking for when choosing this supplier?
A company with a team, that made me feel confident in our data security.
What made you choose this supplier?
I have known Jamie through networking for a couple of years now and I also know some of his clients. I know that Jamie does his utmost to look after his clients and that he would do anything needed for us.
How would you describe the value of our product/service in one sentence?
How do I put a price on peace of mind? Great value for Blue Amber and the flow-on effect to our clients is fabulous.
How has this supplier helped Blue Amber be more successful?
Down time for a business costs a lot and I feel we are in safe hands with Full Circle looking after us.
Congratulations for making it to the end of the interview!
II’d like to offer you a pen test for your office valued at $2,800. You will receive several security recommendations you can implement yourself plus a high level overview of potential security threats to your most important asset. Your business!
