Technology decisions rarely happen in isolation.

For accountancy firms, they sit alongside client delivery, operational priorities, internal risk, and constant pressure on already stretched teams.

That was the challenge facing PKF Littlejohn.

Known for working with large, complex and high-profile clients, the firm was reviewing multiple areas of technology at once. But like many firms, the real challenge wasn’t simply identifying suppliers.

It was managing the process around the decision.

Overview

PKF Littlejohn worked with Darwin to help reduce the operational pressure around a complex technology review process by introducing independent market guidance, supplier management support and additional capacity.

The challenge

“We were looking around at many different aspects of it,” explained Chris Madden, IT Director at PKF Littlejohn.

“Darwin was a great fit to say, actually, we can take some of this off your desk, look around the market for you and come back with some suggestions.”

Like many technology decisions, the challenge wasn’t just technical.

The process itself quickly became time consuming:

• supplier conversations
• market research
• proposal reviews
• internal alignment
• ongoing coordination

All while continuing to run the day-to-day business.

What the process made easier

• Reduced internal supplier management workload
• Structured and simplified the review process
• Created a clearer view of the market
• Returned time back to the internal team
• Helped support a more confident decision-making process

Reducing operational pressure

Rather than adding another layer to the process, Darwin acted as an extension of the internal team — helping manage supplier engagement, market review and the operational coordination that often creates pressure internally.

“My role in the process is essentially to take the weight out of the daily communication with vendors,” explained Fale Faingata’a, Darwin’s project lead.

“When we say the Darwin process saves time, effort and money, that time and effort is me handling the daily communication with multiple organisations. Then when it comes to the weekly catch-up with the PKF Littlejohn team, the conversation becomes much simpler — progress, options and next steps.”

For PKF Littlejohn, one of the biggest benefits was creating additional internal capacity.

“The added value aspect of Darwin was taking away the leg work and the market review, leaving us to focus on the high priority jobs in the business.”

“The process was really seamless because it’s one of those things that takes a lot of time. Darwin took all of that away from us. They did the leg work, so all we really had to do was assess the prospective suppliers put in front of us.”

Bringing clarity to the process

Beyond the operational support, one of the biggest benefits was creating a clearer view of the market itself.

Technology markets move quickly, particularly across areas like cloud, connectivity, security and AI. Supplier messaging becomes noisy very quickly when multiple providers are competing for attention.

“Having Darwin between us and the marketplace removed a lot of that noise and gave us clarity of thought,” Chris explained.

“It helped us make the right decision — not just in terms of technology and pricing, but culturally as well. Who’s the right fit for the business over the next three to five years and beyond?”

That independent position was central to the process.

“I like to think of Darwin as a member of the IT team rather than a business that just comes in and runs a process,” said Fale.

“A lot of the value comes from offering guidance and taking away effort.”

A more manageable process

For PKF Littlejohn, the process also felt commercially straightforward.

“Ultimately, it was a low-risk decision for us because if we decided not to move forward with any supplier, there was no charge. All we’d invested was a bit of time.”

Technology decisions are becoming more visible, more complex and more time consuming for accountancy firms.

Sometimes the biggest value isn’t making the process move faster.

It’s creating enough clarity to make the right decision with confidence.

Working through a technology decision?

If you’re reviewing suppliers, exploring options, or trying to bring more structure to a complex decision, Darwin can help you make the process clearer and easier to manage.

Talk to the team