About
Senior Microsoft expertise. SME economics.
Data Partners was built to solve a specific problem: UK SMEs need the same quality of Microsoft data expertise as enterprises, but can't pay enterprise rates to get it. We're the answer to that problem.
Microsoft Certifications
Founder
Stephen Armory
Stephen founded Data Partners after a career that included a senior role as a Senior Microsoft Cloud Solutions Architect — working with organisations across the UK to design and implement data and AI solutions on the Microsoft platform.
Seeing that SMEs were being being excluded from the Data and AI revolution because of runaway costs in the consulting industry with Enterprise consultancies charging Enterprise rates! Junior-led delivery failing! Contractors being too much of a risk! The economics and risks simply didn't work.
Data Partners was built to change that. A practice that delivers genuine senior expertise — Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Fabric Analytics Engineer, Fabric Data Engineer certified — at rates that make the business case work for growing businesses.
The model is simple: senior practitioners only, Microsoft stack only, SME focus only. No scope creep. No hand-offs. No surprises!
How we work
The principles behind every engagement
These aren't aspirations — they're the specific things that make Data Partners different from the consultancies you've worked with before.
Senior expertise only
Every engagement is delivered by certified senior practitioners with real production experience. We don't use the project to train junior consultants — you get the expert you were promised.
Microsoft-exclusive focus
We work exclusively on the Microsoft stack. That means deeper expertise, faster delivery, and genuine specialism — not a team that covers every platform and masters none.
Transparent, SME-appropriate pricing
We publish our rates because transparency matters. At £900/day, we're typically 50% of what major consultancies charge for equivalent expertise. No hidden costs, no scope creep.
Outcomes over outputs
We measure success by whether your team can use what we build. Full documentation, knowledge transfer, and handover are standard — not optional extras.
Our model
The Chambers model — built for senior practitioners and SME clients
Data Partners operates on a chambers model — similar in principle to how legal or accountancy practices work. Senior practitioners operate independently but under a shared brand, with shared standards, shared pricing discipline, and shared commitment to the SME market.
This model matters for two reasons. First, it means every client gets genuine senior expertise — not a partner who sells the work and hands it to a junior. Second, it creates a genuinely IR35-compliant structure: practitioners work across multiple clients, with HMRC-safe documentation from the outset.
As the associate network grows, clients benefit from a wider range of senior Microsoft expertise — all under the same quality standards and pricing model.
For clients
Access to senior Microsoft expertise at SME-appropriate rates. No juniors, no offshore, no surprises. IR35-compliant engagements with HMRC-safe documentation.
For practitioners
Work independently with appropriate rewards, under a shared brand that handles the commercial overhead — so you focus on delivering, not selling.
For the market
A genuinely differentiated alternative to enterprise consultancies that charge enterprise rates while delivering junior work.
Work with a senior Microsoft practitioner
No junior consultants. No offshore teams. Just experienced practitioners who've built these solutions before — at rates that work for your business.