It’s all systems go for husband and wife team Mark Pullar and Briony Heyhoe-Pullar.

The couple quit well-paid jobs at Huddersfield University to build up data business All My Systems – and have found their skills much in demand from companies as far afield as the south coast of England and Cork in Ireland.

The company, which Mark and Briony run from their home high above Halifax and from offices at Huddersfield’s 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, is billed as an IT consultancy with a difference – helping firms improve productivity and efficiency by better-connecting their data systems, processes and people.

Projects completed by the company encompass web development, customer relationship management and data engineering.

And the couple bring complementary skills to their venture. Mark, 33, who hails from Hull, was brought up in Beverley before studying business at Leeds University. He also has a postgraduate masters degree in information systems management, which he passed with distinction in 2010.

Before setting up All My Systems, he worked for 10 years at Huddersfield University’s HR department in a variety of roles. His tasks included redeveloping the university’s 1,500-page website as well as bringing together 10 different systems into one data “warehouse” able to pull together about 1m records and run 200 automated checks on the data being stored.

Mark ended up managing a team of three handling a staff payroll totalling £6m. He also project managed and implemented an integrated HR system on budget and on time.

“I got headhunted and went to work for a software company in Nottingham,” says Mark. “I was head of learning and development responsible for a team of trainers. During that time, I grew the team from five to 11 – but commuting five hours a day was hard. And that’s when I made a life-changing decision.

“All My Systems came into being because of the experience I had built up at the university. I had also worked self-employed building a website for a company and ended up working with their finance and customer data, linking it together.”

Briony, 38, who grew up in Rastrick and attended Rastrick High School, gained a geography degree at Huddersfield University. She met Mark when she was working as acquisitions manager at the university library, where she managed a team of seven people.

She says: “The library was one of the best in the UK and had customer service excellence accreditation, so I’ve come into the business from a background where I am very customer-focused.

“Everything we did at the library was for the benefit of the students. I’ve also come from a background of working with systems and processes and as a result my skills were quite transferable.”

Says Mark: “Our company differs from other IT companies because we don’t work with the hardware.

“We work with business data, spreadsheets and contents lists. We work with small businesses of five to 25 employees and help them bring together the data they have sitting in different parts of the business – and enable them to get a single view of their customer.

“A company dealing with customers will have invoices, letters, records of phone calls and different staff who will have dealt with them at different times. We try to help companies bring that information together into one place.”

To that end, All My Systems typically focuses on three key areas – customer relationship management, web development to help firms capitalise on new leads and data in all its many and varied forms. The aim is to pull the strands together into a coherent whole.

“Data has to be accurate and you need to be able to do something with it,” says Mark. “Some of our customers are ‘data savvy’ while with others we have to drive the change – and it is a big culture change for some.”

Mark says: “There are ‘milestone moments’ in any company where that firm would benefit from our services.

“One is when they see a big pick-up in sales. How are they going to manage their leads and opportunities? How much money should be coming in month by month? With the right system, they can monitor their goals and targets.”

Once data is being properly kept, the client can start to do more with it, says Mark. “They can start to segment it, slice and dice it as needed.”

Mark Pullar and Briony Heyhoe-Pullar of All My Systems, 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, Huddersfield.

He says: “We work with companies that are quite disciplined and strict in keeping up with the data. Others just like to know that they are roughly on target. Each client is different.”

While some couples might struggle to cope working side by side, there’s no friction as far as Mark and Briony are concerned.

Says Briony: “We share a common view about the ethics side of things. I really enjoy it, We can work from home, which is nice and we have our registered office address at 3M BIC where we can hold meetings.”

All My Systems has had a base at 3M BIC since June, 2014. As Mark completed his postgraduate studies at the university within the past five years, he has access to the university’s enterprise support team, which he says has been “excellent” in giving advice on the key decisions facing the new business.

The couple also try to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Says Briony: “The home office IS the home office – we don’t work at the kitchen table. We close the door and we get to work, but it does take discipline.”

When it’s time to stop work, Mark and Briony enjoy the local surroundings. “We live right up on the moors,” says Briony. “We love the outdoors. We have two horses and two dogs. That’s my passion – I love my animals. Walking the dogs on the moors provides a big release.

“I like riding my horses - and we have started a vegetable plot. Now we want some chickens. There’s an organisation that rehomes rescued battery hens and we’re planning to get some.”

The couple’s property has a bit of land, so Mark often finds himself getting away from it all – mending the fences! “It’s good to be out for two or three hours walking the dogs,” he adds.

“Good downtime is crucial to running a business. If you are putting in too many hours you can become less productive.”

And they’ve a strategy in place for All My Systems. “We are planning for 80% growth this year,” says Mark. “By the end of this year, we expect to have a team of four. We’re also looking possibly at apprenticeships.”

ALL MY SYSTEMS

Work: IT consultancy offering system

connectivity and customer insight

Site: 3M Buckley Innovation Centre,

Firth Street, Huddersfield

Phone: 01422 824831

Email: hello@allmysystems.co.uk

Web: www.allmysystems.co.uk