IT procurement: CloudCoCo MD Peter Nailer

Peter Nailer is managing director of CloudCoCo Group plc, the AIM-listed IT procurement and e-commerce business. In August 2026 the group launched an AI-driven procurement platform covering around 250,000 stocked products, after interim results showed revenue up 30 per cent to £4.4m for the six months to 31 March. Its trading operations are based in Sheffield. He tells Business Matters why efficient systems and personal service should never be opposites.

What do you currently do at CloudCoCo?

As managing director I bring together the commercial and operational sides of CloudCoCo, overseeing our trading businesses, Systems Assurance and More Computers, which trades as MoreCoCo. My main job is ensuring our teams have what they need to deliver while keeping all the moving parts aligned.

Across the group, we bridge the gap between simple hardware purchasing and complex digital transformation. CloudCoCo delivers wider technology solutions including cloud, connectivity, cyber security and practical AI. Systems Assurance focuses on account-managed IT procurement, lifecycle device management and enterprise WebStore services. MoreCoCo drives our e-commerce operations, giving customers direct access to a broad range of technology products online.

My focus is on making those parts work together. A customer might initially need a straightforward hardware purchase and later want help with a more involved IT project. Equally, a business buying a complex solution still needs the basics of purchasing, communication and delivery to work properly.

To support this approach, we have been making targeted investments. In April 2026 we raised £275,000 to support growth, including Project Brightstar, our programme to expand business-to-business activity. Brightstar has already built a qualified pipeline of more than £2.5m and won its first contract in June. We have also strengthened our leadership with the appointments of Russell Bristow as director of commercial strategy and Deep Toor as director of revenue and growth.

Alongside that, we have been investing in digital commerce, including website development and systems for managing our product catalogue across marketplaces. We are putting AI to practical use in areas such as supplier invoice processing and web development, while evaluating further applications. The point of that investment is not simply to have more technology. It is to make the business easier to deal with and give our people more capacity to support customers.

I like to stay close to the details, whether that is a buying journey, an operational issue or whether a proposed investment will make a worthwhile difference. A strategy has to work in the day-to-day business, not just in a presentation.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

I joined CloudCoCo in 2019, bringing a background that combines technical understanding and commercial strategy. What drives me every day is a simple goal: make technology less complicated for the customer.

Whether a business needs 10 laptops for new joiners, help replacing ageing systems or an advisory partner on where AI actually delivers a return, the conversation should start with understanding their requirement, not finding an opportunity to sell a particular product.

That is what I want the group to represent. Someone buying online should be able to find the right product, understand what they are getting and have confidence in the service behind it. Someone with a more involved requirement should be able to speak to people who understand their business and remain involved after the initial conversation.

Efficient online purchasing and personal account management should not be mutually exclusive; they should strengthen each other. The customer should not have to choose between convenience and being able to get hold of someone who can help. I am interested in how we improve both experiences.

Who do you admire?

I admire people who take responsibility and build businesses that actually work well, rather than those who are just good at talking about them.

That includes owners who stay obsessed with their customers regardless of scale, managers who develop the people around them and colleagues who quietly get difficult things done without needing a fanfare. Those contributions do not always attract attention, but they make a substantial difference.

I also respect people who are prepared to challenge a decision constructively, regardless of who proposed it. I would rather someone explained why an idea might not work than agreed with it because of who suggested it. Being open to that challenge is important when you are responsible for the direction of a business.

You learn everything you need to know about someone when the pressure is on. How people communicate, treat others and honour commitments during a crisis matters far more than how confidently they present when times are good.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

With hindsight, I would have placed a much bigger emphasis earlier on deciding what not to do.

Every business usually has a constant supply of ideas. The real difficulty is deciding which ones deserve the time and attention available. Trying to push 10 initiatives forward at once just leaves everyone busy with no important work being finished.

I would also make more time to improve repeatable processes before they become a constraint. When something goes wrong, it is tempting to resolve the immediate issue and move on. The real value comes from asking why it went wrong and what would prevent it happening again, so you can build a simple process to stop a repeat. Sometimes a clearer responsibility or a small system change is enough.

Equally, I would keep the distinction between growing revenue and building a healthier business firmly in view. More sales are only part of the picture. You need to understand the margin, the work involved in servicing those sales and the cash required to support them.

Hindsight makes every mistake look obvious. What matters is having the humility to learn and adjust course when the evidence changes.

What defines your way of doing business?

I am direct, and I like people to know where they stand.

If we can help a client, we explain how. If we cannot, or if a project’s parameters shift, we say so immediately. Customers and suppliers should never have to chase us for an honest answer.

I also like to understand the detail behind a decision. A headline number can look encouraging, but I want to know what is driving it and whether it is sustainable. Equally, I do not think every decision needs to wait for perfect information. There has to be a balance between checking the facts and getting on with the work.

I am a big believer in setting clear expectations and ownership. People should know what they are responsible for, have the tools and support to deliver it and feel able to raise a problem before it becomes a bigger one.

That also shapes how I think about AI. I am interested in using it to reduce repetitive work and help people get more done, but it does not remove the need for judgement. Someone still needs to check the output and take responsibility for the result. I do not see efficient systems and personal service as opposites. The systems should remove avoidable administration so people have more time to help customers.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Start with a problem that somebody genuinely needs solving, and spend time understanding it before becoming too attached to your solution. Speak to potential customers and find out what they do now, what frustrates them and what would make them change. A business idea needs more than enthusiasm from the person behind it to succeed.

Understand your numbers early. Know what it costs to win a customer and fulfil an order, including the costs that are easy to overlook. Depending on the business, that could include payment fees, delivery, returns or the time spent providing support. Do not confuse turnover with profit, or a sale with money in the bank.

Build sensible routines while the business is still small. Clear responsibilities, reliable information and consistent follow-up are easier to establish early than to introduce when everyone is stretched.

Use technology where it earns its place. Before adopting a system or an AI tool, be clear about the task it should improve and how you will judge whether it has helped. Start with something manageable, test it properly and keep someone responsible for the outcome.

Finally, be willing to change your mind. Listen to customers and the people doing the work. Changing an approach because the evidence has changed is part of running a business, not an admission that you should never have tried it.