Emma O’Brien on 15 years of growth at Embridge Consulting

Celebrating its 15th year in business, Embridge Consulting has grown from a kitchen table start-up into a nationally recognised transformation partner. Founder and CEO Emma O’Brien discusses the challenges facing digital strategies, the importance of investing in people over platforms, and what’s next for the consultancy.

What does Embridge Consulting specialise in, and how do you set the business aside from industry competitors?

Embridge Consulting is a ‘people-first’ business transformation consultancy. We help organisations embrace technology that will transform the way they work.  What really sets us apart is our huge focus on the importance of people as part of the change journey, where we recognise that change and transformation is a constant. Whilst we do focus on the supply of amazing tech, we know that technology alone will not achieve successful transformation.

As such, we don’t just implement technology and walk away. We focus on developing long term trusted partnerships with our customers and want to understand their business, their challenges and their ambitions. Unlike many tech-only providers, we stay invested in our customers and are passionate to support them over a long term period, helping them manage the real change that comes with new technologies all while achieving continuous transformation outcomes.

Too often, companies invest huge sums in software and implementation efforts, only to see those investments fall flat due to poor integration or a lack of buy-in from the people expected to use it. That’s where we come in. We make sure people are at the heart of the change and support our customers with every aspect of the transformation journey, from ensuring best practice processes are adopted to the smooth transformation of data. In addition, we ensure integrations are implemented successfully and work hard to maximise the innovations available, while ensuing strong governance is in place to manage the change, the budget and scope within a realistic timeframe. 

Change is not a one-off event. It should be continuous and that’s where our Business Transformation as a service approach stands out from the crowd. The real impact and the real benefits can only be realised in the years that follow a digital transformation initiative and that is quite often forgotten. 

We work across a wide range of sectors – from Public Sector Local Government, NHS, education to private businesses and not-for-profits. What really differentiates us is our industry expertise in these sectors and our genuine capability to empower our customers to drive meaningful change and new, impactful ways of working,

You recently celebrated 15 years in business, having achieved impressive growth. What has been the main driver of your success and how has Embridge evolved during this time?

It’s hard to believe now, but I started Embridge back in 2009 at my kitchen table with two young children, no outside investment, a big vision and a desire to build a business while also being a great Mum. From the beginning, I believed digital transformation should always centre on people, something I felt was missing in the industry at the time. I have seen far too many high-pressured programmes go enormously wrong when they are too focussed and driven by technology as opposed to business. Placing people at the heart of transformation will make or break the success of change. That belief has been at the heart of everything we’ve done since.

Over the last 15 years, we have grown significantly and, today, comprise of a team of 75 consultants who have successfully supported over 350 organisations. We’re no longer just a project-based consultancy, we’re a trusted innovation partner delivering Business Transformation through the successful adoption of Finance, HR, Payroll & Procurement technology solutions, managed integrations, and long-term Business transformation outcomes for our customers.

To mark our 15th anniversary last December, we planted over 600 trees through Trees for Cities – one for every client and team member that’s shaped our journey so far.

Some standout milestones include winning Public Sector Entrepreneur of the Year at the Enterprise Awards last year, in recognition of some of our award winning innovations we have developed such as BTaaS (Business Transformation as a Service), LEO (Integration as a Service) and EVA (ERP Industry Models), being named Unit4 Global Service Partner of the Year in 2025, and ranking silver in Consultancy UK’s Top Consulting Firms across 2024 & 2025. We’ve also had past wins like ERP Project of the Year and my personal honour of being named a Rising Star in the LDC Top 50.

But what I’m most proud of is that we’ve stayed true to our values. Our growth has always been about more than numbers, it’s been about making meaningful change, inside and outside the business. I have an amazing team around me that are passionate, agile, innovative, kind and honest.  I was able to have my third child in 2012 whilst still being dedicated to growing the business and we have created a culture of trust and honesty with our customers we are incredibly proud of.  With a strong social conscience at the core of what we do we have dedicated thousands of volunteer hours over the years across the team and raised over £100,000 for various charitable causes.

What are the main lessons you have learnt since inception? Is there anything you would have done differently?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the one we’ve lived by from day one: People are the most important part of any growing business and need to be at the heart of any Digital transformation programme if it is going to be successful

We are all humans and whilst innovation is being made available to us at pace, we cannot forget the importance of people.  No technology can replace that.  Not yet!

We’ve always understood that no matter how advanced the technology is, it’s people who make it work. This is why stakeholder training and inclusive engagement are such core parts of our approach. If I could go back, I think I’d push even harder to help more leaders understand that the importance of investing in their people needs to be at least three times the cost of the technology to achieve successful transformation.

The work we did with Devon County Council is a great example. We trained thousands of users on a new ERP system that enabled hybrid working, and the results were phenomenal, with better efficiency, improved morale, and truly lasting change. It taught us that one of our biggest roles is helping decision-makers see that digital investment only succeeds when it’s matched by cultural investment.

We now tailor our messaging, frameworks, and tools to meet sector-specific needs – particularly in places like local government and the NHS – so it’s crystal clear how our approach delivers real, measurable results. Every innovation we bring forward is created with that specific end-user in mind. That’s not just good business, it’s good for society.

You pride yourself on delivering success through ‘people-led’ business transformation strategies. What does this process entail and how do you ensure successful outcomes for your clients?

For me, it all starts with listening. Every organisation is different, so before we suggest anything, we get to know what’s working, what’s not, and what’s needed. From there, we create the right mix of people, process, and technology to deliver lasting results.

We’ve developed our own proprietary tools to support that. Our Business Transformation as a Service (BTaaS) model provides ongoing support beyond go-live, and our managed integration service, LEO, helps remove the friction that IT teams often face when trying to get multiple systems to work together.

When Auto Trader came to us needing a smooth move to Unit4 Cloud, we used LEO to connect all their existing systems, ensuring no operational disruption. Transaction volumes remained steady, the transition was seamless, and their team felt supported every step of the way. That’s what we mean by “people-led” transformation, it’s not just about the tech, it’s about the people using it.

What are the main challenges preventing the success of digital transformation strategies in the public sector?

The public sector faces some really specific challenges. Many councils and organisations are still using outdated systems that don’t speak to each other, meaning teams are often working with incomplete or inaccurate information. It slows everything down and undermines service quality.

There’s also a lot of fear, understandably. High-profile failures – like the Birmingham City Council bankruptcy linked to a failed ERP rollout – make people hesitant to embrace new systems. But the real issue isn’t the tech itself or even the budget constraints, it’s the approach to procurement and adoption.

Too often, decisions are made based on price alone. But picking the cheapest option without proper change management, integration planning, or user training nearly always leads to more problems down the line. I always encourage public-sector leaders to consider the total cost of success. It’s not just implementation, but adoption and long-term usability. You can have the best features and functions available in a technology solution but that is no use if your implementation provider just focuses on the technology. 

The best outcomes come when new systems are aligned with existing processes and when staff feel empowered, not overwhelmed. That’s exactly where we come in, helping organisations achieve smooth, sustainable change without disrupting critical services.

What is next for Embridge Consulting?

Right now, our focus is scaling what works. We’re expanding both our BTaaS and LEO services to help more organisations transform efficiently, with a strong emphasis on public sector support. We’re also investing in new AI-enabled tools to boost outcomes – while continuing to put people at the centre of it all.

We’re growing the team, too. We aim to reach 90 employees by 2027, and we’re doing it with the same people-first ethos we give to our clients. Our team enjoys the hybrid and flexible working we provide as standard, extra holidays like birthday leave, personalised development plans, and dedicated mental health first-aid support. We’ve just earned our Great Place to Work® certification, and that’s something we’re really proud of. It’s proof that our values aren’t just lip service – they shape our culture daily.

We’re also working towards becoming a certified B-Corp by 2028, further reinforcing our commitment to sustainability and green innovation, both internally and in the solutions we offer to clients.

Anything else to add?

Just that our own journey, from kitchen table to internationally recognised consultancy, shows what’s possible when transformation is approached with purpose and care.

We’re proud of the continual innovation and success we’ve contributed so far. What matters most is seeing customers achieve real results and knowing we’ve made a positive difference for the people behind every organisation and project whilst growing a Business that can make a real impact to the communities we serve.