About

I'm Paul McLaren, and I've spent over 20 years leading complex IT decisions — most of that time for organisations spending hundreds of millions of pounds, and now for business owners making the same kind of high-stakes calls on a very different budget.

I've worked on both sides of major technology deals. As customer-side technical lead for NHS Scotland, I helped decide how to spend £300M on the original SWAN network procurement. Later, I moved to the supplier side as lead architect for Capita, helping build and grow that same network into one connecting over 70 organisations and 6,000 sites — eventually leading the technical team on its re-procurement. 

That's given me something most advisors don't have: I know how technology gets sold, procured, and delivered, and where it typically goes wrong.

Along the way, I've helped organisations with the kind of problems most businesses eventually face:

• Moving to the cloud — helping organisations shift away from ageing in-house computer systems to modern, more reliable cloud services (including some of the earliest public sector moves to this in Scotland)

• Keeping systems secure — designing networks and security setups that protect against the kind of threats that make headlines

• Getting the most out of Microsoft and Google tools — from email to newer AI tools like Copilot, Gemini and Claude, helping organisations of thousands of people actually use them well, not just install them

• Choosing and rolling out new software — helping select and set up systems like customer databases and service platforms so they fit how the business actually works

• Making sense of AI — cutting through the hype to work out where AI can genuinely save time or money, and where it can't

• Writing the strategy and the business case — putting together clear, costed plans so decision-makers know what they're investing in and why

• Troubleshooting - projects go wrong for various reasons, identifying a solution that works for all parties is critical

Why I started McLaren Solutions

Big organisations get access to this level of technology thinking as a matter of course. Small and medium-sized businesses rarely do — yet they're often the ones who can least afford to get an expensive tech decision wrong.

I set up McLaren Solutions to close that gap: independent, experienced advice for businesses who want a second opinion before they commit budget, sign a contract, or choose a system they'll be living with for years. No products to sell, no vendor commissions — just clear advice from someone who's sat in the room for the big decisions, now helping you make the right one for yours.

A bit more about me

I'm based in Aberdour, Fife, and I'm SC cleared if you need additional security coverage. Outside client work, I have mentored young people through the MCR Pathways programme, and recently spent two months volunteer teaching in rural Kenya — helping a primary school get online and training staff to use AI in their lesson planning.

LinkedIn

You can find me here: www.linkedin.com/in/paul-mclaren-4024994 

If you're facing a technology decision and want an honest, independent view, get in touch: paul@mclarensolutions.com