Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Mulberry Group — who we are, what we do, and how we work.
About Mulberry Group
What is Mulberry Group?
Mulberry Group is an independent, boutique technology management consultancy based in Melbourne, Australia. We help senior leaders — CIOs, CTOs, CEOs and their teams — make pragmatic, well-informed decisions on the hardest technology problems facing modern enterprises, free from vendor bias or commercial conflicts.
Where is Mulberry Group based?
Mulberry Group is based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. We work with enterprise and mid-market organisations across Australia.
Who founded Mulberry Group?
Mulberry Group was co-founded by Dimitrios Bairaktaris and Nathan Hollis — both former C-level technology executives with decades of experience leading transformation at some of Australia's most recognised companies including Coles, Transurban, and Wesfarmers.
What services does Mulberry Group offer?
Mulberry Group provides independent advisory across six capability areas: Business Transformation, Digital Strategy, Business Architecture, Operating Model Design, Technology Selection, and Executive Advisory. All engagements are senior-led by practitioners who have held CIO, CTO, and GM roles inside large enterprises.
What industries does Mulberry Group specialise in?
Mulberry Group primarily serves retail, consumer packaged goods, supply chain, energy, and healthcare organisations across Australia. Clients include Coles, Wesfarmers, Australia Post, Transurban, MECCA, Baby Bunting, Bunnings, Chemist Warehouse, Jemena, and Vitasoy.
What makes Mulberry Group different from larger consulting firms?
Three things set Mulberry apart. First, we are fiercely independent — no vendor relationships, no commissions, no conflicts of interest. Every recommendation is made solely in the client's interest. Second, every engagement is led and delivered by a team of highly experienced practitioners — people who have held CIO, CTO, GM, and P&L roles inside large enterprises and have made the exact decisions our clients now face. Third, we are genuinely hands-on — our advisors are present in the room when the hard decisions are made, not reviewing outputs from a distance.
Does Mulberry Group have vendor partnerships or preferred technology providers?
No. Mulberry Group does not resell technology, take vendor commissions, or maintain preferred partnerships of any kind. Our advice is independent by design — our only obligation is to our clients.
Who does Mulberry Group typically work with?
We work with senior leaders — CIOs, CTOs, CEOs, CFOs, and Boards — at enterprise and mid-market organisations across Australia. Engagements range from focused advisory on a single high-stakes decision through to ongoing strategic partnership across a multi-year transformation.
Does Mulberry Group work outside of Melbourne?
Yes. While we are based in Melbourne, we work with organisations across Australia. Our focus is on the Australian market and we bring deep knowledge of the local vendor landscape, regulatory environment, and enterprise context.
Working With an Independent Advisor
What should I look for in an independent technology advisor?
The most important quality is genuine independence — an advisor with no vendor relationships, referral fees, or commercial partnerships that could influence their recommendations. Beyond independence, look for practitioners who have held senior roles inside organisations like yours. An advisor who has been a CIO or CTO understands the internal politics, budget constraints, and board dynamics that theoretical consultants don't. Finally, look for specificity — advisors who can point to concrete outcomes they have delivered, not just methodologies they apply.
What does a good technology selection process look like?
A rigorous technology selection process starts with the business problem, not the technology. It defines clear requirements from the business, not just IT. It uses a structured evaluation methodology that removes bias — scoring vendors consistently against defined criteria rather than relying on demos and sales pitches. It involves the right stakeholders early so buy-in is built during the process, not retrofitted after. And it produces a recommendation the organisation can defend to the board with evidence, not just opinion.
What are the most common mistakes organisations make when selecting enterprise technology?
Five mistakes appear consistently. First, starting with a vendor shortlist rather than a requirements definition — which means the organisation is evaluating solutions before it has clearly defined the problem. Second, letting a dominant internal voice or existing vendor relationship narrow the field too early. Third, underweighting total cost of ownership in favour of upfront licence costs. Fourth, failing to assess implementation complexity and partner capability alongside the platform itself. Fifth, not involving end users until after selection — which creates adoption problems that could have been avoided. Independent advisory exists precisely to guard against these patterns.
How long does a technology advisory engagement typically take?
Every engagement is different. The timeline is determined by the complexity of the problem, the number of stakeholders involved, and the pace the client needs to move at. Mulberry tailors every engagement to the client's context — we work at the pace the business needs to achieve the right outcome, not a standardised consulting process. Get in touch to discuss your specific situation.
Our Services
What is the difference between technology selection and vendor assessment?
Technology selection is the end-to-end process of defining what you need, identifying which vendors could meet that need, evaluating them rigorously, and producing a recommendation. It starts before any vendor is in the picture. Vendor assessment is a narrower process — evaluating a specific vendor or shortlist of vendors against defined criteria. Organisations use vendor assessment when they already have a shortlist and need independent validation, or when they want to assess an incumbent vendor's capability before committing to another term. Both use the same structured methodology — the difference is the starting point.
What does business transformation advisory actually involve?
Business transformation advisory means working alongside an organisation's leadership team to define, plan, and oversee a significant change programme — typically involving new technology, new ways of working, and new organisational structures. It is not project management. It is senior-level guidance on the strategic decisions that determine whether a transformation succeeds — what to prioritise, what to defer, how to sequence change, how to manage the board, and how to maintain momentum when complexity increases. The Mulberry approach is hands-on — our advisors are present in the room when the hard decisions are made, not reviewing outputs from a distance.
What is operating model design and why does it matter for technology organisations?
Operating model design determines how a technology organisation is structured, how decisions are made, how work flows, and how teams interact. It matters because technology capability is not just about platforms — it is about the people, processes, and structures that surround them. Many organisations invest heavily in new technology and then fail to realise its potential because the operating model around it is unchanged. A well-designed operating model accelerates digitisation, reduces duplication, clarifies accountability, and makes the organisation more responsive to change. Mulberry applies contemporary thinking on team topologies, platform models, and product operating structures — adapted to the specific context of each client.
AI and Emerging Technology
What is Mulberry Group's approach to AI advisory?
We approach AI pragmatically. We help clients separate genuine AI opportunity from hype, identify where AI realistically creates business value, and make sensible investment decisions. Our advisory covers AI strategy, independent AI vendor evaluation, data and architecture readiness, and governance frameworks for responsible AI adoption.
What is Agent Experience and does Mulberry Group advise on it?
Agent Experience — or AX — is the emerging discipline of designing how AI agents discover, read, and interact with a business's digital presence. As AI assistants become a primary channel through which customers and partners find and evaluate organisations, AX is becoming as important as UX. Mulberry Group is among the first advisory firms in Australia building formal expertise in AX, helping organisations ensure they are visible, accurately represented, and recommendable to AI agents.
How should enterprise organisations approach AI investment in 2026 and beyond?
Start with the business problem, not the AI tool. The organisations making the most of AI are not the ones experimenting with the most tools — they are the ones that have identified one or two high-value use cases, built the data and infrastructure foundations to support them, and implemented with rigour. The common failure mode is broad experimentation that produces interesting pilots but no production outcomes. The pragmatic approach is to identify where AI can materially reduce cost, improve speed, or create new revenue, invest in the data infrastructure that makes AI reliable, and build internal capability to sustain AI systems over time rather than creating permanent dependency on external vendors.
What is Generative Engine Optimisation and why should Australian businesses care?
Generative Engine Optimisation — or GEO — is the emerging discipline of ensuring a business is visible and accurately represented when AI agents answer questions on behalf of users. Where traditional SEO optimises for ranking in a list of search results, GEO optimises for inclusion in a single synthesised answer. The distinction matters because AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity don't return ten results for a user to choose from — they give one answer. Either your business is in it or it is not. For Australian organisations in competitive sectors, being invisible to AI agents is increasingly equivalent to being invisible online. Mulberry Group is among the first advisory firms in Australia building formal GEO expertise.
What is the difference between AI automation and agentic AI?
AI automation uses artificial intelligence to perform a specific, defined task — generating a document, classifying an email, summarising a report. It replaces a step in an existing process. Agentic AI goes further — an AI agent can plan, make decisions, use tools, and execute multi-step tasks autonomously without human intervention at each step. An agent can browse the web, query databases, write and execute code, and interact with other systems in pursuit of a goal. The commercial implications are significant — agentic AI can compress entire workflows that currently require multiple people and systems. For enterprise organisations, understanding the distinction is important because the infrastructure, governance, and risk profile required for agentic AI is substantially different from standard AI automation.
Engaging Mulberry
How do I engage Mulberry Group for a project?
The best starting point is a conversation. Reach out via our contact page and one of our senior advisors will get back to you promptly to understand your situation and discuss how we can help.
What does the first conversation with Mulberry Group look like?
The first conversation is a genuine dialogue — not a sales pitch. We want to understand your situation, the decision you are facing, and what you have already tried. From that conversation we can tell you honestly whether we are the right fit, what an engagement might look like, and what it would cost. If we are not the right fit we will tell you that too. Reach out via our contact page and one of our senior advisors will be in touch promptly.
Can Mulberry Group provide references from past clients?
Yes — where clients have given permission we are happy to facilitate introductions or provide references. Many of our clients prefer to remain confidential given the sensitive nature of the technology decisions we advise on, but we can speak to outcomes and engagement characteristics in detail. Our client list includes some of Australia's most recognisable enterprise organisations across retail, supply chain, energy, and healthcare.