Phil Jones, until recently chief technical officer of EasyGroup, has launched a new company, iStrategy, which aims to help companies link IT investment to business performance.

"Whilst most companies recognise that astute investment in IT is essential to their ability to compete, many find it difficult to determine exactly where, when and how much to invest," said Mr Jones.

He plans to draw on the work he pioneered at EasyGroup on how technology can be applied to change the basis on which companies compete in market sectors. The company offers a four-step methodology that defines an organisation's IT portfolio, maps their portfolio to the company value chain, assesses the effectiveness of existing IT investments and identifies new investment opportunities.

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, EasyGroup founder, said: "Having worked with Phil for five years in creating several easy-branded start-ups, I have found him more aware of the commercial needs of businesses than most IT people I have dealt with." The new company said it would target CEOs and CIOs in medium-size companies. Ruth Sullivan