Technical Consultancy

An independent read on what to build, what to buy and what to stop paying for — architecture, vendor review, cost and risk, written for the people signing off.

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Overview

Advice from people who also have to build it

Most technical decisions in a mid-sized company get made under pressure, by whoever is loudest, and are expensive to reverse. A custom build where a subscription would do, a platform chosen because the demo was good, a hosting bill nobody can explain.

We audit what you have, cost the options honestly — including the option of doing nothing — and write it up so a non-technical board can decide. Because we also deliver software, the recommendation has to survive us being the ones who implement it.

What's included

Current stack audit

What you run, what it costs, what is unsupported and what is single-point-of-failure.

Build vs buy costing

Honest five-year totals including maintenance, not just the first invoice.

Architecture & integration

How the pieces should connect, and which integrations will actually be hard.

Security & risk review

Access, backups, data residency and the failure modes worth insuring against.

Phased roadmap

Sequenced so each phase is useful on its own if budget pauses.

How we work

Audit, cost, recommend, in writing

  1. Discover

    Interviews with the people who use the systems, not only the ones who bought them.

  2. Assess

    Technical review of code, hosting, contracts and licence terms.

  3. Cost

    Model each option over five years, with the assumptions written down.

  4. Recommend

    One written recommendation, presented to the decision makers directly.

What you get

  • Technical assessment report
  • Cost comparison model
  • Target architecture diagram
  • Risk & security findings
  • Phased implementation plan

The outcome

A decision you can defend

A written technical assessment with real numbers: what your current stack costs to run, what each option costs to build and maintain, what the risks are, and a phased plan with the sequence that matters.

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Frequently asked questions

Will you recommend building something you then sell us?

Sometimes the answer genuinely is a custom build, and we say so. But the assessment prices the off-the-shelf options too, and we are happy to be measured against the recommendation years later.

How long does an assessment take?

Two to four weeks for most companies. Longer if the current systems are undocumented, which is itself one of the findings.

Can you review a proposal from another vendor?

Yes, and it is one of the most useful things we do — checking a quote for hidden maintenance costs, lock-in clauses and technically unnecessary scope.

Do we have to implement with you?

No. The report is written to be handed to any competent team, including your own. Clients who do continue with us usually do so because the sequencing is already agreed.

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Facing a build-or-buy decision?

Describe the problem and what you are currently paying. We will come back with the honest options.

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