Independent advice on what to build, buy, fix or stop.
The most expensive technology decisions are made early, with the least information: which platform to standardise on, whether to build or buy, how much architecture a system genuinely needs. We provide advisory work as a distinct engagement — analysis and a documented recommendation you can act on, including recommendations that involve no development work from us at all.
Turning an objective into a scoped, sequenced plan with a defensible first release rather than an undeliverable wish list.
Architecture proportionate to the actual problem — enough structure to grow into, without complexity the business will never use.
A staged plan for moving manual operations onto systems, sequenced so each stage delivers value on its own.
Structured evaluation of options against your real requirements, including total cost and how difficult each is to leave.
Independent review of an existing system’s code, architecture, security and operational risk, with findings ranked by severity.
Identifying where a system breaks as volume grows, and what to change first when it does.
Review of authentication, access control, data handling and third-party exposure against practical, prioritised recommendations.
Help interpreting technical proposals and quotations so you can compare them on substance rather than presentation.
We agree precisely what decision needs to be made and what evidence would settle it, which often narrows the work considerably.
Interviews, system review, data analysis and market comparison, depending on the question being answered.
Realistic options are set out with cost, risk, timeline and what each one forecloses.
A single clear recommendation with reasoning — not a menu that returns the decision to you unresolved.
We remain available while you act on it, whether the implementation is ours, another supplier’s or your own team’s.
Only where it is genuinely the right answer, and we disclose the interest when it is. A good proportion of advisory work concludes that a licensed product, an internal hire or simply doing nothing serves the client better than a development project — and we say so, because a recommendation that only ever points back at the adviser is not advice.
Yes, and it is one of the more useful things we do. We assess whether the scope matches your requirement, whether the estimate is realistic, what the proposal leaves undefined, and which commercial terms deserve attention — particularly around ownership of code and data.
A written report containing the analysis, the options considered, a clear recommendation with its reasoning, and a proposed sequence of next steps. It is written so your management can act on it and so another technical party could review the reasoning independently.
Tell us what you need and we will respond with a considered view — including whether a different approach would serve you better.