What This Is
Technical consulting means getting architecture advice, system assessments, and technical strategy from a team that builds production systems — without committing to a full development engagement. You get clarity on what to build, how to build it, and whether to build it at all, before you invest significant time or money.
This service exists because the most expensive mistake in software is building the wrong thing. Not building it badly — building it well but solving the wrong problem, choosing the wrong architecture, or starting a project that should have been three smaller projects. Consulting is how you avoid that.
The output is not a slide deck. It is a practical, actionable document — a system assessment, an architecture recommendation, a build-vs-buy analysis, or a migration plan — produced by the same people who would build the system if you proceed. That matters because the advice is grounded in what is actually feasible, not in what sounds impressive in a proposal.
When You Need This
Technical consulting is the right starting point when you have a technical decision to make but not enough information to make it confidently. Common scenarios:
- You want to build a system but are not sure of the right approach — build custom, buy off-the-shelf, or integrate existing tools
- You have an existing system and need an honest assessment of its condition — is it worth extending, or should you plan a migration?
- You are evaluating technology options and need an informed recommendation from someone without a vendor agenda
- You have been given a proposal from another agency and want a second opinion on the approach, cost, and feasibility
- You are planning a large project and need the architecture designed before committing to a build team
- Your team has technical debt accumulating and you need a plan to address it without stopping everything else
This is not a substitute for discovery on a build project. If you already know you want to build with us, discovery is included in the project engagement. Consulting is for when the decision itself is still open.
How We Work
Consulting engagements are typically short and focused — a few days to a few weeks, depending on the scope. The format depends on what you need:
System audit: We review your existing system — code quality, architecture, security, performance, and maintainability. The output is a written assessment with specific findings, risk levels, and recommendations. This is the right format when you need to know the true state of what you have.
Architecture design: We design the technical architecture for a system you are planning to build — data models, integration points, technology choices, and a phased delivery plan. The output is a document you can take to any development team, not just us.
Build-vs-buy analysis: We assess whether your business need is better served by custom software, an off-the-shelf platform, or a combination. The output includes cost comparison, trade-off analysis, and a recommendation with reasoning.
Migration planning: We design a migration path from a legacy system to modern architecture — including data migration strategy, risk assessment, and a phased timeline. See legacy modernisation for the full build service.
What You Get
- A written deliverable — assessment, architecture document, or recommendation, depending on the engagement type
- Actionable recommendations — not abstract advice, but specific next steps with reasoning
- Honest assessment — including when the right answer is “do nothing” or “use an off-the-shelf tool”
- No vendor lock-in — the output is yours and can be used with any development team
- A clear path forward — whether that path leads to a project with us, with someone else, or to no project at all
What It Costs
Consulting is priced by engagement scope, not by the hour. We agree on the deliverable and the price before starting. Typical engagements range from a focused system audit (a few days) to a full architecture design (two to three weeks). Get in touch with your situation and we will scope it.
Related Systems
Consulting often leads to building one or more of the system types we specialise in — but the value of consulting is that you know exactly what you need before you commit. Clients who start with consulting tend to have shorter build timelines and fewer scope changes because the hard thinking happened before development began.
Get Clarity Before You Commit
If you have a technical decision to make and want an informed opinion before investing, get in touch. We will tell you what we think — even if the answer is that you do not need us.
