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AI Strategy, Readiness & Advisory

Advisory & Architecture

Some decisions are expensive to get wrong and impossible to delegate: which platform, which vendor, build or buy, hire or contract. Advisory puts nine years of shipped systems on your side of those decisions, a few hours a week — the fractional-CTO model, scoped to architecture and AI.

What You Get

A senior technical voice at the table, without the executive hire.

Decisions with reasons

Architecture and vendor calls made explicitly, with trade-offs in writing — so they stay made, and stay defensible when circumstances change.

Vendor claims, tested

Someone who has built these systems reading the proposals you’re sent. Oversold scope gets named before it’s signed.

Your team, leveled up

Design reviews and pairing that leave your engineers better than we found them — judgment transfers, it doesn’t just rent.

Honest escalation

When a project is drifting, you hear it from us early, with options — not in a status report after the quarter ends.

Scope

What’s included.

  • Architecture & design reviews — systems you’re building or buying
  • Build-versus-buy analysis — with total cost over the system’s life, not the demo price
  • Vendor & proposal evaluation — RFPs, SOWs, and platform selections
  • AI opportunity reviews — where AI genuinely fits your operation, refreshed quarterly
  • Hiring support — role definitions and technical interviews for data/AI roles
  • Leadership presence — a technical voice in planning and board-level discussions

At a Glance

  • Format: Ongoing, a few hours a week
  • Starts with: A fit call — bring the decision you’re stuck on
  • Cadence: Weekly working session + async review
  • Pairs with: Any build engagement, or standalone
  • Commitment: Month-to-month
FAQ

Questions about this service.

How is this different from hiring a fractional CTO?
Scope. A fractional CTO owns your whole technology function. Advisory is narrower and deeper: architecture, AI, and data decisions, plus the reviews that keep builds honest. Companies that need full technology leadership should hire for it; companies that need senior judgment on specific decisions need this.
Will you review our current vendor’s work?
Yes — code, architecture, and delivery reviews are a common starting point. You’ll get findings in writing, ranked by risk.
Can advisory turn into a build?
Often does, through Proof-First Build. It doesn’t have to — the advice is the product, and it stays honest because it isn’t a sales funnel.
How much time do you need from us?
One decision-maker for the weekly session, and access to the systems and documents under review. The rest is async.
Related

Often paired with.

AI Strategy & Roadmap

The plan advisory helps you execute and defend.

Explore

AI Readiness Assessment

A bounded first step before committing to ongoing advisory.

Explore

Cloud Cost Optimization

The audit that often starts an advisory relationship.

Explore

Start with a fit call.

Thirty minutes. Bring the problem as it actually is — the stalled pilot, the bill, the spreadsheet everyone quietly maintains. We’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right builder for it.

You leave with a straight answer on fit — and if it fits, a free Blueprint to follow.

Request a fit call How Proof-First Build works