Prioritizing
Value Over Experiments. From Baseline to Buy‑In
We align stakeholders, baseline the as‑is and run a 2 to 3 week Value Sprint to quantify ROI and deliver a clear scale/no‑scale decision.
Proof of Value Development
Proof of Value (PoV) development validates impact in weeks by tying one priority use case to measurable business outcomes with a clear go/no go.
We align stakeholders, define KPIs, capture an as is baseline, and run a tightly scoped Value Sprint using real data in real workflows. The cadence is practical and time boxed: pre assessment (1 week), implementation (2 weeks), monitoring (1 week), and analysis/readout (1 week). You get a quantified “before vs. after,” clear economics, and a recommendation to scale or stop.
Why we don’t do PoCs, because PoCs test if tech works; PoVs prove that value works. PoCs sprawl, consume integration and security cycles, and rarely end with a budgeted decision. A PoV is outcome anchored, executive ready, and built to answer, “is it worth it now?” and not for “can it be made to work someday?”
Prove it, price it, and decide within a single sprint.
How It Works
- Stakeholder alignment: map pains, workflows, constraints, and decision makers.
- Baseline: capture cost, latency, effort, downtime—your measurable “before.”
- Implement: integrate the priority use case and configure edge/cloud split.
- Monitor: collect performance, operational, and cost data against KPIs.
- Analyse & readout: quantify value, document risks, and recommend scale/stop.
What You Get
- A one‑page KPI contract plus an as‑is vs to‑be value model.
- A prioritized storyline for budget defense and executive decision.
- Reference architecture for the target deployment (edge/cloud responsibilities).
- A reusable Value Sprint kit: dashboards, sample data, before/after templates.
- A decision memo with rollout options, dependencies, and resourcing.
Success Metrics
- Time‑to‑first‑value measured in weeks, not months.
- Quantified ROI and payback bands with unit economics.
- Operational lift: latency reduction, uptime, and workflow time saved.
- Cost‑to‑serve deltas: backhaul, compute, storage, and support.
- Decision quality: clear go/no‑go with defined next steps.
Deciding
What Scales and What Stops, FAST!
We run a value‑first gate: confirm KPIs, apply kill criteria, and enforce a go/no‑go within 14 to 21 days, with a costed rollout plan if it scales.
Pilot Decision Gate
The Pilot Decision Gate turns PoV evidence into an executive decision to scale, reshape, or stop; based on business value, not enthusiasm.
We convene the right stakeholders, validate the baseline‑to‑benefit model, pressure‑test risks and readiness, and compare rollout options against ROI, payback, and cost‑to‑serve. Incentives are aligned for speed and clarity; the decision meeting is scheduled at the start, and the thresholds are agreed up front.
Why we do not do PoCs or open‑ended pilots: PoCs optimize for “does it work?” and pilots often drift into months of integration, security reviews, and team burn without a budgeted path, creating expensive zombie efforts. The Decision Gate kills that waste: if value clears the bar, we scale; if not, we stop before sunk costs and opportunity costs mount.
Decide with numbers. Scale if value clears the bar and stop if it doesn’t.
1: How The Gate Works
- Confirm KPIs and the as‑is vs to‑be baseline from the PoV, using real operational data.
- Quantify economics: ROI, payback, unit economics, and cost‑to‑serve deltas.
- Assess readiness: security, data, ops, supportability, and change impact.
- Compare execution paths: phased rollout options, dependencies, and risks.
- Hold the decision meeting (with quorum) and document go/no‑go, owners, and dates.
2: Kill Criteria and Conditions to Scale
- Minimum KPI thresholds and confidence bands must be met (value > target).
- Time‑to‑value within 1–2 sprints and total cost within budget bands.
- Security, compliance, and operability gates pass (with rollback plans).
- Sponsor, funding, and MAP (mutual action plan) confirmed for next phase.
- If any fail, we stop or reshape; with no zombie pilots.
3: What You Get
- A CFO‑ready decision memo: results, economics, risks, and recommendation.
- A costed rollout plan with rings, timelines, resources, and success metrics.
- Commercial alignment: incentives for speed, exit ramps, and kill clauses.
- Governance and monitoring model: KPIs, SLOs, escalation, and cadence.
- Next‑step artifacts: updated MAP, stakeholder roster, and comms plan.
Vendor & Technology Evaluation
We evaluate and orchestrate the entire Edge and AI stack, from hardware, infrastructure, connectivity, applications, orchestration and automation; without bias.
Whether you already have a shortlist you want independently validated, or you need us to identify and qualify vendors from scratch, we meet you where you are and move quickly to evidence.
Our approach is vendor‑agnostic and lock‑in averse: we map your requirements to the right combinations, not to a quota. We work across industry application providers, domain SMEs, and applied AI vendors to deliver measurable business value, not slideware. We maintain active partnerships with a minimum of three vendors in every key category, so you always have viable options, negotiating leverage, and fallback paths. Where open source is the better fit (on price, portability, or control), we’ll recommend it and manage the hard parts: integration, support posture, and roadmap risk.
Clients use us because figuring this out alone is expensive and slow. We compress months of market scanning, RFP churn, and bake‑offs into a structured, evidence‑based shortlist. Our evaluations blend hands‑on testing with analyst research, field references, and real unit economics; so your decisions are faster, safer, and easier to defend.
Our Ecosystem Partners
We work with a curated ecosystem of leaders and innovators across the entire Edge and AI stack. This includes independent software vendors (ISVs) and applied AI specialists, hardware innovators (IHVs) and edge platform providers, silicon and acceleration experts, and orchestration and automation platforms. We also partner with major cloud providers, global system integrators (GSIs), and distribution networks to ensure seamless deployment and scale. Our relationships extend to leading analyst firms, keeping us informed on market shifts and ensuring we recommend partners who are not only technically excellent but also fair, easy to deal with, and committed to long-term success.
ISVs and Applied AI Vendors
- Coverage across industry software providers, vertical apps, and domain‑specific AI (vision, NLP, forecasting, optimization).
- Partnered with a minimum of three vendors per category to retain choice and leverage.
- Assess feature fit, roadmap health, security posture, and integration complexity.
- Validate real‑world performance against your KPIs and data characteristics.
- Recommend open‑source alternatives when they improve TCO, portability, or control.
IHVs and Edge Platforms
- Work with OEMs who certify, pre‑install, and deliver solutions at scale.
- Compare SKUs for compute, storage, ruggedization, and lifecycle support.
- Validate compatibility with MLOps, observability, and edge management tooling.
- Evaluate supply, service levels, warranties, and multi‑site rollout logistics.
- Maintain at least three qualified hardware options to avoid vendor lock‑in.
Silicon & Acceleration
- Map model types to CPU/GPU/NPU/DSP targets and required optimizations.
- Validate vendor‑optimized open‑source stacks (runtimes, compilers, quantization).
- Benchmark performance per watt, cost per inference, and thermal constraints.
- Check forward compatibility and procurement risk for new silicon launches.
- Keep three or more acceleration paths open to mitigate supply or roadmap risk.
Orchestration & Automation
- Compare orchestration platforms for device lifecycle, app packaging, rollout rings, and OTA updates.
- Evaluate MLOps pipelines for model packaging, versioning, drift monitoring, and rollback.
- Assess multi‑cluster, multi‑tenant, and disconnected operations capabilities.
- Validate integrations with security controls, secrets management, and policy guardrails.
- Provide a short list of at least three platform options, including open‑source where it fits.
Cloud, GSIs and Channel Ecosystems
- Align with cloud partners and customer teams to leverage native services and marketplaces.
- Engage GSIs, consultants, and distributors for deployment scale, compliance, and support.
- Assess ecosystem maturity: reference architectures, partner solutions, and billing models.
- Compare cost‑to‑serve across cloud, edge, and hybrid operating modes.
- Structure commercial terms and exit ramps to minimize lock‑in.
Analyst & Market Intelligence Partnerships
- Work with leading analyst research firms to stay current on vendor trajectories and risk.
- Cross‑check our hands‑on findings with independent market data and peer references.
- Use comparative matrices and TEI/TCO models to quantify trade‑offs credibly.
- Identify early signals on consolidation, end‑of‑life, or pricing shifts.
- Bring third‑party evidence into your board/CFO packs to strengthen the case.