Cloud Data Strategy Advisory
Independent advice for companies facing a cloud or data platform decision. We don't sell licenses or implementation hours, so our recommendation isn't tied to what we'd make from it.
The Situation
You get proposals. You rarely get a second opinion.
Vendors sell platforms, consultancies sell projects — both reasonably, from their side of the table. What's often missing is someone with no stake in the outcome asking what your business actually needs first.Vendor-Driven Proposals
Microsoft, AWS, and consultancies naturally pitch what fits their business model — not necessarily yours.
No Neutral Party in the Room
Everyone presenting a solution usually has a stake in you choosing it.
A Business Case, Please
Leadership wants a clear cost/benefit case. That often falls to IT, which is better placed to explain the technology than the ROI.
What We Help With
Focused on the decision in front of you, not a sales pitch for a particular platform
Cost Analysis
A realistic total-cost-of-ownership view of vendor proposals, compared against the alternatives
Build vs Buy
A plain assessment of when an expensive platform is worth it — and when it isn't
Vendor Proposal Review
A second read of consultancy bids, with questions worth asking before you sign
Migration Strategy
Whether migrating makes sense right now, and if so, to what
Cost Optimization Review
An audit of existing cloud spend to find what's no longer earning its keep
Ongoing Advisory
Available on a fractional basis for major decisions and vendor conversations
How We Approach It
Start With the Business, Not the Tech
What decisions actually depend on this data? What's genuinely broken today? What's the real budget? We try to answer these before looking at any vendor feature list.
Work Out the Real Costs
A five-year view, not just the license line — including implementation, training, and the maintenance nobody quotes up front.
Test the Claims
Question vendor claims, check consultancy recommendations against your actual constraints, and be honest about which "best practices" don't apply to you.
Lay Out the Tradeoffs
A few real options, with honest pros and cons for each. You make the call — it's your business and your risk.
What This Is Meant to Produce
Not guarantees — but what a well-run engagement typically delivers
Avoiding a platform commitment that wasn't actually needed, before it's signed
Existing spend reviewed for what can be right-sized or cut without losing capability
An independent analysis to bring to the table with vendors
A business case you can actually stand behind in front of the board
How Engagements Work
Scoped and fixed-price, not hourly
Engagements are typically a few weeks, scoped to your situation. You'll know the timeline and cost before we start — pricing depends on scope, and we'll work that out on the initial call.Cloud Strategy Advisory
Migration decisions, platform selection, business case, and roadmap
Cost Optimization Review
Audit existing spend, identify waste, redesign for efficiency
Vendor Proposal Evaluation
Review consultancy bids, stress-test assumptions, support negotiation
Fractional Strategic Advisor
On call for decisions, reviews, and a second opinion when you need one
Who This Tends to Help
Mid-Market Companies
€50M–€500M revenue: too small to justify a full-time data strategy executive, too big to wing it
Companies Facing a Cloud Decision
Under pressure to migrate, vendors circling, wanting a voice that isn't selling something
Rising Cloud Costs
Already in the cloud, spend keeps climbing, and the value isn't obviously keeping pace
CFOs Asking for the Business Case
Leadership wants ROI numbers that IT isn't set up to produce alone
Why Independent Advisory
What's genuinely different about not having something to sell
No license revenue, implementation hours, or ongoing services depend on your decision
20 years in the field and 12 Azure certifications, enough to read a proposal critically rather than take it at face value
Comfortable talking costs, risk, and ROI with a CFO — not just architecture with IT
Worked inside organizations like E.ON, Novartis, KBC Group, and DHL, so the constraints of a large company aren't theoretical
Background
What we bring to a proposal review
20 Years in Production Systems
Enough projects to recognize the difference between what works long-term and what looks good in a pitch
12 Azure Certifications
Solutions Architect Expert, Security, Data Engineering, Fabric, Power BI — enough breadth to evaluate most proposals directly
Enterprise Experience
E.ON, Fujitsu, Novartis, Carrier, KBC Group, DHL — familiar with how decisions actually get made in larger organizations
Comfortable Presenting to Leadership
Able to present findings to a board, push back on a CTO's proposal, or sit across from a vendor
How We'd Work Together
Initial Call (30 min, no charge)
A conversation about your situation and what decision you're facing, mainly to figure out honestly whether this is a good fit.
Proposal (about 1 week)
A fixed-price scope with clear deliverables and a timeline — no open-ended billing.
Discovery (1–2 weeks)
Talking to stakeholders, reviewing existing proposals, and understanding what the business actually needs.
Options Analysis (1–2 weeks)
Comparing alternatives on real cost and risk, and pressure-testing the assumptions behind each one.
Recommendation (about 1 week)
A clear recommendation with the reasoning behind it, in a form you can bring to the board.
Follow-Through (optional)
Support with vendor negotiations, RFP review, or ongoing advisory as needed.
When This Isn't the Right Fit
Some honest exceptions
We advise on strategy and decisions — we don't build or implement the solution itself.
Offshore firms will be cheaper. What you'd be trading away is the enterprise context and independent perspective.
If you trust the recommendation you've already received, a second opinion probably isn't worth the fee.
If leadership has committed to a specific solution, an independent review at this point won't change much.
Facing a Cloud or Data Decision?
The first 30-minute call is free, and mostly there to figure out — honestly — whether an independent second opinion would actually help in your case.