Area 17 · Data, AI and consulting

Consulting and audit

An area for situations where the decision has not yet been made. The IT budget grows, contractors propose different things, and there is no clarity about what is actually needed. We look at IT from the business side and answer two questions: what to change and in what order.

Discuss your situation What we do

services in this area

2 to 4 weeks

typical project duration

Document

with priorities and estimates

Without

obligation to continue

What this area includes

Two services answering different questions: one looks ahead, the other assesses what has already been built.

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Strategic digital consulting

We work through the business goals for the next year or two and translate them into a plan of IT changes. The output is a roadmap with the sequence, cost estimates and dependencies: what cannot start until something else is done.

Systems and architecture audit

A review of the decisions already made: how well the chosen systems fit the tasks, where the risks lie and what will become the bottleneck as you grow. We separately examine dependence on specific contractors and vendors.

When this is needed

Consulting is not always justified. Below are the situations where an outside view saves considerably more than it costs.

A major purchase or implementation

We verify the decision before you pay. Otherwise you risk buying the wrong thing and redoing it at your own expense.

Changing contractor

We assess the condition and the risks of the handover. Otherwise the system is accepted without documentation and you live with someone else decisions.

Company growth or new branches

We prepare a development plan with headroom. Otherwise the architecture hits its ceiling within a year.

The IT budget grows and the effect is unclear

We review the spending and the priorities. Otherwise the funding continues out of inertia.

Contractors propose different things

We compare the options independently. Otherwise the choice comes down to price rather than to the task.

We may find ourselves in a conflict of interest, and we acknowledge that. A company that runs an audit and then proposes its own services has an interest in finding as many problems as possible. So we deliver the report with market-level cost estimates, not just our own price list, and we have no objection if you give the work to another contractor.

How the work runs

Most of the time goes into talking to people rather than examining hardware. IT problems almost always start in the processes.

Interviews

We talk to the managers and to the people who work in the systems every day. The picture these two groups describe usually differs.

Review of the systems

We review the architecture, the licences, the contractor agreements and how dependent the company is on specific individuals.

Assessment and priorities

We rate every finding by business impact and cost to fix. The result is a queue, not a wish list.

Presenting the report

We do not just send a document; we go through it in person with the management and answer questions on every point.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from an infrastructure assessment?

An infrastructure assessment answers the question of what you have and what condition it is in: an inventory and the risks. Consulting answers what to do next and why, and it starts from business goals rather than technical condition alone. The two are often done one after the other.

We have no IT director, who will you work with?

That is exactly the typical situation for this request. We work directly with the owner or the finance director and speak the language of business rather than jargon. Technical detail stays in the appendices to the report.

What if we do not like the conclusions?

It happens, for example when it turns out that a recently purchased system does not solve the stated problem. We do not soften the wording, but we always show ways forward, including ones where the money already spent is partly put to use.

How much does this cost?

It depends on the size of the company and the depth of the review: the work takes two to four weeks. We quote after a short conversation, once the number of systems and interviewees is clear.

Related areas

The whole catalogue

Describe the situation

Tell us which decision you face and what gives you doubts. We will agree the scope of the review and propose a way of working.

Phone
+7 (495) 978-63-36

Email
office@apply.ru

Office
Moscow, 108 Profsoyuznaya St.

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