Advice
Independent Review
Helping organisations make better technology decisions without vendor bias.
Running an RFP where every bidder is apparently the perfect answer?
Most technology advice arrives attached to something for sale. Vendors are incentivised towards their own product. Systems integrators are incentivised towards implementation days. Neither is dishonest, but neither is neutral, and the cost of that bias lands on your balance sheet for years.
TechGuidr takes no vendor commissions, reseller incentives or referral fees, and our recommendations are independent of every product and supplier we assess. That means we can tell you the platform is fine and the problem is your operating model, or that the cheapest bid is the one that will cost you most. The review stands on its own: there is no obligation to use TechGuidr for the work that follows, and if we are ever positioned to deliver against our own advice, we say so up front and keep the two engagements separate.
Engagements range from a single decision reviewed in a week, to a standing advisory relationship: the independent voice a CIO or CEO brings in before committing to something material.
Who this is built for
- CIOs and CTOs facing a decision that is difficult to reverse
- CEOs and boards being asked to approve significant technology spend
- Organisations mid-way through a vendor selection that has lost objectivity
- Leadership teams without an independent technology voice in the room
What you receive
- A clear recommendation, with the reasoning and the trade-offs made explicit
- Challenge of the assumptions inside the business case
- Commercial and contractual points worth negotiating before signature
- Direct participation in vendor sessions and board discussions where useful
How engagements run
Single decisions are usually reviewed within one to two weeks. Ongoing advisory runs on a retained basis with agreed availability.
How the options end up compared
Every recommendation sits on scoring you can interrogate, not a gut feel dressed up as analysis.
Typical investment
Fixed scope. Fixed price. Know what the answer costs before we start. All figures ex VAT; the final fixed fee is confirmed after scoping.
- Focused decision or vendor review
- from £5,000
- Full RFP / selection support
- typically £10,000–£30,000
- Retained independent advisory
- from around £5,000/month
What you actually get
Illustrative example, not client data. The real thing carries your evidence and your numbers.
TechGuidr
Sample extract
An extract from a selection recommendation
- Architecture fit
- Vendor B strongest; Vendor A carries integration debt
- Lock-in
- Vendor C's licence terms restrict data export at exit
- Delivery risk
- Vendor A's proposed team is unproven at this scale
- Five-year cost
- Vendor B £1.9m, Vendor A £1.7m, Vendor C £2.4m including exit costs
- Recommendation
- Vendor B, subject to three contractual changes before signature
Illustrative example, not client data. The real document carries your evidence and your numbers.
Recognise the situation?
Two or three sentences is enough. You will get an honest view of whether and how we can help.