/ Advisory & Strategy
Technology advisory grounded in delivery.
Our advisors arrive with the engineers who will build what the strategy recommends. No six-week calendar invite, no deck that outlives its author. A written plan in forty-eight hours and a build pod on standby.
- North-star architecture
- Capability audits
- TCO models
- ROI frameworks
Written plan in 48 hours
Advisory pod on the ground in five days.
Plans that ship
Write the plan like code:
short, testable, owned.
We write plans the way engineers write code, attached to the pod that builds the first increment. The deck stays thin, the roadmap carries dates and owners, and slide forty ships while the ink is still fresh.
90dFrom prototype to production
A plan that became a production lakehouse in one quarter
Read the case study
/ What we deliver
Working artifacts, not shelfware.
What the engagement produces: working artifacts, not deliverables written to be archived.
01
North-star architecture
Target-state maps for data, AI, cloud, and application estates. Written so an engineer can read them, sized so a CFO can sign them off.
Current-state diagramTarget-state architectureTransition roadmap
02
Capability audit
Honest read on what your teams, platforms, and partners can actually do. No vendor pitch, no swag-based conclusions.
Capability heatmapGap analysisBuild-vs-buy recommendation
03
TCO & FinOps modeling
Total cost of ownership models for cloud, data, and application estates. Sensitivity analysis so procurement does not find the edge case for you.
Three-year TCO modelSensitivity analysisFinOps baseline
04
ROI frameworks
Outcome definitions tied to the work, with instrumentation baked into the platform. The metric exists before the engagement closes.
Outcome treeInstrumentation planBaseline + target dashboard
05
Transformation roadmaps
Multi-quarter plans for data modernization, AI adoption, and platform consolidation. Sequenced so early wins fund the next quarter.
Quarterly roadmapDependency mapInvestment case
06
Build pod on standby
The engineers who authored the plan stay to build the first increment. No handover meetings, no lost context, no second statement of work.
Staffed delivery podTwo-week kickoff planShared backlog
/ Who we advise
Senior leaders on the hook for the outcome.
CIO / CTO
Where the engagement focuses
Technology strategy, platform consolidation, M&A integration, vendor rationalization.
Typical length: 4 to 8 weeks
Chief Data Officer
Where the engagement focuses
Data strategy, lakehouse target-state, governance operating model, BI rationalization.
Typical length: 3 to 6 weeks
Chief AI / AI Lead
Where the engagement focuses
AI adoption roadmap, GenAI readiness assessment, build-vs-buy for copilots and agents.
Typical length: 2 to 4 weeks
Head of Engineering
Where the engagement focuses
Platform engineering roadmap, delivery metrics, IDP design, SRE maturity.
Typical length: 3 to 6 weeks
/ How it runs
Forty-eight hours to a plan. Two weeks to a pod.
01
Problem
Day 1
You bring the decision that is stuck. We meet the people who own it and the systems it touches.
02
Written plan
Hour 48
A short-form strategy memo: the problem, the credible options, the recommended path, and the first increment of work.
03
Architecture + TCO
Week 2 to 4
The target-state maps, cost models, and roadmap that anchor the program and survive procurement review.
04
Build pod
Ships in 2 weeks
The engineers named in the plan start the first increment. No handover, no second sales cycle.
05
Outcomes reported
Every increment
The metric the plan was written to move, tracked on a dashboard, not on a slide.
The first increment is usually a data platform.
Most of the roadmaps we write open with the same move: get the data estate onto one governed platform, because everything after it depends on that. Our data engineering team builds that increment, staffed by the same pod named in the plan. Strategy and platform stay in one conversation instead of two contracts.
Data Engineering/ Why ACI
Why advisory lives next to delivery
The handoff from plan to working system is where most programs fail.
/ Advisors who still ship
Every advisor on a named engagement has shipped production code in the last year.
The plan is grounded because the author knows what will break.
/ Plans written to be built
Our deliverables are working artifacts: architecture diagrams an engineer can execute, TCO models a CFO can defend, roadmaps a PMO can track.
/ One engagement, not two
Strategy and delivery live on one statement of work.
The build pod is named in the plan, so "phase two" is not a sales cycle.
/ Outcomes, not slide count
We track the metric the plan was written to move.
If the dashboard does not exist at the start, we build it as part of the engagement.
/ Questions
Advisory questions,
answered straight.
Including the one about what happens when we think you are wrong. Start an engagement and a short-form strategy memo lands in forty-eight hours.
How is this different from a traditional consulting engagement?
Two things. First, every advisor on a named engagement has shipped production code in the last twelve months, so recommendations are grounded in what actually works. Second, the engineers who will build the plan are named in the plan, so strategy and delivery are one engagement, not a handoff between two firms.
What does a forty-eight-hour written plan actually include?
A short-form strategy memo: problem statement, the three most credible options, the recommended path with its trade-offs, the first increment of work that could start next sprint, and what success would look like. It is a working document, not a glossy deliverable. The longer engagement produces the architecture, TCO, and roadmap that anchor the program.
Do you take the work if we disagree with your recommendation?
Yes. Advisors disagree with clients on the right answer roughly twenty percent of the time. In those cases we write up both paths with the trade-offs and hand the decision back. If you pick a path we do not agree with, we either take the work under your direction and write down where we think the risk sits, or we refer you to someone who believes in your path.
Can you advise without building the implementation?
Yes, though we recommend against it. Standalone advisory engagements are available when the build team already exists and the gap is strategic clarity. Most of our work combines the two because the handoff from slide to working system is where the damage usually gets done.
How quickly can you stand up an engagement?
A two-person advisory pod can start in five business days. A build pod paired with it is typically staffed within two weeks of the statement of work being signed. Both timelines assume standard enterprise due diligence; regulated industries with MSA reviews add one to two weeks.
What does pricing look like?
Advisory engagements are scoped fixed-fee with named deliverables. Paired build pods are time-and-materials or outcome-based depending on how well-defined the first increment is. We prefer outcome-based pricing once the roadmap is stable enough to underwrite it.
From the blog
MarTech & CDP
Vector Database Strategy: The Key to AI Success in 2026
Build a scalable vector database strategy for AI with hybrid search, RAG optimization, and reliable retrieval for enterprise applications.
Read
Cloud Infrastructure
Cloud ERP Modernization for Business Agility and Growth
Modernizing ERP for the cloud is more than a migration, it’s a shift to faster change, stronger controls, and real-time insights. This guide outlines practical strategies to modernize ERP while reducing risk and accelerating business agility.
Read
Industry Insights
Is Your Enterprise Really AI-Ready? The 4-Dimension Matrix Leaders Never Miss
Most enterprises think they’re AI-ready. Discover the 4-dimension matrix that reveals what truly enables AI at enterprise scale.
Read