A second opinion before you commit budget
AI consulting and advisory for teams evaluating vendors, tools, or in-house AI builds.
AI vendor claims are hard to evaluate from the outside, and the market rewards confident marketing more than it rewards accuracy. A demo built to impress in thirty minutes and a tool that actually holds up against your real data, at your real volume, are frequently two different things - and the gap between them usually doesn't show up until after a contract is signed.
Consulting engagements exist for the moment a decision is close but a second, independent read is worth having first - before a vendor contract, before an in-house build gets greenlit, before a budget line is approved based on a pitch deck.
AI consulting is an independent evaluation of a specific AI vendor, tool, or proposed build - assessing what's technically real, what's overstated, and whether it actually fits your existing systems - before you commit budget to it.
What we bring to this
Vendor & Tool Evaluation
- Independent assessment of vendor claims against your actual requirements
- Comparison across shortlisted options on the same criteria
Technical Feasibility Assessment
- Review of whether a proposed build is realistic given your data and systems
- Identification of integration risks before commitment
Cost & ROI Modelling
- Total cost of ownership across licensing, integration, and maintenance
- Realistic value modelling instead of vendor-supplied projections
Integration Feasibility Review
- Assessment of fit with existing systems and data pipelines
- Flagging of dependencies that would complicate a rollout
Scope of work
| Area | What's included |
|---|---|
| Vendor Assessment | Written evaluation of shortlisted vendors or tools against your actual requirements |
| Feasibility Review | Technical assessment of whether a proposed build or integration is realistic |
| Cost Modelling | Total cost of ownership comparison across the options under consideration |
| Recommendation | A clear, documented recommendation with the reasoning behind it |
The engagement, step by step
Scoping the Decision
We confirm exactly what decision is being made - a vendor choice, a build-vs-buy call, an integration risk check - so the engagement stays focused.
Requirements Review
We map your actual requirements and constraints before looking at any vendor materials, so the evaluation isn't anchored to how a vendor frames the comparison.
Independent Evaluation
Vendors, tools, or proposed builds are assessed against your requirements, not against their own marketing claims.
Cost & Feasibility Modelling
Total cost of ownership and technical feasibility get modelled realistically, including integration and maintenance costs vendors tend to understate.
Recommendation
You get a clear written recommendation with the reasoning made explicit, so the decision can be defended internally.
How this compares
| Independent AI Consulting | Vendor-Led Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Assessment is measured against your requirements | Assessment is framed by the vendor's own comparison criteria |
| Cost modelling includes integration and maintenance | Cost quoted is often licensing only |
| No stake in which vendor you choose | Vendor has an obvious stake in the outcome |
Where this fits
- A team has two AI vendors on a shortlist and needs an independent read before signing
- Leadership wants a feasibility check on an in-house AI build before approving budget
- An existing AI tool isn't performing as promised and needs an honest assessment of why
Who needs this
Teams close to a vendor decision
A short, independent review before signing is far cheaper than unwinding a bad contract later.
Leadership evaluating an in-house build proposal
A feasibility check from outside the team proposing the build reduces the risk of an optimistic internal pitch going unchallenged.
What changes for you
- Vendor claims get checked against your actual requirements before money changes hands
- Total cost of ownership is modelled honestly, including the integration and maintenance costs that are easy to underestimate
- Decisions come with documented reasoning that can be defended to leadership or a board
Why work with EASI7 on this
- We have no vendor partnerships or referral incentives that would bias a recommendation
- We say plainly when a proposed build looks unrealistic given the data or systems available
Other services in this area
Where AI actually fits your business, before any build
AI strategy work identifying realistic, high-value use cases before recommending any specific tool or build.
Generative AI applied to a specific, measurable outcome
Generative AI implementation for content, code, or creative workflows, scoped to a specific business outcome.
Applications with AI doing real work, not a chatbot bolted on
AI-powered application development where AI is core to the product's function, not a superficial add-on.
Common questions
No. We have no vendor partnerships or referral arrangements that would bias a recommendation - the evaluation is paid for by you, and the reasoning reflects that.
Either. Most consulting engagements start with a shortlist you've already built - we evaluate it independently rather than starting the search over.
A single vendor or feasibility evaluation typically takes one to two weeks. Ongoing advisory retainers run longer and scope in additional questions as they come up.
No - a sound recommendation based on today's information can still run into problems during implementation that no evaluation could have predicted. What we guarantee is a rigorous, independent assessment against your actual requirements, which meaningfully lowers the odds of a costly mismatch.
We tell you that directly, along with what would need to be true for a recommendation to change. Recommending you wait or keep looking costs us a shorter engagement, but recommending a weak option costs you a bad decision.
No - strategy identifies which use cases are worth pursuing in the first place. Consulting is narrower: a specific vendor, tool, or build decision that's already in motion and needs an independent second opinion.
About to sign a contract with an AI vendor?
Get an independent read on whether the claims hold up before you commit budget.
Ready to get started?
We usually reply within 24 hours.