Question 1

You publish your rates. Why does nobody else?

Accepted Answer

Because a range invites a negotiation and a quote invites a meeting. We would rather you self-select. Across both research rounds, none of the 20 IT services firms we studied published a price — so if the number is wrong for you, you have saved a call, and if it is right, the first conversation starts at scope instead of at price.

Question 2

You list 55 services. Can one firm really do all of that?

Accepted Answer

Not simultaneously, and we do not pretend otherwise. Each service is tagged with the team it needs: some are delivered by the principal alone, some with one or two specialists, and some need a dedicated team we assemble for the engagement. If you ask for something we cannot staff well right now, we will say so and tell you when we could.

Question 3

Why is recruitment in the same catalogue as software engineering?

Accepted Answer

Because it is the same buyer. The CTO who hires us for an architecture review is, three months later, trying to hire two engineers and failing. We already know what good looks like and can technically screen in a way a generalist recruiter cannot. TEKsystems, Accenture and Damco all put talent inside their services menu for the same reason.

Question 4

How do you handle international staffing without an overseas placement licence?

Accepted Answer

We employ the engineer in India and supply their services to you remotely. That is an export of services rather than emigration, so the Emigration Act 1983 registration and its ₹20 lakh bank guarantee do not apply. Same engineer, same work, a completely different regulatory position — and it is zero-rated under GST with our LUT.

Question 5

Will you tell us not to build something?

Accepted Answer

Regularly. A meaningful share of assessments conclude that an off-the-shelf tool does the job, that the data is not ready, or that the process should be fixed before it is automated. That answer goes in the report, in writing.

Question 6

Are you certified? ISO 27001, SOC 2?

Accepted Answer

TOGAF 9 today. ISO 27001 implementation is underway and we will publish the certificate when it is issued rather than before. SOC 2 follows only if a concrete US enterprise deal requires it — roughly 70–80% of its controls overlap with ISO 27001, so doing them in that order is cheaper.

Question 7

How do international clients pay, and is there GST?

Accepted Answer

Service exports from India are zero-rated under a filed LUT, so international invoices carry 0% GST. Payment arrives via Skydo or Wise with an automatic FIRA for your records. Indian clients are billed in INR plus 18% GST.

Question 8

You are based in India. How does that work across time zones?

Accepted Answer

IST is UTC+5:30, which overlaps UK mornings comfortably and US East Coast mornings at the edge. We commit to specific overlap hours in the contract rather than promising round-the-clock availability we would not keep.

Fractional CTO / Head of Engineering

Funded startups and SMEs.

Thirty minutes on whether this is the right engagement.