Do you also advise when nothing gets built afterwards?

Yes. An assessment often ends with the recommendation to streamline a process or prepare data first instead of introducing AI. The result must work without us, otherwise it is not consulting but a sales pitch.

Do you work with our existing IT team?

Yes, that is the default in the Mittelstand. We put operational responsibility in writing: what sits with your IT, what sits with us, and who calls whom in an incident.

For which company size is this worth it?

Our typical clients have 5 to 150 employees and either a small, busy IT team or none at all. Below that, the repetition automation pays back through is usually missing. Above that, structures with dedicated departments and tender processes begin, which we are not set up for.

Do you consult in German or English?

Both. Contracts, documentation and calls in whichever language your team prefers.

Service · AI consulting

AI consulting for the Mittelstand.

We advise Mittelstand companies between 5 and 150 employees on AI strategy and AI adoption. The difference to a classic consultancy: the people advising you build and operate the system afterwards. Our recommendation therefore has an interest in working in production, not just in the slide deck.

Talk to an engineer

Consulting from engineers, not consultants

From the first meeting you talk to the people who write the code and run the servers. No sales staff, no junior consultants, no boilerplate deck. Every consulting phase ends in a written document with concrete use cases, effort estimates and a clear recommendation, even when the recommendation is: this is not worth it.

If we are not the right partner for your project, we say so in the first email. That is cheaper for both sides.

What an AI strategy for the Mittelstand must contain

Not a company-wide transformation programme. Scope decides: a single process can be taken to production within a quarter. A programme spanning twelve focus areas ties up delivery capacity that simply does not exist in the Mittelstand.

Our strategy work therefore delivers a prioritized list of concrete use cases with effort and benefit, a clear recommendation for the first process and a realistic plan for the first ninety days. What such a start looks like is set out in AI strategy for the Mittelstand.

What AI consulting costs

Assessment and potential analysis: 5,000 to 15,000 EUR, two to four weeks, delivered in writing. First productive system for a bounded process: 25,000 to 80,000 EUR. Operations and further development: monthly flat rate, depending on scope and response times.

You get one invoice per month regardless of which discipline is shipping, and no per-seat billing: your costs do not grow with your headcount. How to hold other vendors’ offers against these numbers is covered in our buyer’s guide to choosing a vendor.

How to size up a vendor

We published a buyer’s guide setting out five questions that place any vendor within twenty minutes. It applies explicitly to vendors other than us: choosing an AI agency for the Mittelstand.

Our own answers to them, briefly: we operate our own platform blazed.sh and client systems in production. In an incident you reach an engineer, not a ticket queue. Your data runs in German or European datacenters, or on-premise if you prefer. Year-three operating costs are in the offer, not in the footnotes. And we will tell you which part of your problem we would not solve with AI.

The first call

Thirty minutes, by video or phone, with an engineer rather than a salesperson. You describe the process, we tell you whether it fits, roughly what size it is, and which part will be the hard one. Afterwards you have an assessment you can take to other vendors, and no obligation.

Common questions about AI consulting.

Do you also advise when nothing gets built afterwards?: Yes. An assessment often ends with the recommendation to streamline a process or prepare data first instead of introducing AI. The result must work without us, otherwise it is not consulting but a sales pitch.
Do you work with our existing IT team?: Yes, that is the default in the Mittelstand. We put operational responsibility in writing: what sits with your IT, what sits with us, and who calls whom in an incident.
For which company size is this worth it?: Our typical clients have 5 to 150 employees and either a small, busy IT team or none at all. Below that, the repetition automation pays back through is usually missing. Above that, structures with dedicated departments and tender processes begin, which we are not set up for.
Do you consult in German or English?: Both. Contracts, documentation and calls in whichever language your team prefers.