Questions worth asking before the first conversation.

How is Relatio different from a technology vendor or systems integrator?

Vendors and SIs make money from what you buy or who delivers it — which shapes their advice, however good the intentions. Relatio earns advisory fees only. When a partner recommendation is needed, it's based on fit, and we earn nothing from the introduction.

You say you're conflict-free. How would we actually know?

The fee doesn't change based on which platform, partner, or path you choose — verify that before you engage, not just take our word for it. It's agreed in writing before any work begins.

What does this cost?

Every engagement is fixed-fee — never hourly, never a percentage of the technology spend. It's a real cost on top of the project, and we won't pretend otherwise. Set against the overruns a troubled program routinely absorbs, on time and on budget is worth paying for. Scope and price are agreed in writing after a short scoping conversation, before any work begins.

Do you pay referral fees? Doesn't that contradict "no referral fees"?

No contradiction — they're two different things. We pay a fee to whoever connects us with a client. We never take a fee for recommending a specific vendor or platform. One is about finding the client; the other would be about what we tell them once they're here.

If your fee doesn't change either way, why would the advice be any good?

Because getting it right is the job — not a means to a bigger invoice or the next referral. The person who reasons through your decision puts their name on the recommendation, and that standard doesn't depend on whether the payoff shows up next month or five years from now.

What does Relatio not do?

We don't implement, and we don't resell licenses or platforms. When delivery work is needed, we recommend a partner from direct experience and step back — or stay on, oversight only, as a second independent pillar, if that's what the situation calls for.

How new is Relatio, and why should we trust a firm this size?

Relatio itself is a new firm. What isn't new is the person leading it — 25+ years inside the platforms we advise on, including the hands-on architecture, delivery, and recovery work Relatio's own service line is built from.

Do we need to be a Microsoft shop to work with you?

No. Microsoft is where Relatio's principal advisors have their deepest experience, and where most mid-market technology decisions live today — but the advisory spans AI, business applications, and data generally, not one vendor's stack.

How is client data handled when AI is part of the engagement?

AI supports the analysis — it never makes the call, and a practitioner reviews everything before it reaches you. None of the data you share is used to train any public AI model. We do use what we learn to strengthen Relatio's own methodology over time — that's separate from feeding a public model. If data handling is a specific concern for your organization, raise it in the first conversation, before anything starts.

What if you tell us we don't need Relatio at all?

If we're not right for what you need, we'll tell you so — plainly, no hedging.

How long does a typical engagement take?

It depends on the service — a Platform Fit engagement runs weeks, not months; a Trusted Advisor relationship is ongoing. You'll get a real timeline in the scoping conversation, not a generic range.