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About us · Positioning

Microsoft, when it fits. Independent, when it must.

The story of our two pillars — why we are Microsoft specialists and independent engineers under one roof, what has changed since 2022 for mid-market IT decisions, and which four principles follow from that observation.

30-min initial conversation Company

Story block · Why the dual pillar

How a Microsoft consultancy arrived at dual positioning.

The Microsoft world has been our core competence for over 20 years. We have been part of the platform's journey from CRM 3.0, are a Microsoft Partner and Microsoft Licensing Partner. Our practical depth in Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Microsoft Copilot is what creates the most value for our clients — and what our existence as a consultancy has rested on for two decades.

But the world is changing. Since around 2022 we have been observing a trend that forced us to rethink: mid-market IT decision-makers are increasingly asking sovereignty questions that can no longer be answered by a pure Microsoft stack. GDPR and the US Cloud Act are in tension. The NIS2 Directive requires verifiable supply chain security. The EU AI Act introduces obligations for AI systems that Microsoft built-in tools do not fully address. The BSI (German Federal Office for Information Security) explicitly recommends not placing critical infrastructure exclusively on US hyperscalers. Initiatives like Gaia-X are trying to strengthen German and European cloud options.

These developments are no longer fringe phenomena. We receive weekly inquiries from mid-sized companies looking for ways to make parts of their infrastructure more GDPR- and NIS2-resilient — sometimes with Microsoft (often possible, with the right configuration), sometimes without (regulatorily cleaner, technically more demanding).

Our conclusion was consistent. Honest advisory cannot ignore this question. Nor can it handle it through mere referrals to other partners — because then the client loses the familiar advisory context, and the question "Microsoft or not?" becomes a matter of belief instead of a clean architecture decision.

So we built a second pillar: Independent Engineering. TypeScript- and Next.js-based custom software, OpenAI integrations with GDPR safeguards, architecture advisory for hybrid setups, sovereign cloud stacks. We don't sell a platform — we sell the answer that fits the question.

Four principles

What follows from dual positioning.

The consequences of our setup are not just linguistic, but operational. These four principles are the lens through which we accept engagements, make architecture decisions, and conduct client conversations.

01 · Setup

Dual positioning

Microsoft Cloud and Independent Engineering are equal pillars with us — not "main business and side project". We have dedicated teams for both worlds, separate editorial coverage for both, separate service packages for both. That way the recommendation in the initial analysis remains unbiased: we don't lose an engagement if the answer is "Independent" — we win a different one.

  • Microsoft Cloud: Microsoft Partner, Microsoft Licensing Partner
  • Independent Engineering: TypeScript, Next.js, Postgres, OpenAI
  • Hybrid: when both worlds together are the answer
02 · Access

Directly with the practitioners

You speak with the people who actually develop and implement. No account-manager layer, no translation losses, no polished status reports. That's why we deliberately remain a small team — mid-sized rather than a corporation, so every person covers several roles: advisory, engineering, client communication.

  • Initial conversation with the practitioner team, not with sales
  • 3–5 people per project team
  • Leadership team operationally active in engagements
03 · Value creation

Own solutions

We've built eight productized applications from recurring needs — License Cost Calculator, Devonso (Power Platform customizings analysis), Educational Institutions solution, Associations solution, Project & Service Management, Inter-Company Integration, Modular ERP and Teams Integration for Microsoft Dynamics 365. This shortens time-to-value for our clients and gives our partners margin room for resale.

  • Eight solutions — five on Dynamics 365, two web apps, one Teams integration
  • Live references per solution
  • White-label and co-selling possible
04 · Attitude

Honesty as a differentiator

We tell you openly whether a project makes sense with us. We have repeatedly declined engagements — because the task suited another partner better, because the project was unrealistically sized, or because the client was looking for a solution in the initial conversation that we don't consider viable. This attitude has earned us trust every time.

  • Up-front assessments without sales pressure
  • Referral to specialized partners when professionally warranted (e.g., F&O specialists)
  • Realistic hour and cost statements

Manifesto · Core narrative

How we would describe ourselves.

We don't sell a platform — we sell the answer that fits the question.

Microsoft, when it fits.

Independent, when it must.

Hybrid, when that's the truth.

Honest, always.

What these four sentences mean in practice.

"Microsoft, when it fits." Microsoft is the right choice for many of our clients — the platform is deep, integrated, has a complete licensing logic, is interwoven with Microsoft 365, and our 20+ years of practical depth take strongest effect here. For classic CRM setups, Customer Service implementations, Power Platform extensions, and Copilot rollouts, Microsoft is almost always the honest answer. We then recommend it without hesitation — and deliver it with the depth that comes from two decades of experience.

"Independent, when it must." When GDPR, NIS2, or EU AI Act requirements push back on a pure Microsoft architecture, when a mid-sized company needs a lean custom solution rather than a heavy platform, when open-source control or on-prem options are professionally cleaner — then Independent is the honest answer. That's why we built a second pillar with a standalone engineering team, rather than delegating these questions away.

"Hybrid, when that's the truth." Very often the answer is neither pure Microsoft nor pure Independent. Microsoft 365 as foundation, supplemented by a custom web app on Postgres. Microsoft Dynamics 365 as CRM, supplemented by a sovereign RAG architecture for sensitive data. Power BI for reports, supplemented by a standalone open-source data platform for regulated areas. Hybrid is not the comfortable middle ground — hybrid is often the most honest answer.

"Honest, always." This is the bracket around everything. We say clearly when a project doesn't work with us. We say clearly when another partner is a better fit. We say clearly when a status report looks bad. This attitude occasionally costs us engagements — and regularly brings us referrals that no advertising budget could buy.

How we work

Three observations that further confirm our setup.

This positioning is not a marketing invention — it follows from what we see in engagements every day. Three observations that illustrate this.

  1. Sovereignty questions come from below, not from above. It is often department heads or Data Protection Officers who raise NIS2 or GDPR concerns with us — not primarily IT leadership. Honest advisory must have an answer to that.
  2. Microsoft depth becomes more valuable, not less. The platform grows more complex, the license matrix denser, and Copilot adoption more demanding. A superficial Microsoft approach no longer works today. Depth matters more than ever.
  3. Hybrid is the norm. Pure Microsoft architectures are rare. Pure non-Microsoft architectures equally so. A consultancy that knows both worlds can advise honestly — one that only knows one side has to either stay silent or improvise.
30-min initial conversation Company
arades — Positioning
2
Pillars · equal

Where to read on

The two pillars in detail.

Pillar 1

Microsoft Cloud

Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Copilot, Compliance & NIS2, Application Care. Our focus for over 20 years — Microsoft Partner, Microsoft Licensing Partner.

View Microsoft Cloud →

 Pillar 2

Independent Engineering

Custom Software & Web Platforms, OpenAI integrations, Advisory & Architecture. Sovereign architectures for mid-sized companies — GDPR-, NIS2-, and EU AI Act-resilient.

View Independent Engineering →

30-min initial conversation · free

Which pillar fits your question?

Tell us what you are looking for — we first listen, then sort it out and tell you honestly whether Microsoft, Independent, or Hybrid would be the right answer. Even if another partner is a better fit.

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