Services · Advisory & Architecture
Strategic tech decisions are rarely as binary as they look in conference rooms. We help mid-market companies ask the right questions — and come with answers grounded in implementation reality, because we'd be the ones writing the code the next day.
Managing Directors · Owners
What does this decision cost over the next 5 years? Which choice is reversible, which locks us in? We deliver workshop results in the language you can defend at shareholder meetings: from architecture clarification to roadmap workshop, each as a fixed price (prices on request). The result is always a document, not a PowerPoint.
Department Heads · Business Lines
You need to justify a software decision internally. We deliver assessment matrices with target-vs-actual comparison, cost-benefit analysis, compliance mapping (NIS2, EU AI Act, ISO 31000), risk register. Discovery Spike as the typical first engagement (price on request) — followed by the right format (compact, standard, or roadmap workshop).
IT Leadership · CIO · Solution Architect
Architecture Decision Records (ADRs), tenant strategy, data model, security architecture, integration mapping, RACI matrix, ALM pipeline concept. Sovereignty assessment (EU LLM fallback, data localization, Microsoft CSP routing). You talk directly to solution architects who own the implementation themselves.
For Managing Directors · 5-year TCO in euros
Fixed-price workshops from architecture clarification to roadmap with implementation reality (prices on request). The result is always a management-ready document outcome — no PowerPoint theater. You get a 5-year TCO, reversibility assessment per decision, vendor lock-in risks in euros, and a clear recommendation you can defend at the shareholder meeting.
For Department Heads · Build-vs-Buy assessment matrix
We deliver an assessment matrix per option: target-vs-actual comparison, 5-year cost-benefit analysis, compliance mapping (NIS2, EU AI Act, ISO 31000), risk register. Discovery Spike as the typical first engagement (price on request) with a documented outcome report — ready for CFO, procurement, and steering committee. Then the right format: compact, standard, or roadmap workshop.
For IT Leadership · ADRs and sovereignty architecture
ADR set per decision, tenant boundary strategy (single vs. multi-tenant, cross-tenant sharing), data model and integration mapping, security architecture with Entra Conditional Access topology, ALM pipeline concept, RACI matrix. Sovereignty architectures with EU LLM fallback (Mistral, Aleph Alpha), STACKIT/Hetzner/OVHcloud assessment, Microsoft CSP routing. You talk directly to the architect who owns the implementation.
Four strategy questions
Rarely does someone arrive with a clearly formulated question. Usually it's a mix of these four topics — which we untangle and make answerable.
Standard software, customization, or in-house development? We evaluate per use case based on total cost of ownership over 5 years, differentiation potential, market maturity of the standard solution, and your internal team. Rarely is the answer 100% build or 100% buy — usually a mix with a clear interface architecture.
Microsoft 365, Power Platform, Dynamics 365 — or an open stack with Next.js, Postgres, an open-source identity solution? Both directions have good arguments. We make the decision visible through total cost, skill availability, vendor lock-in risk, and compliance requirements.
AWS or Azure? Hetzner or STACKIT? With or without an on-prem share? The answer depends on compliance, latency requirements, and cost scaling. We know the strengths and gaps of the main EU providers (Hetzner, STACKIT, OVHcloud, IONOS, Open Telekom Cloud) from production projects.
How EU-sovereign is your current stack? Which components would be at risk in a serious US Cloud Act scenario? Which migration costs would arise? We give you a score across hosting, identity, data storage, key management, and contractual posture.
Three workshop formats
Which format fits depends on how big the question is and how concrete the follow-on implementation plan should look.
Assessment of an existing architecture (Microsoft Dynamics 365, a custom platform, a mix) — for weak points, license optimization, migration risks. With clear prioritized action recommendations at the end.
5 days deep assessment of your EU sovereignty. Where does data sit? Whose keys encrypt backups? Which contracts contain US-law clauses? With score, risk map, and a concrete migration roadmap.
For the big questions. Complete tech strategy across all four topic areas. With management involvement, multiple workshops, an architecture outline for the next 18–24 months.
Who we are
arades GmbH has been rooted in the Microsoft world since 2003 — Microsoft Partner, with our own productized solutions on Microsoft Dynamics 365 (PSA, Intercompany, Teams integration, License Cost Calculator). We've seen at least as many license audits, migration projects, and customization repairs as any larger mid-market partner.
In parallel we run our second pillar — custom software on TypeScript stack, AI integrations beyond Microsoft Copilot, EU hosting with Hetzner and STACKIT. We build the License Cost Calculator at licenses.arades.de in exactly the architecture we'd recommend to clients.
This dual role is the value for strategy engagements: when we say "in your constellation Microsoft is the right choice", we also know what it means to actually set up, run, and hypercare the system. When we say "Open Source is better here", we know what Hetzner setups, GitHub Actions pipelines, and PostgreSQL optimization cost in real projects.
There are consultancies that only work with slides. There are implementation firms that always bend the strategy question toward their favorite platform. We sit in between — and that's the position mid-market companies need in uncertain tech phases.
Honestly speaking
Pure PowerPoint consulting. You want a deck for the board presentation without subsequent implementation? There are very good strategy consultancies for exactly this use case. We are not one of them — we deliver diagrams, ADRs, and roadmaps, but no management slide costume.
"Make-a-deck" requests. If the engagement is "build us a nice architecture slide", we decline. Architecture without an implementation anchor is wallpaper.
Validation of a decision already made. If management has already decided internally and we're only supposed to provide a stamp — please say so openly. An honest strategy discussion won't be possible then, and you'd pay for something you already have.
Enterprise engagements beyond our scale. We are clearly a mid-market partner. Multi-site projects with hundreds of stakeholders, multilingual translation logistics, and 4-hour steering committees — that's what Big 4 firms exist for. We deliver value up to typical mid-market enterprise complexity, not beyond.
If you don't want to reflect implementation reality. Strategy without implementation understanding is folklore. If the follow-on engagement is deliberately never going to happen, our value proposition misses — we recommend not consulting at all then.
What we deliver
Current and target picture as a layer model, with data flows and interfaces. Machine-updatable in Mermaid or Draw.io — no click-by-click slides.
Build-vs-Buy matrix per use case, with TCO estimate, risk assessment, differentiation value. So even Managing Directors without a tech background can make a well-founded decision.
Per major decision a short ADR with context, options, rationale, and consequences. So future engineers (yours or others') understand why something was decided as it was.
18–24 months, divided into 3–5 waves, with capacity needs, investment corridor, and dependencies. Always with implementation reality — not at wish speed.
When concrete vendor selection is at stake (cloud, SaaS, ERP, CRM), we deliver a structured comparison along the criteria that matter to you — not a Gartner chart.
5-dimensional score across hosting, identity, data, keys, and contracts. With migration effort and prioritization. Makes "digital sovereignty" tangible rather than degrading it to marketing vocabulary.
Further
When the answer is "build". Discovery Spike, MVP, or embedded team — on TypeScript stack, EU-hosted.
When the answer is "custom web app instead of standard CMS". Corporate websites and business apps as in-house developments.
When the strategy is set and we should care for the implementation long-term — cross-platform, as a monthly flat rate.
Compliance requirements are rarely the only reason for a strategy decision — but often the trigger. NIS2 with a Microsoft-aligned implementation.
Frequently asked questions
Build vs. Buy (standard software or in-house development?). Microsoft vs. Open Source (Microsoft Cloud or open stack?). Cloud provider choice (AWS/Azure vs. Hetzner/STACKIT vs. on-prem?). Sovereignty score (how EU-sovereign is your current stack — and how important is that for your business model?). Plus the follow-on migration roadmap.
Architecture Review (3–5 days) as a fixed price. Sovereignty Audit (1 week) as a fixed price. Strategy Sprint (2 weeks) as a fixed price. For larger enterprise engagements we calculate individually. Investments are partially credited if a follow-on implementation results.
On our side typically a senior solution architect plus a domain specialist (for Microsoft, AI, or custom software, depending on focus). On your side we recommend a Managing Director, IT Leadership, and a business owner. The format works with 4–8 people — larger rounds turn into slide shows.
Yes, that's the core of our Architecture & Strategy offering. We are a Microsoft Partner — but our second pillar Independent Engineering exists precisely to think platform-independent. When the honest answer is "Open Source is better here", we say so.
We build ourselves. So we recommend from experience with code, hosting, and adoption — not from market models or Gartner quadrants. Our workshops have a clear implementation endpoint. If you want to leave the workshop "with an idea", we're not the right fit. If you want to decide and build afterwards, we are.
Mid-market manufacturing and trade (with and without Microsoft Dynamics 365), associations and chambers, educational institutions, professional services. Weaker experience in health care (pharma compliance), public sector (BSI requirements), banking (BaFin regulation) — there we refer to specialized partners.
We deliver architecture diagrams, decision tables, ADRs (Architectural Decision Records), and a roadmap outline. Pure "make-a-deck" requests we decline. There are consultancies that do this well — we're not one of them.
To take with you · two materials
Two depths for different reading needs. The factsheet is a quick reference (3–5 min) and immediately downloadable. The whitepaper is market education with methodology and comparison data (15–30 min) — you get it by email after a short request.
3–5 min read · direct download · no form
Concise overview: scope, key figures, pricing model, process — ideal to forward to CFO, procurement, or the business line.
15–30 min read · by email on request
Methodology, comparison data, recommendation framework — material for internal argumentation with stakeholders.
Related services
When the architecture is set — delivery in project mode with a clear scope.
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Architecture decisions in a regulatory context — NIS2, KRITIS, ISO.
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AI architecture, EU LLM vs. Copilot decision, in-house RAG vs. cloud service.
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Complete inventory as the basis of the architecture decision.
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45 min · free · no obligation
45 minutes during which we sound out your concrete strategy questions. What decision is pending? What assumptions are currently in play? Which workshop type fits — Architecture Review, Sovereignty Audit, or Strategy Sprint? With the person who'll later be in the workshop.
To take with you
Two-page quick reference with package structure, delivery areas, and three reasons for arades — immediately downloadable, no form. Ideal to forward to CFO, procurement, or IT lead.
3–5 min read · direct download · no form
