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Knowledge and process

Applications and data

Customer and web

Browse by symptom instead

Twelve problems described the way clients describe them, with the causes behind each.

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The structure

Continuous ownership

Before you commit

Start with one problem

One process, or one focused conversation. You don't need a scope, a platform or a budget to get in touch.

Ways to start
How we workWays to startHow we deliver

Priority sectors

Also

Or by situation

Not sure you fit?

Established and growing businesses with complex operations, systems, teams or customer journeys. No rigid size limit.

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Reading

Most read

Proof

Nobody owns the application layer

MSPs own infrastructure. Vendors own their product. The space between has no name and no owner.

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AliveCommerce  /  How we work  /  Ways to start

Ways to start.

You don’t need a scope, a selected platform or an approved budget to get in touch. Start with one problem, one process, or one focused conversation — and we’ll tell you which of these fits, including when the answer is none of them yet.

FreeFirst conversation, always
YoursEvery deliverable, wherever you take it
No scope requiredBring the problem, not the solution

Eight ways in.

Most people start at the top of this list. Very few need to know which one they want before calling.

A conversationFree · 20–90 minutes

The problem, the business context, the impact, what’s been tried, what you already run, and the possible ways forward. No deck, no pitch.

Right when: you know something isn’t working but not what to do about it.

Focused consulting or a workshopPaid · hours to days

A working session with a consultant and an engineer. Brainstorming, feasibility, architecture direction, or a second opinion on something you’re already committed to — without committing to anything larger.

Right when: you need expertise applied to a specific question, not a project.

Assessment, audit or roadmapFixed price · 2–4 weeks

What you have, what the options cost, the risks, the dependencies and what we’d recommend. Written to be useful on its own and to be acted on by anyone.

Right when: the picture is unclear, or you’ve been quoted for something and want an independent read.

Research, Design and PlanningPaid · scoped per case

An RDP engagement produces the research, specifications, planning and prototyping needed to make responsible commitments. It’s what makes a genuine fixed-cost, fixed-scope proposal possible rather than a guess dressed as one.

You keep the deliverables whether you proceed with us, pause, hire internally, or take them elsewhere. In some cases the work carries into the project at no additional cost.

Right when: you want certainty before committing to a build.

FBSC projectFixed budget · scope controlled

Fixed Budget, Scope Controlled. The number is agreed at the start and taken off the table; scope and backlog priority become the adjustable currency. New information reshapes what goes into the release rather than producing a bigger invoice.

Right when: the budget is the constraint and you want the best possible outcome within it.

Fixed scope, fixed costWhen certainty allows

Available once research and planning have established enough certainty to make responsible commitments. We won’t quote it before that, because a fixed price set on incomplete information is a change order waiting to happen.

Right when: the work is well understood and procurement requires a firm number.

Transformation engagement12, 24 or 36 months

A defined engagement aimed at transforming processes, growth systems, AI enablement, e-commerce or more — structured so your reliance on us decreases as it progresses. We build the foundation and augment for speed or specialisation, then progressively bring your team in: training, enablement, and involvement in hiring and onboarding where it helps.

We move from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat to the back seat, and eventually to optional checkpoints. The goal is a self-managed or largely self-managed state, where we’re there for escalations, changes, alignment and the occasional conflict.

Right when: you want capability built inside the business, not just an outcome delivered to it.

An ongoing programFixed monthly

Where a layer needs an owner rather than a project. Champion1 for applications, LiquidIQ for knowledge and process, DARWIN for the web layer.

Right when: the work doesn’t end, and nobody internally will own it.

Recovery and transitionResponsive

Stalled implementations, complex transitions, transitions without a cooperative handoff, provider disputes, and systems left behind when someone leaves. Response commitments depend on the system and the arrangement.

Right when: something has already gone wrong and you need an independent read fast.

Which one, usually.

You don’t have to work this out. But if you want to.

“Something isn’t working and I can’t name it.”A conversation, then probably an assessment.
“We’ve been quoted and it feels wrong.”Focused consulting. An hour often settles it.
“We know what we want built.”RDP if certainty matters, FBSC if the budget is the constraint.
“Our team needs to be able to run this.”A transformation engagement.
“Nobody owns this and nobody will.”A program.
“It’s broken and the provider is gone.”Recovery and transition.

Straight answers.

About how engagements actually work.

WHEREVER YOU’RE STARTING

Bring us the problem. We’ll help you find the right way forward.

Whether you’re modernizing a critical system, reducing manual work, improving the tools you already rely on, or simply trying to understand what should come next, AliveCommerce brings the strategy, technology, and hands-on support to turn uncertainty into measurable progress — without bias, borders, or BS.

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