Big cloud decisions deserve a second opinion from someone who's made them before.
CTOs and technical founders at SMBs make consequential cloud architecture decisions without a senior architect to consult. That's expensive — in vendor lock-in, technical debt, and time lost to wrong turns. Strategic Cloud Advisory gives you that advisor.
The decisions you're making alone that you shouldn't have to
Cloud architecture decisions made without expert input tend to create problems that compound over years. Here's what that looks like.
No one to sanity-check architecture decisions before they're built
Your team has a strong proposal for the new data pipeline architecture. It sounds reasonable. But is it the right call for where you're going in 18 months? Who's the sounding board?
The cloud roadmap has been on the to-do list for 6 months
You know you need to address the multi-region question, the RDS scaling plan, and the observability gap — but the day-to-day keeps pushing it off. It stays theoretical.
Your team is learning on the job for decisions that need experience
Senior engineers are talented but early in their cloud careers. They're making architecture calls that would benefit from someone who's seen the failure modes before.
What's included
Concrete deliverables — not vague "advisory" work.
Monthly strategy call
A recurring 60-minute advisory session focused on your current challenges, pending decisions, and roadmap priorities.
Cloud roadmap development
A written, prioritized 12-month roadmap covering infrastructure evolution, compliance milestones, cost targets, and reliability improvements.
Architecture review and critique
Review of proposed architecture designs with written feedback — covering trade-offs, failure modes, cost implications, and alternatives to consider.
Vendor and tooling evaluation
Independent assessment of cloud tooling decisions: which database, which observability platform, which CDN, which deployment strategy — without vendor bias.
Engineering team guidance
Direct support for your senior engineers on specific technical questions, architectural patterns, and best practices.
Cloud migration planning
For companies moving from on-premises or planning a provider migration — a phased migration plan with risk assessment and rollback strategy.
Async Q&A access
Email and Slack access for quick questions between monthly calls — so you're not waiting weeks for answers to time-sensitive decisions.
Board and investor communication support
Help framing cloud infrastructure for investors, board members, and technical due diligence — so your cloud story is clear and defensible.
How it works
A structured approach, not trial-and-error.
Infrastructure review
We start with a thorough review of your current architecture, roadmap, and the decisions you're currently navigating.
Establish the roadmap
We document the 12-month cloud roadmap: what needs to change, in what order, and why — with a clear rationale for each priority.
Monthly advisory rhythm
Regular advisory calls on your current priorities, combined with async access for time-sensitive questions between sessions.
Document and transfer
Every significant decision and recommendation is documented — so your team accumulates institutional knowledge, not dependence.
What you can expect
Specific, measurable results — not "improved efficiency."
Faster
Architecture decisions with confidence
Stop second-guessing major infrastructure choices. Make decisions with a senior expert who's seen the trade-offs play out in real systems.
12-month
Written cloud roadmap
A prioritized plan that keeps cloud infrastructure moving in the right direction, even when day-to-day demands compete for attention.
Included
In every MCO retainer tier
Strategic advisory isn't an add-on — it's the connective tissue of every engagement. Every retainer client has direct access to strategic guidance.
Who this is for
This service works best for companies in a specific situation. Here's how to know if it's right for you.
Related services
Most clients combine multiple services for complete cloud coverage.
Cloud Cost Intelligence
Strategic decisions have cost implications. Advisory and cost intelligence together keep your roadmap financially grounded.
Security & Governance
Security architecture is a strategic concern. Advisory ensures security decisions align with business and compliance goals.
Managed DevOps & Delivery
Delivery strategy is part of the cloud roadmap. Advisory shapes the direction; DevOps builds the pipeline to get there.