IAM TechHow we structure and price the work
Different problems need different commercial shapes. This page covers the four models we work under and when each one genuinely fits — separate from our delivery approach, which covers how the work itself runs.
Project-based
A scoped outcome for an agreed fee. Best when the deliverable is well defined upfront — an assessment, a platform selection, a defined build and go-live.
- Deliverables documented, with scope and fee agreed and approved by you before work begins
- Clear milestones you can track progress and payment against
- Cost certainty for budget approval and procurement sign-off
- Any change to scope is raised and agreed with you at the time, never discovered at invoice
Time & Materials
Hourly or daily rates for work where the shape is still emerging. Best for advisory, architecture input, and exploratory phases where fixing scope prematurely would do more harm than good.
- Agreed hourly or daily rate, with an estimated envelope upfront
- Flexibility to redirect effort as the picture becomes clearer
- Transparent time reporting, so you always see where effort went
- Straightforward to convert into a scoped project once the work is well understood
Retainer
An agreed monthly commitment for ongoing work. Best where IAM needs continuous attention rather than a one-off push — certifications, day-two support, and controls that decay without upkeep.
- Agreed monthly capacity and scope, reviewed as your needs change
- Continuity of the people who already know your platform and estate
- Predictable cost for planning, rather than re-procuring each time work arises
- Scales up or down, or hands back to your team entirely, as your maturity grows
Staff Augmentation
IAM specialists embedded into your existing programme, under your delivery structure. Best when you have the plan and the governance in place, but need domain-specific hands the market is short of.
- IAM-specialist project managers, business analysts, testers, and engineers — not generalist contractors
- Integrated into your existing team, ceremonies, and reporting lines
- Scaled to exactly what the work requires, and stood down when it doesn't
- If someone has to be replaced, we agree the replacement with you before they start, with a documented handover — never a silent swap
- You always know exactly who is doing the work and why
How we agree the right model
We recommend a model based on how well defined the work is, not on which one bills best. A well-scoped deliverable belongs in a project; genuinely exploratory work belongs in time & materials, where fixing scope early would only produce a wrong answer more expensively.
Whichever we land on, the model, rate, and scope are agreed in writing before any work begins — and if scope looks likely to change, we say so at the time rather than at invoice. Engagements also range widely in size: a focused two-week assessment and a multi-year transformation programme are both normal starting points, and we would rather start small and earn the larger engagement than the other way round.
Commercial terms for any engagement are set out in a separate agreed contract or statement of work — this page describes how we typically structure engagements, and is not itself a contractual offer.