Straight answers, including the ones where the honest answer is “not yet”. If something here is not covered, ask us directly.
AI is one of the tools we use, not the answer we start with. We work across process, data, systems, automation and AI, and the right intervention depends entirely on the problem. Quite often the most valuable thing we can do involves no AI at all.
We ask what the organisation is trying to improve, where time or quality is being lost, who experiences the problem and what systems or information are involved. It is a conversation rather than a pitch. If we are not the right fit, we will say so and point you somewhere more useful.
Almost certainly. The organisations we are most useful to would never describe themselves as technical: too much administration, too many spreadsheets and not enough hours. You do not need to understand the technology. Explaining it in plain language is part of the job.
With the one your team complains about most, or the one that would cost the most if it went wrong. Part of Consult is putting the whole list in order by value, effort and risk, so you are not choosing on instinct alone.
Some of our work will become fixed scope and fixed price as we settle it, and we will publish those prices when we can stand behind them. Bespoke work depends on the systems, data, risk and delivery effort involved. Either way, we make the scope and the assumptions clear in writing before asking you to commit to anything.
Where the opportunity is clear, measurable and within our capability, yes. We use a staged model, so a diagnostic does not automatically commit either side to a large build. Plenty of organisations take the roadmap and deliver it themselves, and that is a perfectly good outcome.
The specific ownership and licence position is set out clearly before work begins. The intention is transparent handover without hidden vendor lock-in: it runs in your systems, on your accounts, with the documentation to match, while we retain the reusable methods and components agreed in the contract.
Quick wins are usually live in weeks rather than months. Part of the point of Consult is finding something small and valuable we can get working quickly, so you can judge the approach before committing to anything larger.
We agree the baseline, the outcome and the owner before the build, so this is a measurable question rather than an argument. If a build does not deliver what we said it would, we would rather fix it or tell you it is not worth continuing than defend it.
No. Understanding the condition, meaning and ownership of your information may well be part of the work. We will be honest if the data foundations need attention before a build makes sense — and we would rather say that early than build on top of numbers nobody trusts.
We agree the data, access, purpose, security controls, suppliers and responsibilities before delivery. We use the minimum access required, protect credentials and personal information, test safely, document data paths, and get explicit approval before changing anything in production. High-risk work may need a DPIA or specialist legal input.
Only where you have decided that is appropriate, and usually not. For every use case we agree whether technology should inform, assist, recommend, decide or act. Consequential, uncertain or externally visible outputs get proportionate human review and an audit trail. Capability is not consent.
That is normally the first place we look. Our experience spans Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Azure, data and reporting platforms, APIs, CRM and AI services. We will not claim specialist status in a platform where the right answer is a specialist partner.
Not unless you want to. Documentation, handover and training are designed in with the build rather than added at the end. Some organisations take it over entirely, others prefer we keep running it, and you can change your mind later.
No. The consultancy work stands on its own. If the work reveals a genuine long-term skills need, we can explore whether a Baltic development pathway is relevant, but that is a separate conversation and entirely optional. Apprenticeship funding does not pay for consultancy work.
No. Baltic has national employer relationships. North East roots and in-person work are an important part of how we operate, but geography is not a boundary.
The people you meet. We are a small team by design, and senior people stay involved through delivery rather than appearing once at the start. Where a graduate engineer is working on your project, it is with oversight, not instead of it.
Then we say so, early, and point you at someone better suited. Taking work we cannot support properly would be a worse outcome for both of us than an honest no.
You do not need a finished brief or a preferred technology. Tell us what is slow, repeated, difficult to trust or harder than it should be. We will arrange a short conversation and tell you whether we think there is a useful next step.