Our systems have failed or we are overwhelmed: can someone senior step in this week?
Backstop is senior, hands-on intervention when systems fail or capacity runs out. It costs £2,000 a day, with a three-day minimum, triage within hours, and a written situation report each day. Retainer clients pay 20% less. It needs access to the failing system and one person who can decide. Availability is confirmed on reply.
What it costs and how long
- £2,000 a day
- Fractional AI Architect clients20% off (£1,600 a day)
- After the minimum
What it needs from you
- Access to the failing systems
- One person who can approve changes
- Written agreement to the day rate and minimum before work starts
What you get, and what you don't
- Triage within hours of a go-ahead
- Senior, hands-on work on the failing system
- A written situation report every day
- A closing written account: the cause
What it does, and where the human sits
Triage within hours of a written go-ahead: what is broken, what it is costing, and what must not get worse.
Stabilise: get orders, stock or invoices moving again by the safest route available, even if it is temporary.
Report daily: a written situation report each day covering what was found, what was done, what comes next, and what needs your decision.
Hand back: a written account of the cause, every change made, and what a permanent fix would take.
Where the human sits. Your decision-maker approves every change to a live system. Nothing irreversible happens without a written yes.
What it needs from you
- Access to the failing systems, their logs, and whoever set them up, including vendor support contacts.
- One person who can approve changes, reachable during the working day.
- Written agreement to the day rate and minimum before work starts.
Who does which part, and who checks it
Backstop is led by Sam Naseem, and this section is in his words.
- Done by me: triage, every change to a live system, and every decision about the safer route. On a failing system, risk and reversibility matter most, so this work is never given to an AI agent.
- Or by a trusted engineer, under my review: part of that work may be done by an engineer I have worked with, named to you before they have access to your systems.
- Done by AI agents I have trained and direct, under my review: searching the logs and exports you have given me, and first drafts of the daily report.
- Who checks it: I review every report before you see it. Your decision-maker approves every change to a live system.
- What AI agents are never allowed to touch: your live systems and their credentials.
- How your data is handled: logs and exports can hold personal data. They are kept on AI UVD's systems on AWS in London. Where an AI service helps, it is a business or API plan that has a data processing agreement and does not train on your data. They are deleted within 30 days of Backstop ending.
What it costs and how long
- £2,000 a day (excluding VAT), with a three-day minimum (£6,000). Expenses: charged at cost, agreed in writing in advance.
- Fractional AI Architect clients: 20% off (£1,600 a day).
- After the minimum, you decide each day whether to continue, based on that day's report.
The boundary, in plain words: Backstop gets you out of trouble and says why it happened. The permanent fix is scoped and priced separately.
What can go wrong, and what we do about it
| What can go wrong | What we do about it |
|---|---|
| The problem is bigger than three days | The daily report says so as soon as it is clear, with an estimate. You decide whether to continue. |
| The cause is in a vendor's system we cannot reach | The report says so, with the evidence, and AI UVD works with the vendor's support through you. |
| A quick fix would put data at risk | It is not done. The safer route is taken and the trade-off written down for your decision. |
| Nobody on your side can approve a change | Work pauses, and the report names the decision and who must make it. |
| The emergency turns into a long project | Backstop ends. The longer work is proposed separately, in writing. |
What you get, and what you don't
- Triage within hours of a go-ahead.
- Senior, hands-on work on the failing system.
- A written situation report every day.
- A closing written account: the cause, every change made, and what a permanent fix would take.
You don't get: the permanent fix (scoped and priced separately), ongoing support or a helpdesk, or any change to a live system without your decision-maker's written yes.
Who it is not for
- Planned projects or upgrades. Those are scoped and priced in writing.
- Ongoing support or a helpdesk.
- A second opinion without access. Without access, nobody can see what has failed.
Frequently asked questions
What's it going to cost us, really?
£2,000 a day, with a three-day minimum, so at least £6,000. Fractional AI Architect clients pay £1,600 a day. After the minimum, you decide each day whether to continue, based on that day's report. Any permanent fix is priced separately, before it starts.
How fast can you start?
Triage starts within hours of a written go-ahead. That is the clock on agreed work, not on a first enquiry: the contact page does not promise a reply time for enquiries, so if a system has failed, put "Urgent" in the email subject or the first line of your message. Availability is confirmed on reply; if AI UVD cannot start in time, the reply says so. That way you can find someone who can.
Is there a telephone number?
No, and there is a reason rather than an omission. A number that rings one person is not cover for a failed system. For a system AI UVD has delivered, urgent matters are usually handled by named owners inside your own business — your own people, named during delivery and walked through the runbook at handover. Backstop is mostly for systems AI UVD did not build, so the route in is written: put "Urgent" in the subject line to hello@aiuvd.com, and the reply says whether AI UVD can start. If it cannot, it says so, so you can find someone who can.
What do you need from us? We don't have spare people.
Access to the failing system, its logs and whoever set it up, plus one person who can approve changes during the day. The daily written report keeps everyone else informed.
Our ERP is ancient and has no API.
That is normal, and it does not stop the work. Old systems still have logs, exports, database tables and interface files. Backstop rests on more than 20 years of working with exactly those: ERP, WMS, EDI, PMR, CRM and EPOS.
Can this turn into ongoing help?
Yes, but not by drift. Backstop ends with a written account and the options for a permanent fix. If you want someone senior available afterwards, that is the Fractional AI Architect retainer, agreed separately.
Write about a failed system
The button opens the contact page. Say what has failed, since when, what it is costing, and who can approve changes. Start the message with "Urgent" if it cannot wait.
Every engagement is architected by me, and I'm the person you deal with.
Sam Naseem
We take on a small number of clients at a time.
If the form is not working, email hello@aiuvd.com with "Urgent" in the subject. For someone senior on an ongoing basis: Read the Fractional AI Architect page