What does an external AI and systems architect cost, and what do we get for it?
Fractional AI Architect costs £6,000 a month for three to five senior days, on a three-month initial term, then rolling. It is for UK operations businesses that need someone senior to steer AI and systems decisions but cannot hire that person full time. You need a sponsor, access to the people deciding, and a shared written channel.
What it costs and how long
- £6,000 a month
- Three to five senior days
- Unused days do not roll over
- Three-month initial term
What it needs from your systems and people
- A sponsor
- Access to what sits behind each decision
- Time with the owner of each decision
- A shared written channel
What you get, and what you don't
- Three to five senior days a month
- A shared written channel between those days
- A written monthly architectural review
- Written position papers on key decisions
What it does, and where the human sits
The retainer gives you me, Sam Naseem, as your architect for AI and systems decisions: the same person at every review, and the person who signs every position paper. Each month includes:
Three to five senior days spent on your decisions: reading, reviewing, meeting the people involved, and writing.
Async availability between those days, through a shared written channel.
A monthly architectural review: what changed, what is at risk, and what needs deciding next.
Written position papers on the decisions that matter, such as which system owns which data, whether an AI tool may write to the ERP, or whether to build or buy.
AI integration guidance throughout: what to connect, by which route, with what permissions, and who checks the output.
The kind of question the days are for: a vendor says its AI module "just connects" to your ERP. Does it, through what, and what happens to the audit trail?
Where the human sits. I advise and write the position down. Your people decide. Your people, or a separately priced piece of work, build. Nothing is decided verbally.
What it needs from your systems and people
- A sponsor who can make decisions, or get them made.
- Access to what sits behind each decision: system diagrams, vendor proposals, contracts where relevant, and the person who runs the workflow.
- Time with the owner of each decision when it comes up. Your people are asked for answers, not days.
- A shared written channel that both sides use.
- Old systems are normal. If an ERP has no API, part of the job is finding the route it does have: the nightly export, a report, an EDI feed, a read-only copy.
Who does which part, and who checks it
- Done by me: the monthly review, every position, and every meeting with the people deciding.
- Done by AI agents I have trained and direct, under my review: research into vendor claims, and first drafts of review packs.
- Who checks it: I review and sign everything written for you. Your people decide.
- What AI agents are never allowed to touch: your systems. The retainer advises; it does not change systems.
- How your material is handled: Diagrams, vendor proposals and contracts 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 returned or deleted within 30 days of the retainer ending.
What it costs and how long
- £6,000 a month (excluding VAT). Expenses: charged at cost, agreed in writing in advance.
- Three to five senior days a month. I decide whether a month runs at three days or five, from what your decisions need that month; £6,000 buys the month, not a fixed count of days.
- Unused days do not roll over. A month that runs at three days ends at three days; nothing carries into the next month.
- Three-month initial term, then rolling, with one month's notice.
- 20% off Backstop rates for retainer clients. Backstop
Why the fee is fixed and the days go further: AI agents I have trained and direct do part of the research and first drafts, under my review, so more of each senior day goes on your decisions. Every position is mine and signed by me. Because the architect is also the person you talk to, a question raised on the written channel gets an answer without a hand-off, and a change of direction is a written note, not a change-request process.
Not included: building or delivery work of any kind, unlimited availability, decisions made only in conversation, and unused days carried into another month.
The boundary, in plain words: retainer days are for steering and decisions, I decide whether a month runs at three days or five, and unused days do not roll over. Building is a separate, priced piece of work.
What can go wrong, and what we do about it
| What can go wrong | What we do about it |
|---|---|
| The month's days run out before the month does | AI UVD says so in writing before it happens. You choose: defer the work, or have it priced separately. |
| The retainer slides into building things | Retainer days are for steering. Any build is proposed separately, in writing, with its own price. |
| A decision is made in a meeting and forgotten | Positions are written. If it is not written down, it has not been decided. |
| You expect an answer at any hour | The retainer is not unlimited availability. Response times on the written channel are agreed at the start. Emergencies are what Backstop is for. |
| A decision has no owner on your side | The monthly review names an owner for each open decision, or says there is none. |
What you get, and what you don't
- Three to five senior days a month, with the number in a given month my call inside that range.
- A shared written channel between those days.
- A written monthly architectural review.
- Written position papers on key decisions.
- AI integration guidance on what to connect, how, and who checks it.
- 20% off Backstop rates.
You don't get: building or delivery work of any kind, unlimited or out-of-hours availability, decisions made only in conversation, or unused days carried into another month.
Who it is not for
- Businesses with an in-house AI or data team that already covers this role.
- Anyone who wants a one-off build. That is a separately priced project, not a retainer.
- Anyone who wants a vendor selection only.
- Anyone who needs someone full time, or on call at all hours.
- Anyone looking for a free review of their systems. The first conversation is free. Anything after it is scoped and priced in writing before it starts.
Frequently asked questions
What's it going to cost us, really?
£6,000 a month for three to five senior days, on a three-month initial term and then rolling. That covers the days, the written channel, the monthly review and position papers. Whether a month runs at three days or five is my call, from what your decisions need that month, and unused days do not roll into the next one. Building anything is priced separately, in writing, before it starts. Backstop days are 20% cheaper for retainer clients.
What do you need from us? We don't have spare people.
A sponsor who can decide, a shared written channel, and time with the owner of each decision when it comes up. Your people are asked for answers, not days.
Why not just use Copilot or ChatGPT?
Use them where they fit; they are good at drafting and summarising. The retainer is for the decisions around them: what they may read, what they may change in your ERP, who checks the output, and what it costs at volume. Those are architecture questions, and getting them wrong is expensive.
Who else have you done this for?
No client is named or quoted on this site. The retainer rests on more than 20 years of this architecture work. The first conversation is the place to test that against your kind of system.
How do we know the price and scope will hold?
Everything is in writing, which is how this works anyway. The price is fixed, positions are written, building is scoped separately, and the proposal names who will have access to your systems. After the three-month initial term you can stop with one month's notice.
Arrange a first conversation
Write a few lines about the business, the systems it runs, and the decisions coming up. The reply comes in writing. If a conversation would help, it is free.
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 something has already failed and you need help this week: Backstop