Evaluate Any AI Vendor. Including Us.
An honest comparison of the options, including where another firm is the better fit.
Big firms sell strategy decks at Fortune 500 prices. We ship working AI in about 90 days, with the governance and audit trail to defend it. Here is the honest comparison, and the questions worth asking any vendor.
The Real Comparison
What you actually get for your money
McKinsey
Strategy consultants
Accenture
IT service giant
Freelance Developers
DIY approach
NSSG
Operator-led delivery
Five Questions to Ask Any AI Vendor
Run these on any pitch, including ours. If a vendor can't answer them, that's the tell.
Where is the AI, exactly?
Ask them to label every part of the system: the AI, the plain automation, the deterministic code, and the human steps. If the whole thing is "AI," it is probably a prompt wrapped around someone else's model.
Can you see the audit trail?
Every tool call should write a log with a trace ID you can read. Ask to see one. Governance you cannot inspect is a promise, not a control.
What sits between a model and production?
Ask how many approval gates a change passes before it goes live, and who signs off. "It just works" is not an answer a regulator accepts.
Which frameworks are the controls mapped to?
SOC2, NIST AI RMF, EU AI Act, HIPAA, ISO 42001. Ask for the mapping, not a logo. Your reviewers want evidence.
What does it cost, and is there a cap?
Ask for a pre-flight cost estimate and a hard cap per feature. A bill you cannot predict is a bill that grows.
Common Questions
Addressing the "why not McKinsey?" concerns
"Don't we need McKinsey's brand credibility for the board?"
You need results for the board, not logos. When you show a working system in 90 days with an audit trail your board can check, that's more credible than any consultant's slide deck. We help you present outcomes you can defend, not pedigrees.
"Can NSSG handle our complexity?"
We've built automation for complex operations, from a Caribbean logistics engine to multilingual commerce platforms. Complex operations are exactly what we do. The difference: we simplify complexity into working automation, not 200-page process maps.
"What if we need ongoing enterprise support?"
We offer ongoing support packages and can scale support based on your needs. The difference from Accenture: we train your team to own it, not create dependency. You choose how much support you want, not what we force you to buy.
"How can you be 5X cheaper and still deliver quality?"
We don't have massive overhead, armies of junior consultants billing hours, or partner golf memberships to subsidize. We're operators who code. Small focused team, proven playbooks, no waste. Quality from focus, not from overhead.
"What if our project is too small for the big firms?"
Perfect. That's exactly who we built NSSG for. $10M-$500M revenue businesses with real problems and reasonable budgets. You don't need a $500K+ strategy engagement. You need AI that cuts costs this quarter. That's our specialty.
"Can we start small and scale up?"
Absolutely. That's exactly our approach. Starter package ($25K-$50K) proves ROI with one high-impact automation. Then we scale what works. No $500K commitment to find out if AI works for you.
When to Choose Each Option
Honest guidance on who's the best fit for what
Choose McKinsey/BCG if:
- You're Fortune 500 with board politics requiring brand names
- You have $5M+ budget and 18+ months timeline
- You want strategy advice, not delivery
- You need industry research reports and frameworks
- Someone else will build what they recommend
Choose Accenture/Deloitte if:
- You're enterprise ($500M+) with a complex IT estate
- You need fully custom enterprise software platform
- You have 2-3 year transformation timeline
- You want managed services and SLA guarantees
- Budget is $1M+ and timeline flexibility is high
Choose Freelancers if:
- You have strong internal technical leadership
- Project scope is very specific and well-defined
- You can manage developers and own the outcome
- Budget is under $50K for a single deliverable
- You have time to iterate and course-correct
Choose NSSG if:
- You're $10M-$500M revenue mid-market business
- You need working AI, not strategy decks
- You want a working system in 90 days, scoped up front
- Budget is $25K-$150K for measurable outcomes
- You value speed and a working system you can defend
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