AI governance · Tooling and platforms
AI Governance Tooling & Platform Advisory: independent help choosing the right platform
Independent advice on the software that runs AI governance: whether you need a platform at all, which product fits, what it will really cost, and how to implement it so the register, approvals and evidence live in one governed place. Intelance takes no commission from any vendor, so the recommendation has nothing behind it but the evidence. Needs assessments from £6,500 + VAT, full programmes from £30,000 + VAT.
The advisory at a glance
Definition
What is AI governance tooling advisory?
AI governance tooling advisory is independent advice on the software that runs AI governance: whether a platform is needed at all, the requirements it must meet, which product fits, what it will cost in full, and how to implement it so the register, approvals and evidence live in one governed place rather than in spreadsheets.
The market makes this decision hard on purpose. Dedicated AI governance platforms, GRC suite modules and the governance features inside ML platforms all demo well, and every one of them looks like the answer in the meeting the vendor prepared for. Selection without written requirements buys shelfware. Worse, many large consultancies hold alliance or resale arrangements with the same vendors they recommend, so the advice arrives with the answer already decided.
Intelance takes no commission, referral fee or resale margin from any vendor. Requirements are written from your own register, policies and approval process, and the verdict can be that your existing tools are enough. Around the advisory sits a complete practice: the AI Governance Office that builds the function, training for the people who run it, and AI Risk-as-a-Service to run it monthly. New to the subject? Start with our guide to building an AI governance office.
Independent by design
We take no commission from any platform vendor.
Requirements first
Written from your register, policies and approval process.
Costed in full
Licences, implementation, run effort and exit, all counted.
Proof at the end
Controls enforced in the platform and evidence auditors accept.
The examination
Six things we examine before you sign anything
Every card says what gets examined and what lands on your desk. The order matters: the cheapest mistake to avoid is the platform you never needed.
Whether you need a platform at all
Many organisations run well governed AI on the tools they already own. The first question is the honest one, and vendors never ask it.
OutputA written needs verdict, including the case for buying nothing.The requirements that matter
Intake, register, EU AI Act risk tiering, approvals, controls, evidence and board reporting, written as requirements a product can be tested against.
OutputA requirements pack mapped to the EU AI Act and ISO/IEC 42001.The shortlist
Dedicated AI governance platforms, GRC suite modules and the governance features inside ML platforms, scored against your requirements rather than their demos.
OutputA scored shortlist of three, with the reasoning shown.The full cost of owning it
Licences, implementation, integrations, run effort and exit terms, counted before anything is signed.
OutputA total cost comparison across the shortlist.The implementation
Workflows configured to your policies, the register migrated, integrations connected and owners trained on the new routine.
OutputA running platform your team uses.The proof it works
Approvals enforced in the tool, evidence exports tested against what auditors ask for, and board reporting running.
OutputAn evidence pack showing the controls operate.How it works
What happens in a tooling engagement
Five stages from the first question to a running platform. Each stage can stand alone, and the programme runs them as one engagement.
Decide if tooling is needed
The register, volumes and approval load examined against the tools you already own. The verdict can be to buy nothing, and it is given in writing.
Write the requirements
What the platform must do, written from your register, policies and approval process as testable requirements rather than a vendor feature list.
Score the shortlist
Vendors demo against your scripts rather than their own. Every score is recorded, and the decision is written so a board or auditor can read the reasoning.
Implement and migrate
The platform configured to your policies, the register migrated with its history, integrations connected and owners trained.
Prove and hand over
Approvals enforced in the tool, evidence exports tested, board reporting live, and the running platform handed to your named owners.
Platforms drift after go live: owners change, workflows rot and the register goes quiet. AI Risk-as-a-Service keeps the register, reviews and controls alive month by month from £8,000 + VAT, in whatever tooling you run.
Published fees
Each engagement and its fee
Every engagement has a published floor and a defined output. They stand alone or combine into the full programme.
Tooling needs assessment
Whether a platform is needed at all and what it must do, examined against the tools you already own.Best whenVendors are demoing and nobody has written down what the tool must do. FeeFrom £6,500 + VAT1 to 2 weeks 02
Platform selection
Requirements, demo scripts, a scored shortlist and negotiation support through to signature.Best whenThe decision is real and the board will ask why this product won. FeeFrom £12,500 + VAT3 to 5 weeks 03
Implementation and migration
The platform configured to your policies, the register migrated and owners trained on the new routine.Best whenA platform has been bought and must now earn its licence fee. FeeFrom £18,000 + VAT4 to 10 weeks 04
Full tooling programme
Needs, selection, implementation and proof, run as one accountable engagement.Best whenThe organisation wants one accountable path from question to running platform. FeeFrom £30,000 + VAT8 to 16 weeks
The alternatives
How this compares with the alternatives
Three ways organisations choose AI governance software. The difference is who the advice serves.
The platform chosen because its demo impressed the right meeting
The vendor
Shelfware, and a renewal nobody can defend
A licence invoice
A selection run by a firm that partners with or resells the vendors on its own list
The alliance
The recommendation was decided before the work started
An implementation sold by the same firm
Independent selection scored against your written requirements, from £6,500 + VAT
You. We take no commission from any platform vendor
If no platform earns its fee, the verdict says buy nothing
Implementation if you want it, and monthly support when the platform is live
Scope
What is covered and what is not
You get
A written needs verdict, including the case for buying nothing where that is the right answer.
A requirements pack mapped to the EU AI Act and ISO/IEC 42001, reusable at renewal.
A scored shortlist and decision record a board or auditor can read.
A total cost comparison: licences, implementation, integrations, run effort and exit.
Where implementation is engaged, a configured platform with the register migrated and owners trained.
This is not
A reseller. We take no commission, referral fee or resale margin from any vendor.
A software product. Intelance sells advice and implementation, and never licences.
A substitute for governance. A platform automates a function that must already exist. Where it does not, start with the QuickScan.
Loyal to any platform. The recommendation changes when the evidence does, and the scoring shows why.
Where to start
Typical starting positions
Four situations we are usually called into. If none of them fit, speak to us and we will point you at the right first step.
Why Intelance
The standards we hold ourselves to
No vendor pays us
No commissions, referral fees or resale margins from any platform vendor. The advice has one customer, and it is you.
Requirements come first
Products are scored against what your register, policies and approval process need. Brochures do not get a vote.
Buying nothing is a valid verdict
The needs assessment regularly concludes that existing tools are enough, and says so in writing.
Costs counted in full
Licences, implementation, integrations, run effort and exit terms, all on the table before anything is signed.
Where the fees start
From £6,500 + VAT for the needs assessment and from £30,000 + VAT for the full programme, fixed in writing before work starts.
Who delivers this
Engagements are led by a senior partner and delivered by senior practitioners who run AI governance functions and registers for clients every month, with established associates across AI, cyber and data governance where depth is needed.
AI governance guides
All insights
Ready to talk?
Tell us what the vendors are promising you
Thirty minutes with a senior practitioner: what is being demoed, what your register looks like and what the board expects the tool to fix. If the answer is that no platform is needed yet, we will say so in the call.
FAQs
Questions about tooling advisory
What is AI governance tooling advisory?
Independent advice on the software that runs AI governance: whether a platform is needed at all, the requirements it must meet, which product fits, what it will cost in full, and how to implement it so the register, approvals and evidence live in one governed place rather than in spreadsheets.
Do we need an AI governance platform?
Possibly. Many organisations run well governed AI on tools they already own, particularly below a certain volume of use cases and approvals. The needs assessment answers the question in writing from your register and approval load, and buying nothing is a valid verdict. Where volume, evidence demands or audit pressure justify a platform, the same work becomes the requirements pack.
Which platforms does Intelance cover?
The full market: dedicated AI governance platforms, the AI governance modules inside GRC suites, and the governance features inside ML and cloud platforms. We hold no alliance, reseller or referral arrangement with any of them, so every product is scored against your requirements on the same terms.
What does AI governance platform selection cost in the UK?
With Intelance, the tooling needs assessment runs from £6,500 + VAT, platform selection from £12,500 + VAT, implementation and migration from £18,000 + VAT, and the full tooling programme from £30,000 + VAT. Every fee is a published floor, fixed in writing before work starts.
Is Intelance independent of the platform vendors?
Yes. We take no commission, referral fee or resale margin from any platform vendor, and we sell no software. The recommendation is scored against your written requirements, the scoring is shown, and the verdict changes when the evidence does.
How long does selection and implementation take?
The needs assessment runs one to two weeks, selection three to five weeks, and implementation four to ten weeks depending on the register size and integrations. The full programme typically runs eight to sixteen weeks from question to running platform.
Can you rescue a platform we already bought?
Yes. The implementation and migration engagement takes a bought platform, configures it to your policies, migrates the register with its history, connects the integrations and trains the owners. Most unused platforms failed at configuration and adoption rather than at selection.
What happens after the platform goes live?
You receive an evidence pack showing the controls operate, and your named owners run the routine. Where you want the register, reviews and reporting run for you, AI Risk-as-a-Service does it month by month from £8,000 + VAT in whatever tooling you run.