Services for businesses in Lucknow, India and beyond
Technology consultancy for the decision before a build: architecture, scope, and fractional engineering.
Technology consultancy is the work of deciding what to build, what to buy, and what to leave alone, before a team spends months on the wrong shape. It covers architecture, scoping, a review of a proposal or a codebase, and fractional engineering when you need a senior technical lead for a period rather than a full-time hire.
Sunbeam does this from Lucknow for organisations in India and for clients elsewhere. The output is a written recommendation you can act on, hand to another team, or use to start a build with us. A consultancy engagement does not assume that the next step is custom software.
The business case
What better looks like.
- A recommendation you can hand to any capable team
- A first release with the work that is deliberately left out
- Senior technical judgement without hiring a full-time lead
What it is
A decision, with the trade-offs written down
Scoping names the workflow, the people, the systems already in use, and the first release that would be worth having. Architecture describes how the pieces should fit if you proceed: where data lives, what is bought, what is built, and what a later team would have to operate. Fractional engineering is the same judgement applied inside your week: reviews, sequencing, and unblocking an internal team.
This is distinct from a build. You can stop when the recommendation is clear. If a product you can already buy fits the workflow, that is a successful outcome.
Scoping
A first release, the exclusions, and the decisions that are still open.
Architecture
A structure another capable team could implement, including the parts that should stay simple.
Proposal review
Whether a quote from someone else matches the problem, and what it leaves out.
Fractional engineering
Senior technical leadership for a defined period, alongside your staff or instead of a hire you are not ready to make.
Who it is for
Sponsors who need a recommendation before a commitment
This fits an owner choosing between a product and a build, a team that inherited a system nobody can explain, and a company that wants a technical lead a few days a week. It fits poorly when you already know the scope and only need hands to implement it, or when the engagement is expected to bless a decision that has already been made.
Before a build
You want the smallest useful version named, including what it will not do.
Before a purchase
A vendor proposal needs someone who does not sell that product to read it.
Alongside your engineers
They need sequencing and review, not a second team that rewrites their work.
After a stalled project
The question is what is salvageable, not a fresh slide deck.
How we work
Look at the workflow and the system you already have
We read what exists: a walkthrough, a sample of the records, a repository if there is one, and the proposal if you have one. We talk to the person who does the work, not only the person who sponsors it. The written output states the options, the risks, and a recommended next step. Where we would be the ones to build it, that interest is named so you can weigh it.
What decision is actually open?
Buy, build, repair, or wait. If none of those is open, consultancy will not help.
Who can show the current work?
A sponsor alone is not enough when the friction sits in the daily workflow.
What must the document let you do?
Brief another supplier, brief your own team, or ask us for a proposal. We write it so any of those is possible.
How much of our week do you need?
A bounded review, or a fractional lead with a named number of days. Both are scoped before they start.
Typical stack
Whatever you already run, described plainly
Consultancy does not arrive with a preferred platform. If a build follows, we often use Next.js, Go, and Postgres because they are understandable to a later team, and AWS, Azure, or Vercel when the hosting should match the workload. The recommendation can just as easily be to stay on the product you have and change the process around it.
Review
Your current systems
The product, the spreadsheet, the repository, or the proposal. We start there.
If you build
Next.js, Go, Postgres
A stack a later team can read, used when a custom system is actually justified.
If you host
AWS, Azure, or Vercel
Chosen for the workload and for who will operate it, not for a logo.
The deliverable
A written decision
Options, exclusions, and the next step. Slides are optional. The document is not.
Timeline ranges
A review is days or weeks. A fractional lead is a period you set.
These ranges are for planning. They move when the system cannot be seen, when several departments disagree about the workflow, or when the ask is really a build disguised as advice.
A few days
A focused read
One proposal, one workflow, or one repository, with a short written view.
2 to 4 weeks
Scoping and architecture
Interviews, a look at the current systems, and a recommendation another team could execute.
A defined period
Fractional engineering
A named cadence of reviews and decisions with your team, ended when the period ends or when you hire.
Process
How a consultancy engagement runs
The engagement ends with a document and a conversation about whether to proceed. Proceeding with Sunbeam is one option.
01
Name the decision
What you will do differently if the recommendation is clear.
02
See the current work
Access, a walkthrough, or a sample. Advice without that is a guess.
03
Write the options
Including the option to buy, to wait, or to do less than you first described.
04
State the risks
Data, permissions, hosting, and the parts a later team would struggle to operate.
05
Recommend one path
Not a menu with no preference. You can disagree, and the document should still be useful if you do.
06
Leave it with you
You can brief us, brief someone else, or stop.
Who this is for
For teams ready to improve an important part of the business.
- Owners choosing between buying and building
- Teams that inherited a system nobody can explain
- Companies that need a technical lead for a defined period
Frequently asked questions
Useful questions before you begin.
Does consultancy assume we will hire Sunbeam to build it?
No. The document is written so you can brief us, brief another team, or stop. If we would benefit from a later build, that is stated.
What is fractional engineering?
A senior engineer working with your team on a named cadence, for reviews, sequencing, and decisions, rather than a full-time hire.
Can you review a quote from another supplier?
Yes. We look at whether the quote matches the workflow and what it leaves out.
Do you publish day rates?
No. The shape of the engagement and the fee are in a written proposal after we know the decision you need to make.
Related capabilities
One connected engineering team.
Technology consulting
Technology consulting for businesses that need a clear technical roadmap, software architecture review or trusted engineering guidance.
Custom software development
Custom software development for businesses in Lucknow, across India, and in the Gulf, the UK and the US. Systems built around the workflow you already run.
Cloud and infrastructure
Cloud and infrastructure setup on AWS, Azure or Vercel, with CI/CD, backups and monitoring. Sunbeam is based in Lucknow and works worldwide.
Considering whether a custom approach is justified? Read our build-versus-buy decision guides, explore industry workflows, or review how ownership and handover work.
Start with the business problem, not the technology.
Tell us what is getting in the way. We will help identify a useful next step.