What We Do · Advisory
Advisory, built to withstand scrutiny
bigspark advises regulated enterprises using proven methods learned working with Tier 1 banks and regulators. Our deepest work is AI readiness — but the same practitioner-led, audit-ready approach extends across data platforms and software engineering, aligning delivery with your strategy, governance, technology and infrastructure so that traceability and auditability are built in.
Advisory across the stack
The same practitioner-led, audit-ready approach — applied wherever you need it. AI readiness is our flagship and most in-demand practice; data and engineering advisory build on the same foundations.
AI readiness & governance
Our deepest advisory practice: aligning AI adoption with strategy, regulation and infrastructure so it withstands scrutiny — detailed below.
- Business intent & risk appetite
- Regulatory gap analysis & AI governance
- Full-lifecycle delivery, priced on outcomes
Architecture for governed data
Target-state architecture and platform strategy for modern, well-governed data — the foundation everything else is built on.
- Target architecture & build-vs-buy
- Migration & modernisation strategy
- Data governance, quality & lineage
Engineering practice & delivery
Practitioner advice on how you build — grounded in what our forward deployed engineers deliver every day.
- Architecture & code review
- Delivery operating models & DevOps/SRE
- Technical due diligence
AI Advisory in depth. For AI specifically, we work fluently across the regimes and standards that govern regulated industries:
How we engage
A simple, repeatable method — accelerated by our library of tools and machine-readable rule bases.
Identify your need
We start by understanding where you are, your risk appetite and the regulatory context you operate in.
Scope the need
We define the outcome, the constraints and the path to it — sized to your organisation's maturity.
Deliver the response
We deliver using state-of-the-art techniques and our library of reusable tools and accelerators.
Our AI Advisory services
Our flagship AI practice in depth — ready-to-go services, offered as clear SKUs and charged on outcomes, at every stage of the AI lifecycle.
Set your AI direction — board-ready
- Facilitated workshop to set AI principles and risk appetite
- Build vs. buy vs. partner posture advice, based on organisation size and risk profile
- Use-case prioritisation scored against your risk appetite and jurisdiction
Know your exposure, close the gaps
- Horizon scanning for relevant regimes (UK GDPR/ICO, FCA/PRA, EU AI Act) to gauge regulatory exposure
- Gap analysis against law, regulator guidance and standards (ISO 42001, NIST AI RMF) with a prioritised remediation plan
- Drafting and updating AI-specific policy and standards, ready for legal and audit
Embed AI accountability into how you run
- Target operating model design — where AI accountability sits relative to model risk and data governance
- Accountability structure mapped to SMCR and other territorial regimes
- Role-specific training
- Operating procedures across the AI lifecycle: intake, development, validation, deployment, monitoring, retirement
Control from experiment to production
- Build and maintain an AI inventory / register
- Approval checkpoint design — a proven control from experiment to production
- Independent governance control and validation
- Reporting tailored to board, regulator and Internal Audit
Hands-on delivery in a regulated setting
- Experimentation and validation of AI use cases with cost and ROI estimates
- Data pipeline monitoring for drift, quality degradation and lineage
- Bias and fairness testing — pre-deployment and ongoing
- Explainability documentation, contestability and redress handling
- Licence, provenance and IP review across training data, third-party and open-source models
- Third-party / vendor AI risk assessment and AI incident response playbooks
- Change management, staff communications and ongoing audit-readiness reviews
What makes us different
Legal and engineering, together
Our workforce is trained across legal, AI product and engineering methods — so advice is grounded in what can actually be built and defended.
Machine-readable regulatory rule bases
Our accelerators encode regulation and proven best practice, so we start from a library rather than a blank page.
Composable, reusable solutions
Rapid delivery at any stage of the AI lifecycle and any level of organisational maturity. No job is too big or too small.
Priced on outcomes
Ready-to-go services offered as clear SKUs and charged on outcomes — simple to buy, easy to scope.
Frequently asked questions
What does bigspark's advisory cover?
Three connected practices for regulated enterprises: AI readiness and governance (our flagship), data and platform architecture, and software engineering practice. The same practitioner-led, audit-ready approach applies across all three.
Which regulations and standards do you work across?
For AI specifically we work fluently across the EU AI Act, DORA, ISO 42001 and ISO 22989, UK GDPR / ICO guidance, FCA and PRA rules, SMCR and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.
Do you only advise, or do you build as well?
Both. Our advice is practitioner-led, and our forward-deployed engineers deliver full-lifecycle work — from experimentation and validation through to deployment, bias testing and ongoing data-pipeline and model monitoring.
How is advisory priced?
As ready-to-go services offered as clear SKUs and charged on outcomes, so engagements are simple to buy and easy to scope — sized to your organisation's maturity and risk appetite.
How do we get started?
We begin with a short, facilitated session to understand where you are, your risk appetite and the regulatory context you operate in, then scope the outcome and a path to it. Get in touch via our contact page to arrange it.
Ready for advisory that stands up to scrutiny?
Talk to us about advisory across AI, data platforms and software engineering — aligned with the regulation you operate under, whatever stage you're at.
Get in Touch