HorizonVale Holdings HorizonVale Holdings BV
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Engagement models

Four ways to work with HorizonVale

Some Belgian organisations need a fixed price they can put in a budget request. Some need people embedded in an existing team. Some just need a second opinion on an architecture someone else proposed. The four models below are shapes we run regularly, and the differences are commercial, not cosmetic.

See the four models Request a fixed-scope proposal
HorizonVale — Delivery
Agreed Acceptance criteria written
Fixed price, fixed scope

The register

Four ways to work with us

Each model answers a different question. Read the one-line shape first, then the paragraph — if the paragraph describes your situation, that is the model to open a conversation with.

Defined outcome

Fixed-scope build

Defined outcome, agreed price, written acceptance criteria

Best when the outcome is definable and you need a number before approval. We scope in writing, agree the acceptance criteria, and deliver against it. Changes that fall outside the agreed scope are estimated separately, so the fixed price stays a fixed price.

This suits a single custom application or a defined set of integrations. It works less well when the underlying data landscape is unknown, which is why we sometimes recommend an assessment first.

Discuss your scope
Your roadmap

Embedded delivery team

Your roadmap, our specialists, your tooling

Best when you already have a delivery function and need specific skills: integration architects, platform engineers, back-end developers. Our people join your ceremonies, use your tooling and report into your structure. You stay in control of priorities, and we scale up or down against your roadmap.

This suits organisations running continuous delivery, or building an internal capability rather than buying a finished product. It also fits when a permanent hire would be one specialist too many.

Discuss an embedded team
One to three weeks

Integration assessment

Written findings, rough effort, no build obligation

A short, fixed piece of work: one to three weeks, no build commitment afterwards. We map your systems, data flows and constraints, then give you a written view of options, risks and rough effort. It often reveals that the first move is smaller than expected.

This fits when you have a problem but no agreement yet on what to do about it. It is also a reasonable way to get a second opinion on an architecture someone else proposed.

Book an assessment
Live systems

Ongoing support retainer

Production systems, defined response times

For systems already in production. A monthly agreement covering monitoring, incident response, small changes and platform upgrades. Response times and coverage are specified up front.

It suits organisations that built something with us or with another partner and need it looked after by people who understand it. We review the estate before agreeing to it, because taking on something undocumented isn't honest support.

Ask about support terms
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Before you commit

Choosing between them

Three questions usually settle it, and they take a single conversation to answer honestly. There is no penalty for starting small — most retainer relationships here began as a three-week assessment.

  1. Can you write down what "done" means?

    If yes, fixed scope is efficient and the price can be agreed before approval. If the answer keeps changing as you talk, that is the signal to scope as an assessment instead.

  2. Do you already have a delivery team?

    If yes, embedded specialists usually integrate better than a full project handover — your ceremonies, your tooling, your priorities, our specific skills added where the gap actually is.

  3. Is the problem still unclear?

    Then start with the assessment and spend the build budget once you know what you are building. It is a fixed fee, and it carries no obligation to continue with us afterwards.

No build obligation after an assessment NDAs signed before the first technical call

How pricing works

Four commercial shapes, four rate structures

The rate structure follows the model, not the other way round. We do not bill for the first scoping conversation.

Fixed-scope build
Priced as a lump sum against the agreed scope. Changes outside it are estimated separately before any work starts.
Embedded delivery team
Day-rate based, with a monthly figure agreed in advance so it fits your budget cycle.
Integration assessment
A fixed fee for the one-to-three-week piece of work, agreed before it starts.
Support retainer
A monthly figure covering monitoring, incident response, small changes and platform upgrades.

If we think your project isn't a fit for HorizonVale, we will say so in the first scoping conversation rather than after a proposal. Bills are issued monthly against delivered work, and if your budget cycle needs a purchase order or a specific invoicing format, tell us at scoping and it is handled from there.

What we need from you

Settings that keep programmes moving

Projects stall most often on the second and fourth of these. The technology is rarely the bottleneck — the surrounding agreement and access usually are.

  • Decision-maker

    Someone who can sign off scope, or who can get a signature quickly enough that the scope doesn't drift while it waits.

  • Technical contact

    Someone who knows the systems day to day — they do not need to be on the project full time, but they should be reachable.

  • Environment access

    Access to test and staging environments when the time comes. We ask early enough that it is never the item blocking the first delivery.

  • An honest answer

    What is broken today — including the parts people work around rather than report. That, more than anything else, shapes a useful scope.

If the surrounding constraints are still unclear, that is exactly the situation the integration assessment is built for. Three weeks of mapping, in writing, with no commitment to build afterwards.

Book an assessment

Terms and flexibility

The commercial details on the table

Agreements are in English, governed by Belgian law, with a stated notice period on retainer arrangements. Bills are issued monthly against delivered work. If your budget cycle requires a purchase order or a specific invoicing format, tell us at scoping and it is handled.

We work with clients who need an NDA before the first technical conversation. That is normal here, and it doesn't slow anything down.

Next step

Tell us which of the four shapes fits, and we will say in that first conversation whether it is the right one for what you actually have. No obligation, no proposal before you have decided how you want to work with us.

Discuss an embedded team Ask about support terms