Advisory Finance
Sanlam
Research into how customers contact Sanlam came first, then a knowledge base that shows what they search for.
Decide what to build, and in what order, before you spend on it.
Realm helps leadership teams settle what needs to change, where technology and AI fit, and what to do first. The people who give the advice are the people who would build it.
Why advice comes first
Most expensive projects go wrong before anyone writes code.
A build that starts from a solution, rather than a problem, tends to deliver the solution on time and leave the problem untouched. The platform was chosen before the requirements were known, the integrations were scoped as an afterthought, or the people who would use the system were never asked how they work.
Advisory work is where those assumptions get tested. We look at the systems you run, the way work moves through the business and what customers are trying to do, then say what should change and in what order. Sometimes that means a build. Sometimes it means changing a process, configuring a tool you already pay for, or leaving something alone.
Four questions advisory work answers
Start with the one closest to the decision in front of you.
What should we build first? Your systems, your budget, the requests competing for both, and what each one is worth. A sequenced roadmap with rough costs and dependencies.
Learn More: Strategy and Roadmap
Why does this work take so long? How a process runs across teams and systems, step by step, with the people who do it. A simpler process, and a view on which steps are worth automating.
Learn More: Operations and Process
Are we building the right thing for customers? How customers and staff behave, through interviews, testing and journey mapping. Evidence for what to change, ranked by impact.
Learn More: Customer and User Experience
Where does AI fit? The processes, decisions and data where AI could save time or improve service. A short list of uses worth testing, and the ones to leave alone.
Learn More: AI Strategy
How an advisory engagement runs
The same four stages, whether the work takes a fortnight or a quarter.
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Stage 1: Discovery
We meet the people involved, review systems, processes and data, and agree the questions the work has to answer.
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Stage 2: Analysis
We map where time, money and customers are lost, compare the realistic options and test the assumptions behind each.
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Stage 3: Recommendation
You get a recommendation, the reasoning behind it, and a roadmap that sets out what comes first and what it depends on.
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Stage 4: Delivery and review
If you want us to build it, the same team carries the plan into delivery and checks results against what was agreed.
Our advisory work
Advisory Health and Wellness
Healthcare administration group
An independent digital assessment: 7 stakeholder interviews, 400+ pages reviewed and a prioritised transformation roadmap.
Advisory Other
Industrial solutions provider
An independent strategy engagement that sharpened direction and leadership alignment for a confidential industrial provider.
Advisory Other
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
Mapped 8 workflows, 5 user roles and 7 report types into a blueprint for a case management system.
Jandre De Milander CEO, Computer Mania “This partnership is about more than just tech. It's about aligning with a team that understands our business and brings the strategic firepower to help us evolve.”
Advisory FAQs
Do we have to use Realm to build what you recommend?
No. The roadmap is written so your own team or another supplier can take it forward. If you want us to deliver it, the same people carry it through.
Can an advisory engagement stand on its own?
Yes. Many start as a short assessment, and it is often the most useful part of a project because it stops budget going into the wrong build.
How is advisory different from a consultancy report?
The recommendation comes from people who design, build and support systems, so it accounts for what the work will take to deliver and run.
Who should be involved from our side?
The people who own the budget, the people who run the processes in question and, where it matters, a few of the people who use the systems every day.
Latest insights
Tell us what you're trying to decide.
Give us a sense of where the business is and what's on the table. The first conversation is about the problem, not a proposal.
