The most common questions we receive cluster around data security, methodology, pricing, and how the engagement actually works in practice. The answers below are designed to give you what you need to make an informed decision, particularly on the data security questions, which we treat as non-negotiable.
This is the most important section of this page. Read it carefully.
Every engagement is conducted under a mutual NDA. All deal data is processed in Ireland, never leaves the EU, and is deleted at the end of the engagement. We do not retain data, do not use client material to train models, and do not reference identifiable client information in any external communication. Composite case studies on this site are anonymised pattern illustrations, not specific clients.
Realistically: very. To produce useful forensic analysis we typically need access to material that includes:
This is commercially sensitive at an extreme level. Our handling of it reflects that.
It is deleted. Permanently. From every system it touched. We operate a strict zero-retention policy:
You may request earlier deletion at any time. We will confirm in writing once deletion is complete.
All analysis is conducted in Ireland, on hardware physically located in Cork. Data does not leave the EU at any point during the engagement.
This matters for two reasons. First, GDPR Article 44 transfer requirements do not apply because no third-country transfer occurs. Second, several enterprise procurement teams (particularly in financial services and healthcare) require contractual confirmation of EU-only processing. We can provide that confirmation in writing as part of the engagement.
We do not use third-party cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) for client deal data processing. AI inference is performed via API calls to model providers under zero-retention enterprise agreements where supported, with prompt and response data not retained by the provider.
No. Under no circumstances.
The Kinetic Engine uses commercial Anthropic Claude API endpoints under their enterprise zero-retention terms. Anthropic does not train models on customer-submitted data and does not retain inputs or outputs beyond the request lifecycle.
We do not maintain our own training pipeline. We do not fine-tune. We do not use client material to improve our own product or methodology in any way that would persist client-identifiable information.
Currently: a Simuka Deal Director, and only a Simuka Deal Director. Simuka is a single-operator advisory. There are no analysts, junior consultants, contractors, or external collaborators with access to client material.
If that changes in the future (for example, if Simuka adds a research analyst), every individual with potential access will sign a separate confidentiality agreement aligned to the original engagement NDA, and clients will be notified before the change takes effect.
Our operational practices are aligned to SOC 2 Type II principles: encrypted storage at rest, encrypted transmission, access logging, zero-retention by default, and incident response procedures. We are not formally SOC 2 certified; certification is on the roadmap once engagement volume warrants the audit cost.
GDPR: Yes, fully compliant. Simuka acts as a data processor under Article 28 for any personal data within deal material. A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is available on request and is typically included in our standard engagement terms.
ISO 27001: Not formally certified. Same reasoning as SOC 2. Practices are aligned to the framework.
If your procurement team requires formal certification before engagement, we'll let you know upfront so you can route the decision appropriately. We do not claim certifications we do not hold.
Our standard NDA is mutual and includes:
If your legal team prefers to use your own NDA template, we accept that in most cases; we'll review and revert with minor amendments if required.
Not without your explicit written consent. Ever.
The case studies on this website are composite, built from common patterns across enterprise SaaS deal failures, not from specific client engagements. We do not publish identifiable client information under any circumstances.
If, at some point, you decide you would like to be referenced or quoted publicly (some clients do, after a successful engagement), we'll draft something for your review and you'll have full editorial control before anything is published.
How the analysis actually works.
A Simuka Deal Director approves every artifact. The Kinetic Engine produces the draft.
Here is how it works: the Kinetic Engine runs the forensic analysis: 20 specialist agents working in parallel across your deal data. That produces a structured first draft. A Simuka Deal Director then reviews the output: checking the diagnosis, validating the recommended interventions, and approving the final artifact before it is sent to you.
You will never receive a Simuka artifact that has not been personally reviewed and approved by a Simuka Deal Director. The status message during this phase is always "Quality review in progress", never "Generating" or "Processing." That language is deliberate. It reflects what is actually happening.
The AI does not replace deal-director judgement. It extends his capacity to run the depth of forensic analysis that would otherwise require a full deal director team. The artifact you receive is a Deal Director's work product, not a generated output.
The Kinetic Engine is a multi-agent AI system: 20 specialist agents running in parallel, each analysing a different dimension of your deal (stakeholder dynamics, commercial structure, procurement environment, competitive landscape, risk profile, etc.). The outputs are synthesised by a master agent into a single forensic deliverable.
It is not "ChatGPT-with-a-prompt" analysis. Each agent has its own validated prompt architecture, structured output schemas, and a hub-and-spoke orchestration layer that ensures consistency across the analysis. The Simuka team reviews and validates every artifact before it is sent.
Forensic analysis is constrained by the quality of the input. The Kinetic Engine can only diagnose what the source material reveals. If you provide rich, verbatim source material (transcripts, email threads, internal notes), the analysis is substantially more accurate than if you provide summary-level descriptions.
This is why our intake form prioritises raw source documents over summaries, and why we follow up after intake with specific document requests if we identify gaps.
For Phase 0 specifically: if we cannot produce a clear, defensible diagnosis from the material provided, we will tell you that, and the engagement is free under the Simuka Guarantee.
Our forensic methodology analyses every deal across four dimensions: Executive Buyer Psychology (stakeholder landscape, hidden risk, political dynamics), Elite Positioning (value framing, Cost of Inaction, outcome-level selling), Advanced Commercial Structuring (procurement risk reduction, phased deployment language), and Enterprise AI Data Governance (InfoSec block resolution, SOC 2 alignment, regulatory documentation).
Most stalled deals fail across multiple vectors simultaneously. The framework forces us to analyse all four, even when the obvious blocker appears to sit in only one.
How the process works in practice.
Submit an intake through our intake form (link from any service page). We confirm receipt within hours and let you know the next step:
If you're not sure which service you need, the Triage Call is the right starting point. We diagnose your situation in 30 minutes and recommend the right intervention.
It depends on the service. For diagnostics (S07-S08), we need basic deal context: stage, value, stakeholders involved, the symptoms you're seeing. For interventions (S09-S13), we need more: deal history, procurement environment, stakeholder map, supporting documents. For elite services (S02-S04), we conduct an additional scoping call before formal intake.
The intake wizard adapts to the service you select: you only see questions relevant to your engagement.
After intake, we provide a secure Dropbox File Request link specific to your engagement. Documents uploaded via that link go directly to an encrypted client folder, not into general Dropbox sharing or email.
If your security policy prohibits Dropbox, we can accept documents via encrypted email, SFTP, or your own secure transfer service. Tell us during intake.
Every deliverable is provided as both PDF (final, presentation-ready) and DOCX (editable, in case you want to adapt the artifact for internal distribution). Some services include additional formats: the AI Governance Pack, for example, includes a pre-filled vendor risk questionnaire in the standard enterprise format.
All output is boardroom-ready: British English, BLUF format, professionally formatted. You should be able to send most artifacts to your client without amendment.
The Simuka Guarantee applies to the Phase 0 Forensic Audit (S07) and the Phase 0 component of Phase 0 Plus (S08). It states: "If we don't show you a clear path forward, you don't pay."
Practically: if after delivery you believe the audit has not produced a defensible forensic diagnosis and a clear set of next actions, we refund the engagement fee in full. The guarantee is not a "money back if the deal doesn't close" guarantee (deal outcomes depend on execution variables we don't control): it is a guarantee on the quality and clarity of the diagnostic output.
Pricing, payment, and how we work with finance teams.
Pricing is shown in the intake wizard once you select a service. We keep prices off the main service pages so that the service descriptions are the focal point during evaluation, not the price.
If you need the price before completing intake, the Triage Call (S12) is €500 and the Phase 0 Forensic Audit (S07) is €5,000. The full price list spans €500 to €25,000 depending on service scope.
For diagnostic and intervention services (S07-S13): payment is upfront via Stripe or invoice with bank transfer. Engagement begins upon payment confirmation.
For elite and retainer services (S02-S04): we issue an invoice with NET 14 terms upon engagement start. Retainer services are invoiced monthly in advance.
All prices are quoted ex-VAT. Irish VAT (23%) applies to Irish clients. EU clients with valid VAT numbers are zero-rated under the reverse charge mechanism. Non-EU clients are zero-rated.
Yes. The 13 standard services cover the most common deal failure patterns, but complex situations sometimes require a custom scope. Contact us directly via the Triage Call to discuss; we'll let you know if your situation fits a standard service or warrants a bespoke proposal.
Email the Simuka team directly. Most questions get a response within a few hours during European business hours.
Email the team