Frequently asked questions

What does a SIMO engagement cost?

Engagements are scoped individually after the 30-minute discovery call. Order of magnitude: well below Big-Four day rates, in line with specialist mid-market consultancies, with SIMOSphere AI platform license included. We do not publish packages because no two engagements are identical.

How long does a typical AI implementation take?

Discovery call (30 min, free) → blueprint session (analysis of your data and use cases) → first working prototype after 4-6 weeks on your real data. Full production rollout typically 3-6 months, depending on data landscape and compliance requirements.

Which foundation models does SIMOSphere AI support?

SIMOSphere AI is LLM-agnostic. Currently supported are Anthropic Claude (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku), OpenAI GPT-4 and GPT-5, Mistral, the Llama family and on-premise open-source models. Switch between vendors any time. No lock-in.

Is SIMOSphere AI GDPR-compliant?

Yes. Fully GDPR-native. Hosting on-premise, in EU cloud (Hetzner, OVH, IONOS) or hybrid. Data Processing Agreement (Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag) per GDPR Article 28 included by default. Data-never-leaves-your-control guarantee for regulated clients.

How does SIMO align with the EU AI Act?

EU AI Act compliance is standard, not add-on. We deliver: risk classification per Article 6, technical documentation per Article 11 and Annex IV, transparency obligations per Article 13, data governance per Article 10. Audit-ready pipelines with model lineage and bias reports.

Can I run on-premise or do I have to go cloud?

Both available. On-premise on your hardware or in your data center. EU cloud at Hetzner, OVH, IONOS, T-Systems. Hybrid with on-premise inference and cloud training. You choose, we deliver.

What sets SIMO apart from Databricks or Palantir?

Databricks and Palantir are platforms. You buy the tool and have to provide the strategy and delivery yourself or buy them in. We deliver both from one team: the SIMOSphere AI platform together with the strategy and implementation work around it. Plus LLM-agnostic and without US contract terms. Full comparison at /compare.

Who actually works on my project?

CTO Andreas Schwan (Diplom-Mathematiker, 20+ years of banking data architecture) is actively involved in every engagement. Plus an 8-person senior team. No junior pyramid, no pitch-and-leave model. Whoever pitches you also builds.

Who are SIMO clients?

Banking portfolio: Dresdner Bank, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Standard Chartered, S Broker, VR Smart Finanz, German Banking Association Audit Office. Industry: TRUMPF. Plus mid-market clients in regulated industries whose names are under NDA.

Does SIMO have a public API?

No. SIMO is a consulting business, not an API-first SaaS. Machine-readable discovery for agents lives at /llms.txt, /.well-known/agent-skills/, /.well-known/agents.json. Actual programmatic integration is part of an engagement, not self-serve.

Is there a free trial or sandbox?

No self-serve trial. The 30-minute discovery call and the blueprint session are free. After the discovery call, you know whether SIMO is the right partner. If not, we tell you honestly.

What language do engagements run in?

German is the default. English on request. Contracts under German law, in line with the German Commercial Code (HGB), jurisdiction Aschaffenburg.

What happens after the discovery call?

You receive a written scoping memo, one to two pages, with our read, order of magnitude and recommendation. Including the option of "SIMO is not the right fit, talk to vendor X". A binding proposal only follows the optional blueprint session.

Can I book SIMO for strategy advice only, without the platform?

Yes. Pure strategy engagements (Fractional CTO, AI audit, EU AI Act readiness review) are available without a SIMOSphere AI license. Hybrid engagements are more common because strategy and platform sharpen each other.

Does SIMO offer a Fractional CMO service?

Yes, for AI-driven marketing organizations. Details at /cmo. Typically 1-2 days per week, 3-9 months duration.