Collaboration
How we work together, what kind of relationship this is and what you can expect.
How does a collaboration start?
We start with an introductory meeting and a brief intake. We then prepare a proposal with the scope, agreements and a realistic schedule. Only after approval do we begin setup, handover and management.
Do you also undertake one-off projects?
Projects can be part of the collaboration, but we do not deliver one-off projects without ongoing management. This is necessary to ensure stability and accountability.
What kinds of organisations is this intended for?
Often up to approximately 25 employees, as long as the environment remains manageable.
Services
What we deliver in practical terms, separate from boundaries or conditions.
What exactly do you deliver?
At its core: managed infrastructure, websites and applications as part of the environment, and automation and integrations. Always with documentation, handover and management as the starting point.
Do you also provide automation and integrations?
Yes, especially where they reduce manual work or prevent errors. We consider not only whether something can be done, but also its maintainability: what happens where, and who will be able to understand it later.
Can you also take on something small?
Yes, provided it fits within a managed environment and there are clear agreements about follow-up and management. “Small” is often fine; “standalone” is usually the problem.
Scope
Where the boundaries lie and what is and is not covered by the agreements.
What do you not provide?
We do not use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace as a starting point, do not provide an hourly help desk, and do not undertake extensive compliance programmes for highly regulated sectors subject to certification requirements.
Can we retain our existing choices?
Sometimes, but not if they structurally obstruct management or security. If choices are not open to discussion, we cannot take responsibility for the environment as a whole.
What if we retain other suppliers?
That is possible, but it must be clear who is responsible for what. We agree in advance which components fall within our responsibility and which remain outside it.
Management
What management means in practice, why it is needed and what it delivers.
What do you mean by “management as the standard”?
It means we do not merely deliver something, but also keep it operational: patches, maintenance, monitoring, incident handling and continuous improvement. Without this, technical debt and unpredictability quickly arise.
How do you ensure handover and documentation?
We use standard documentation: an overview of components, access, backup and restore, monitoring and recovery procedures. This makes management transferable and less dependent on one person.
Does management mean there is “always work”?
Management is primarily about preventing small issues from becoming large ones. Much happens in the background. When something does change, having context and an overview is precisely what helps.
Responsibility
Who is responsible for what, and what does and does not lie with Digikwal.
Who is responsible for what?
Digikwal is responsible for the IT environment within the agreed scope. The client is responsible for policies and choices outside that scope, or for external suppliers that remain outside the collaboration.
What does “a single point of contact” mean in practice?
It means questions do not get stuck between parties. We safeguard cohesion and explain the impact, so that decisions remain aligned.
What if something goes wrong because of a choice we made?
We look at the cause and the solution without assigning blame. It is important, however, that agreements and responsibilities are clear in advance, so recovery and next steps remain predictable.
EU-first
Principles concerning infrastructure, data location and choices, without a compliance layer.
What does EU-first mean in practice?
Only when no viable EU alternative is available may we deviate from this. That choice is made explicit, substantiated and documented within the collaboration.
EU-first is not a marketing term, but a design choice.
Can non-EU software be used?
Only under strict conditions: the software runs on our EU infrastructure, its source code can be inspected (open source), and no mandatory external data processing takes place. If it does not meet these conditions, we do not use it.
Does this mean we have to replace systems we use every day?
Sometimes, if doing so provides peace of mind and control. We do not do this “because we have to”, but because dependencies would otherwise continue to accumulate.
Compliance
What we do and explicitly do not provide regarding certifications, audits and regulations.
Do you provide certifications or compliance programmes?
- practical security measures,
- clear configuration and documentation,
- demonstrable records of decisions and management.
Formal certification and audit programmes fall outside our scope.
Can you help with “demonstrability”?
Yes, in the practical sense: insight into what is running, who has access, which decisions were made and what was changed. This is often already enormously helpful, even without formal certification.
What if our sector imposes requirements?
We discuss that in advance. If extensive audit or certification obligations apply, a specialised provider is usually a better fit.
Costs
How pricing is determined, predictability and what affects costs.
Do you work with fixed prices?
For management, we generally use a fixed monthly agreement based on scope and complexity. For projects within the collaboration, we prepare a proposal with clear deliverables and conditions.
Can this keep becoming more expensive?
Not without consultation. If the scope or situation changes, we make that explicit. The aim is for costs to remain predictable and appropriate to what you need.
Can I purchase help only “occasionally”?
In principle, no. Occasional help without management almost always leads to fragmentation and unclear responsibility. If you mainly need occasional help, another provider is probably a better fit.
Contract
Duration, termination, changes, completion and handover.
What about contract duration and termination?
That depends on the scope and dependencies. We choose agreements that provide stability while remaining reasonable. We make this explicit during the introductory meeting and proposal, including what is needed for a proper handover when the collaboration ends.
What happens if we stop?
We then arrange a proper handover within the agreements. Documentation and transparency are part of how we work, so ending the collaboration is not a black box.
Can agreements be changed during the term?
Yes. If your organisation changes, the scope can change with it. We do this in a controlled way: first clarify what is changing, then make adjustments.
Practical matters
How day-to-day collaboration works in practice (channels and working method).
How do I contact you with questions or incidents?
Through the channels agreed within the collaboration. We keep communication centralised so that nothing becomes fragmented and follow-up remains traceable.
Do I have to provide or arrange everything at once?
No. We create an overview step by step. If something is missing (access, information or history), we resolve it together without assigning blame.
I do not know exactly how our IT is currently set up. Is that a problem?
No. That is often precisely the situation. We start with an inventory and explain what we see, so you regain control.
Support
What support means, how questions are handled and what to expect.
What are your response times?
We agree those based on impact and scope. Not everything is a P1, and that is precisely the point: we make it manageable and predictable.
Do I first have to assess how serious something is myself?
No. If you are unsure, contact us. We help you understand the issue and determine together what is needed.
Are support requests also documented?
Where relevant, yes. Not to make things complicated, but to prevent repetition and loose ends.
Availability
When we are and are not available, 24/7 service, escalation and boundaries.
What if there is an outage outside office hours?
Ongoing 24/7 expectations belong to a scale and complexity that generally falls outside our target group.
Is no help at all available outside office hours?
In exceptional situations, we can make arrangements appropriate to your environment. These are always explicit and part of the collaboration, never implicit.
How do you prevent everything from becoming “urgent”?
By agreeing on impact and priority. This keeps operations calm and leaves room for structural improvement.