ADVISE · CONSULTING & ARCHITECTURE
Make the Right Platform Decision Before You Commit.
Start with workload analysis, architectural options, source readiness, operating model and a pragmatic implementation roadmap. Bassirah architects compare partner-led, open-source and hybrid routes against your real requirements, so your platform choice is documented, defensible and ready to build.
WHEN TO ENGAGE
When an Architecture Engagement Pays Off
Architecture work is most valuable before money, data and teams are committed to a direction that is hard to reverse.
You are choosing between platforms
Several engines, databases or distributions could work, and you need an evidence-based comparison rather than a vendor pitch.
You are weighing partner-led versus open-source
You need to understand where commercial licensing, vendor-backed support or community software best fits your risk profile and budget.
Your current platform has hit its limits
Concurrency, data volumes, cost or governance requirements have outgrown the original design, and incremental fixes are no longer enough.
You need a defensible decision record
Leadership, security, procurement or audit teams need to see the options considered, the trade-offs and the reasons for the final choice.
WHAT WE DO
Included Activities
Every engagement is scoped to your objectives. These are the activities we typically include.
Current-state assessment
- Inventory of platforms, data sources, integrations and consumers
- Review of existing architecture documentation and known pain points
- Interviews with platform, data, security and business stakeholders
Requirements and non-functional requirements
- Workload profiles: query patterns, concurrency, data volumes and growth
- Latency, availability, recovery and retention objectives
- Security, residency and regulatory constraints captured as testable requirements
TCO and licensing evaluation
- Infrastructure, licensing, support and staffing cost drivers per option
- Commercial versus community licensing implications, including source-available licences
- Assumptions documented so the model can be revisited as inputs change
Target architecture
- Component responsibilities and data flows across storage, query, transformation, metadata and AI layers
- Option comparison with explicit trade-offs
- Integration points with identity, networking and existing applications
Security and resilience design
- Authentication, authorization and encryption patterns
- High-availability, backup and disaster-recovery approach aligned to stated objectives
- Observability and operational readiness considerations
Implementation backlog and roadmap
- Phased roadmap with dependencies and decision points
- Prioritized backlog ready for implementation teams
- Proof-of-concept scope and success criteria where validation is needed
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Example Deliverables
Deliverables are agreed at scoping. A typical architecture engagement produces the following.
| Deliverable | What it contains | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture decision records (ADRs) | Each significant decision, the options considered, trade-offs and the rationale for the choice | Architects, security, audit and future maintainers |
| Reference design | Component diagram, data flows, integration points and environment layout | Engineering and platform teams |
| Sizing assumptions | Workload inputs, capacity assumptions and the factors that would change them | Platform, infrastructure and finance teams |
| TCO and licensing comparison | Cost drivers and licensing considerations per option, with documented assumptions | Leadership and procurement |
| Risk register | Technical, operational and delivery risks with suggested mitigations | Program leadership |
| Phased roadmap and backlog | Sequenced phases, dependencies, proof-of-concept scope and an implementation-ready backlog | Delivery leads and implementation teams |
Want to see what a decision record looks like?
Ask us to walk through a sample ADR structure in a short call.
ENGAGEMENT PHASES
How the Engagement Works
- Scoping callAgree objectives, systems in scope, stakeholders, timeline and the deliverables that define completion.
- DiscoveryReview documentation, interview stakeholders and collect workload, volume and constraint data.
- Architecture workshop(s)Work through options with your architects and engineers, test assumptions and narrow the shortlist together.
- Design and documentationProduce the target architecture, ADRs, sizing assumptions, TCO comparison and risk register.
- Readout and roadmapPresent findings to technical and executive stakeholders, agree the roadmap and define the proof of concept or implementation next step.
TECHNOLOGY COVERAGE
Technologies We Architect With
We recommend technologies around your workloads, not around a fixed stack. Our architects work across both portfolios.
| Platform | Typical architecture focus |
|---|---|
| ClickHouse | Real-time and high-concurrency analytical stores |
| Starburst | Enterprise federated SQL and lakehouse access |
| Redis | Low-latency serving, caching and feature lookup |
| Langfuse | LLM and agent observability, evaluation and tracing |
| MinIO AIStor | S3-compatible object storage and table services where supported |
| Platform | Typical architecture focus |
|---|---|
| Trino OSS | Federated SQL over lakehouse and existing stores |
| ClickHouse OSS | Self-managed analytical stores |
| dbt Core & dbt OSS | SQL transformation and analytics engineering workflows |
| DataHub Core | Metadata, discovery and lineage |
| PostgreSQL | Transactional and application databases |
| MongoDB Community | Document databases (source-available, SSPL) |
| Apache Cassandra | Wide-column, write-heavy distributed workloads |
Comparing routes? Trino OSS vs Starburst Enterprise · ClickHouse OSS or partner-led ClickHouse
Independent recommendations.
Architecture recommendations are based on your requirements. Where Bassirah recommends a community platform, our support for it is independent engineering and does not include upstream vendor support, vendor security fixes or vendor escalation. Partner-led options are subject to each vendor’s licensing and entitlements.
PREREQUISITES
What We Need From You
A productive architecture engagement depends on access to the right people and information. Before discovery starts, we ask for:
- A named sponsor and a technical point of contact
- Business objectives and the decisions this engagement must support
- Existing architecture diagrams, platform inventories and known issues (whatever exists today)
- Indicative workload data: data volumes, growth, query patterns and concurrency
- Security, compliance and data residency requirements that apply
- Time with key stakeholders for interviews and workshops
- Current licensing and support contracts, where relevant to the TCO comparison
Missing some of this? That is common. Gaps become part of the discovery findings.
Consulting & Architecture FAQ
Do you always recommend your partner platforms?
No. We assess workloads, latency, compliance, operating model and total cost of ownership first, then recommend a partner-led route, an open-source route or a deliberate combination. The reasoning is recorded in architecture decision records.
Can the engagement include a proof of concept?
Yes. Where an option needs validation, we define the proof-of-concept scope and success criteria as part of the roadmap, and can deliver it as a follow-on implementation engagement.
What does the TCO evaluation include?
Infrastructure, licensing, support and staffing cost drivers for each option, with assumptions documented. It is a decision framework based on your inputs, not a guaranteed savings figure.
Do we keep the architecture documents?
Yes. All deliverables are yours, and they are written so your teams, or another implementer, can act on them.
Can you review an architecture designed by another team?
Yes. An independent architecture review follows the same activities, focused on risks, gaps and improvement options in the existing design.
Related Solutions
Decide With Evidence, Then Build With Confidence
Tell us which decision you are facing. We will propose a focused architecture engagement and the outputs you need.