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Findings

The findings matter. So do the gaps.

A real examination of a technology estate surfaces more than opportunities. It finds what is wrong, and what cannot yet be proven. These findings come from NarrowGateX advisory work, each with its evidence grade and what that grade rests on. Where the evidence stops, the entry says so.

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Every finding carries one grade
Verified
Evidence directly supports the record.
Supported
Several signals make the record credible, but it has not reached Verified.
Assumed
Believed to be true, without evidence sufficient to support it.
Missing
Information the record needs is absent.
Conflicting
The available evidence disagrees with itself.
See the Evidence Standard
From the ledger

What the record turned up.

  1. VerifiedLocations

    multi-location operatorAdded

    A location that had closed was still being billed for service after it shut.

    Rests on The charge appears on the invoice, and the client confirmed the site was closed.

  2. VerifiedServices

    multi-location operatorAdded

    The same service was billed twice at one site, and one of the two was not in use.

    Rests on Both charges appear on the invoice for the same address, and the client confirmed only one was in use.

  3. VerifiedInvoices

    multi-location operatorAdded

    Monthly billing increased and no one on the client side noticed it happen.

    Rests on Invoice-to-invoice comparison across consecutive months.

  4. VerifiedInvoices

    multi-location operatorAdded

    Invoices carried fees the contract did not provide for, and the provider removed them once the discrepancy was raised.

    Rests on The invoice line items reconciled against the executed contract, which named no such fees.

  5. SupportedProviders

    multi-location operatorAdded

    Services split across multiple vendors were costing more than a consolidated estate at higher speeds and stronger service levels.

    Rests on Contracted rates before and after consolidation.

    Not established The comparison rests on the consolidated estate that replaced it, not on a market benchmark taken at the time.

  6. SupportedRenewals

    multi-location operatorAdded

    The incumbent's renewal rate was not the best rate the incumbent would give.

    Rests on The signed renewal against the prior contract, same provider, same services.

    Not established What the rate would have been without the negotiation is not documented.

What a Baseline has shown

Nothing was hidden. It was never in one place.

Three findings from NarrowGateX advisory work, from two separate engagements. Each one appeared when invoices, contracts and locations were put in one record.

  • Real engagement

    Same service. Same statement. Two prices.

    The same internet service, at the same speed, from one provider, billed at two different prices across five sites on the same monthly statement. On its own, each line raised no question. Side by side, they did.

  • Real engagement

    The location closed. The bill did not.

    Sites recorded as closed were still billed for connectivity and support. The closure happened in operations. The charges kept arriving in finance.

  • Real engagement

    The records disagreed, and the Baseline said so.

    A master agreement's original term had ended years earlier, and its services were still billing. The records disagreed on how it had renewed, and the provider's account of its terms matched no document on file. The Baseline graded the agreement Conflicting rather than pick a side.

The gaps count too

Not knowing is a finding.

When leadership has to decide from the record, a missing agreement or two sources that disagree matter as much as a charge that should not be there. A Technology Baseline records them the same way.

Sample data

  • MissingVoice / UCaaSInvoiced, no agreement on file.
  • ConflictingInvoice against commitmentThe latest invoice total falls outside the contract's monthly commitment, so it stays open for review.
  • SupportedEndpoint protectionCompany-wide, site not itemized.
What happens to a finding

A finding is not a recommendation.

  1. The record is in question
  2. More evidence: the agreement recovered, the source corrected.
  3. The record is updated, or the gap stays marked.
  1. A choice is in question
  2. Your Technology Advisor recommends what should change.
  3. You decide.

Every finding starts from the record.

A Technology Baseline establishes what you have, what you pay, what you are committed to, and what cannot yet be verified, at every location.

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