# Egon Expert

> Independent technology advisory for startups, SMEs and investors. Fractional CTO and Chief AI Officer engagements, technical due diligence, legacy modernisation, cloud migration and engineering team building. Based in Berkshire, UK; working across the UK, Europe and the US.

Written by Rafal Skucha, who has held CTO and Head of Technology roles across fintech, e-commerce and media. Pages state what we think and where we would tell a client not to spend money; content is sourced to primary documents where it makes a factual claim.

Full HTML pages are also available as Markdown: send `Accept: text/markdown`.

## Services

- [Fractional CTO](https://egon-expert.com/services/fractional-cto): Part-time technology leadership for startups and SMEs
- [Fractional Chief AI Officer](https://egon-expert.com/services/fractional-chief-ai-officer): Part-time AI leadership: where AI pays in a business, and the rules around it
- [Technical Due Diligence](https://egon-expert.com/services/technical-due-diligence): Independent pre-investment and M&A technology assessment
- [Legacy Modernisation](https://egon-expert.com/services/legacy-modernisation): Incremental modernisation and technical debt reduction
- [Software Development](https://egon-expert.com/services/software-development): AI-augmented delivery and software architecture
- [Cloud Migration](https://egon-expert.com/services/cloud-migration): AWS and Azure migration with cost optimisation
- [Engineering Team Building](https://egon-expert.com/services/team-building): Hiring, culture and engineering maturity

## AI for business

- [AI for Business hub](https://egon-expert.com/ai): Where AI helps, what it costs, what to watch
- [What AI can do, by function](https://egon-expert.com/ai/what-ai-can-do-for-your-business): Admin, support, sales, finance, operations and engineering
- [What AI costs a small business](https://egon-expert.com/ai/cost): Licence prices, the costs nobody quotes, and doing nothing
- [Is company data safe in AI tools](https://egon-expert.com/ai/data-safety): Vendor questions, shadow AI, and keeping data in house
- [Introducing AI to your business](https://egon-expert.com/guides/introducing-ai-to-your-business): A ninety-day method for owners and MDs
- [Free AI readiness check](https://egon-expert.com/free-tech-assessment/ai-readiness): Fifteen questions, instant result, no email required

## Guides for engineering teams

- [AI adoption for engineering teams](https://egon-expert.com/guides/tooling-assisted-development): Five-step rollout of AI coding tools
- [AI governance policy](https://egon-expert.com/guides/ai-governance-policy): Copy-paste policy and file risk classification
- [Measuring AI coding tool ROI](https://egon-expert.com/guides/measuring-ai-coding-tool-roi): Baseline template and two-week pilot charter
- [Reviewing AI-generated code](https://egon-expert.com/guides/reviewing-ai-generated-code): Worked examples and a reviewer checklist
- [Technical due diligence checklist](https://egon-expert.com/guides/technical-due-diligence-checklist): What a thorough assessment covers
- [Build vs buy software](https://egon-expert.com/guides/build-vs-buy-software): Decision framework
- [Modernise or rebuild](https://egon-expert.com/guides/legacy-modernise-or-rebuild): Choosing between incremental change and a rewrite
- [Do I need a CTO at seed stage](https://egon-expert.com/guides/do-i-need-cto-seed-stage): When technical leadership is worth it
- [Why is my dev team shipping slowly](https://egon-expert.com/guides/dev-team-shipping-slowly): Diagnosing the real bottleneck

## Pricing and comparisons

- [Fractional CTO cost](https://egon-expert.com/fractional-cto-cost): UK day rates and engagement models
- [Fractional vs full-time CTO](https://egon-expert.com/fractional-cto-vs-full-time-cto): Side-by-side comparison

## Industries

- [Fintech](https://egon-expert.com/industries/fintech): Payment platforms, FCA compliance, high availability
- [Professional services](https://egon-expert.com/industries/professional-services): Accountancy, law, consultancy: confidentiality and the billable hour

## Articles

- [Should AI Compliance Be Part of Technical Due Diligence Now?](https://egon-expert.com/blog/ai-compliance-technical-due-diligence): AI regulation has arrived in the deal room faster than most diligence scopes have adapted. What investors should be asking, what belongs in the
- [The True Cost of Technical Debt: Why Legacy Modernisation Can't Wait](https://egon-expert.com/blog/true-cost-of-technical-debt): Technical debt is silently costing UK businesses millions. Understanding the real impact and why pragmatic legacy system modernisation is an
- [AI-Augmented Software Development: What the Evidence Actually Shows](https://egon-expert.com/blog/ai-augmented-development-practical-guide): Two years of adoption has produced real data on where AI coding tools help, where they cost more than they save, and what teams are actually
- [Does the EU AI Act Apply to You If You Are Not in the EU?](https://egon-expert.com/blog/eu-ai-act-non-eu-companies): The Act reaches companies with no EU entity, no EU staff and no EU servers. What that means in practice for businesses in the US, UK, Middle East and
- [What the EU AI Act Changes About How You Build Software](https://egon-expert.com/blog/eu-ai-act-software-development): Articles 9 to 15 are usually read as a documentation exercise. They are not. A CTO's view of what actually changes in the codebase, the pipeline and
- [Supplying Tech Services to EU Clients From Outside the EU: What the AI Act Means for Both Sides](https://egon-expert.com/blog/eu-ai-act-uk-suppliers-eu-clients): A UK consultancy building software for a European client. Who is the provider, who is the deployer, what each side owes the other, and what belongs
- [The EU AI Act in 2026: What Actually Applies, and When](https://egon-expert.com/blog/eu-ai-act-what-actually-applies-2026): The AI Omnibus rewrote the timetable weeks before the biggest deadline. Here is what is in force today, what moved, and what most published advice
- [EU and UK Startups Expanding to the US: What AI Compliance Actually Costs You](https://egon-expert.com/blog/eu-uk-startups-us-expansion-ai-compliance): American AI regulation is a live patchwork of state laws under federal challenge. What a European or British startup needs to prepare before selling
- [Fractional CTO Day Rates: What Drives the Price](https://egon-expert.com/blog/fractional-cto-day-rates-explained): Why fractional CTO day rates vary so much and what you should actually be paying for. A transparent breakdown of pricing factors, engagement models,
- [Fractional CTO for Fintech: Why Financial Services Need Different Technology Leadership](https://egon-expert.com/blog/fractional-cto-for-fintech): Fintech companies face unique technology challenges that general-purpose CTOs are not equipped to handle. What makes fintech CTO leadership different
- [How to Find the Right Startup CTO Consultant](https://egon-expert.com/blog/how-to-find-startup-cto-consultant): A practical guide to finding and evaluating a CTO consultant for your startup. What to look for, red flags to avoid, and when you actually need one.
- [Digital Transformation for SMEs: A Pragmatic Starting Point](https://egon-expert.com/blog/digital-transformation-smes-pragmatic-guide): Most digital transformation projects fail because they try to change everything at once. A pragmatic alternative for SMEs that delivers results in
- [CTO as a Service: What It Actually Means in Practice](https://egon-expert.com/blog/cto-as-a-service-explained): CTO as a service, fractional CTO, interim CTO, outsourced CTO, virtual CTO - the jargon is confusing. Here is what each model actually looks like and
- [Interim CTO: What to Expect When Your CTO Leaves](https://egon-expert.com/blog/interim-cto-what-to-expect): Your CTO just resigned. What do you do in the first week, how do you find interim cover, and how do you prevent this from happening again?
- [What Your Business Actually Needs From Technology Advisory](https://egon-expert.com/blog/what-your-business-actually-needs-from-technology-advisory): The gap between what businesses want from technology consulting and what they actually need is where the most expensive mistakes happen. A pragmatic
- [Legacy Software Development: When Your Codebase Becomes a Business Risk](https://egon-expert.com/blog/legacy-software-development-business-risk): Legacy software is not a failure - it is code that delivers value. But when does maintaining it become riskier than modernising? A pragmatic
- [Local LLMs vs Cloud AI: The Complete Guide for Business Leaders](https://egon-expert.com/blog/local-llms-vs-cloud-complete-guide): A hands-on comparison of locally-hosted LLMs against cloud models for coding, automation, and business applications. Hardware requirements,
- [The #beP.A.R.T. Framework: Building Engineering Teams That Actually Perform](https://egon-expert.com/blog/be-part-framework-high-performance-teams): High-performance engineering isn't a process you install - it's a culture you build. The #beP.A.R.T. framework outlines the four ingredients that
- [Be Part and Build: The Secret to High-Performance Teams](https://egon-expert.com/blog/build-high-performance-teams): High-performance teams aren't just recruited; they are built through integrated leadership, shared goals, and a relentless focus on people over
- [Custom Software Development vs Off-the-Shelf: Making the Right Choice for Your Business](https://egon-expert.com/blog/custom-vs-off-the-shelf-software): When should UK businesses invest in bespoke software development versus adopting off-the-shelf solutions? A practical framework for making the right
- [Fractional CTO Cost UK: Day Rates, Pricing Models & What to Expect](https://egon-expert.com/blog/fractional-cto-cost-uk): A practical guide to Fractional CTO pricing in the UK, covering typical day rates, retainer models, and how to choose the right engagement structure
- [Fractional CTO: Exploring Its Purpose and Target Audience](https://egon-expert.com/blog/fractional-cto-purpose-audience): Understand how a Fractional CTO provides strategic technical leadership without the full-time overhead, and whether it's the right fit for your
- [Fractional CTO vs Full-Time CTO: Which Does Your Startup Need?](https://egon-expert.com/blog/fractional-cto-vs-full-time): Comparing Fractional and full-time CTO models to help UK startups and SMEs make the right leadership decision at each stage of growth.

## Contact

- [Contact](https://egon-expert.com/contact): Book a free 30-minute consultation
- [About](https://egon-expert.com/about): Who we are and how we work
- [FAQ](https://egon-expert.com/faq): Common questions about engagements