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Practical guides for your evaluation.

Take a specific question into your next review. Use these guides to examine a purchasing choice, trace an activity record or decide what must be tested before a pilot moves forward.

Explore your use case
Illustrative concept.
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Practical frameworks. Ready to take into your next conversation.
RFP Checklist · v3.2 page 04 / 14

Section 2 · Data Sovereignty

Before any vendor signs an SOW, the procurement team needs explicit answers on data residency, sub-processors, and exit terms. Vague language here is the most common procurement failure mode.

  • Where will tenant data physically reside?
  • Who has access to keys? CMEK, BYOK, or vendor-managed?
  • What are the named sub-processors?
  • What is the data egress process at termination?

Most vendor MSAs answer the first question. Few answer the fourth honestly.

This is the trap most RFPs miss.
Ask for the exit clause draft before you sign.
Frame from "The AI RFP Checklist" · one of four free guides
The AI RFP Checklist for Regulated Industries
PDF · Checklist
The AI RFP Checklist for Regulated Industries
47 questions to ask any vendor before you sign — covering data sovereignty, audit posture, deployment model, and exit terms. The list we wish existed when we started.
10 pages120 KB
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Sovereign Deployment vs. SaaS: A Decision Guide for Public Sector AI
PDF · Decision Guide
Sovereign Deployment vs. SaaS: A Decision Guide for Public Sector AI
Who will operate the service after it is deployed? Compare the work your team keeps with the work a provider takes on, including access, updates, incident response, costs and exit. Make the operating arrangement explicit before choosing where the software runs.
8 pages117 KB
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The Audit Chain Architecture Blueprint
PDF · Architecture Blueprint
The Audit Chain Architecture Blueprint
Start with a disputed answer and work backward. Find the request, the source version, the actions taken and the person who approved a change. Use the blueprint to plan records your reviewers can actually use.
10 pages121 KB
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The Crystallization Loop: Generative AI That Improves Over Time
PDF · Technical Paper
The Crystallization Loop: Generative AI That Improves Over Time
A recurring answer is a candidate for a playbook, not permission to automate it. Examine the approval, test cases, version history and rollback needed before a reviewed response becomes a repeatable rule.
10 pages120 KB
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