How we rank

What counts as evidence

Only public pages count. For each provider we opened its own website, its services and case study pages, any legal or trust page and any published pricing, and we saved the text on 8 November 2026. A statement appears in an assessment only if it is on one of those pages. The numbered source under each statement links to the page, so you can read the sentence in its original context. Where a site blocked automated access, or a page was only a script shell, we say so in the article. Firm facts come from each firm's own site.

We do not use reviews, ratings, awards or testimonials as evidence of capability. A client quote on a firm's page is cited only as what the firm publishes. We state no opinion of any firm, and the order after Nexus is not a ranking of quality.

How each criterion is defined

Delivery model asks how the provider works with your team and who owns what is built. Specialisation records the services and sectors the provider lists. Team size records any headcount the provider publishes and notes when a figure describes a network and not employees. Implementation support asks who builds, who maintains and what happens after launch. Time to production records stated durations and the scope each one covers. Integrations records any stated count or named systems. Security and certifications records certificates named, with the validity dates where the provider gives them. Governance and access control covers permissions, approvals and audit trails. Pricing model records prices and ranges published, how the provider charges and what stays behind a sales conversation.

Each criterion is written up as strengths and limits. A strength is something the provider's pages say. A limit is a gap where the pages we opened say nothing, or a condition the provider states.

How gaps and claims are checked

When an article says something is not publicly stated, we searched the saved pages for the relevant terms first. For certifications we searched for ISO and for named schemes. For prices we searched for currency amounts and for words such as fee and rate. A provider's statement that it is certified is reported as the provider's own claim unless the page shows a certificate with dates. We do not publish or estimate day rates for any firm. Where a firm publishes a price range, we quote the range and its wording.

The order of the providers

Nexus is placed first. Nexus publishes this site and chose the criteria, and it is also one of the 6 providers, so that placement is the publisher's own judgement. Nexus is a software platform with consultants and a software pricing model, and it does not bill by time like a consultancy, and the assessment shows that difference plainly. The order of the firms after Nexus follows the publisher's plan for this page and says nothing about quality. We give no scores, ratings or awards.

Keeping the assessment current

Each assessment shows the date its sources were checked. Firms update their sites often, and a statement correct on the check date may be out of date later. More articles will follow as new evidence is checked, each with its own date. If a firm or a reader finds a statement that is out of date, contact Nexus through agent.nexus. We will recheck the linked source, correct the page and show the new check date. A firm may also send a link to a public page that answers a gap, and we will add it.

How to read a source number

Every figure shown as a small raised number points to an entry in the source list at the foot of the page. The entry gives the claim in plain words, links to the page it came from, and shows the date we checked it. If you open the page and cannot find the sentence, the page has probably changed since 8 November 2026, and we would like to know. Several statements can share one number when they come from the same page.

When pages disagree or say little

Firms sometimes describe themselves differently on different pages, or describe the same firm differently in a directory. We use the firm's own page that is most specific to the claim and we cite it. Where a firm's public pages are thin, for example without a price list or a certificate, we write that the pages we opened do not state it. That describes what we could see. It does not describe what the firm has. For Nexus, three decisions by the publisher settle conflicts between its pages: the Orange figure is $6M extra lifetime value, the first agent goes live in 4 weeks inside a 3 month proof of concept, and Nexus holds a SOC 2 Type 2 report.

What this assessment does not cover

It does not test the work of any provider, and nothing here says how good a project would be. It does not state day rates for any firm, because none are published on the pages we opened and we will not guess. It does not cover references, financial strength or the quality of individual consultants. These matter a great deal in this market, and a buyer should check them directly. What the assessment offers is a consistent, sourced reading of what each provider says publicly, so that your own selection starts from the same facts for every option.

Handling the conflict of interest

Nexus publishes this assessment, chose the criteria and is one of the providers in it. We handle that in three ways. We apply the same criteria and the same standard of evidence to Nexus as to every firm, including a limits section for Nexus. We publish the criteria and the method so that a reader can apply them differently. And we keep the order of the firms after Nexus open to challenge, because the evidence we could read does not support ranking them against each other.