A business leader has asked IT to solve a problem, but the underlying need is not yet clear.
Independent executive business & technology advisory
The advisor who has been on the other side of the table.
For twenty-five years, Brian Hertz sat inside the technology-provider ecosystem at Oracle, Infor, and elsewhere—building the business cases, structuring the deals, and watching how enterprise technology decisions actually get made. BHz Advisory brings that perspective to the buyer's side of the table, with no software to sell, no vendor quota, and no implementation hours to fill.
Brian Hertz — Founder & Principal Advisor
25+ years in enterprise technology · Previously Oracle and Infor · Fortune 500 through high-growth
Why this perspective is different
Independence is easy to claim. Experience on both sides is not.
Every advisor says they are independent. Some are funded by the vendors they recommend.
What is harder to find is someone who has spent a career inside the sell side. Brian has built the business cases, structured the pricing, sat in the qualification calls, and watched which concessions get made in the final two weeks of a quarter—and which never do.
That vantage point changes what an advisor can see: where a proposal is optimistic, which requirements were written by a vendor, what the provider already knows about your timeline, and which questions have not been asked yet.
BHz Advisory puts that experience to work for the organization making the decision—not the one selling into it.
When to bring us in
Recognize the moment before it becomes a project.
You do not need a defined engagement or a selected technology. Start when the question is important and the path is unclear.
Leadership is preparing for a consequential technology investment and wants an independent and confidential assessment.
Business, IT, procurement, and vendors are recommending different paths.
A vendor recommendation, business case, or implementation strategy needs to be pressure-tested.
IT needs to investigate a business request without prematurely diverting internal resources.
A major initiative is underperforming and leadership needs an objective perspective.
Our independence
Your interests—not the downstream sale.
BHz Advisory does not sell software, carry a vendor quota, or depend on implementation hours. We are not tied to a platform, systems integrator, or prescribed methodology.
Our role is to help leadership determine what is right for the organization—even when the right answer is to pause, redirect, use an existing capability, or make no investment at all.
A discreet starting point
Examine the question before it becomes visible.
Engaging a consulting firm or systems integrator is itself a signal. Teams notice. Vendors hear about it. Positions harden before the question has even been framed.
A single independent advisor does not set that in motion. Work through a sensitive issue privately first—and decide what to escalate, and when, on your own terms.
Three ways we help
Concrete support for complex decisions.
These map to three moments: before the need is defined, before the decision is made, and before the commitment is signed.
Executive Decision Support
Confidential counsel to clarify the issue, test assumptions, evaluate options, and shape a defensible executive response.
Explore the offeringBusiness–Technology Alignment
Define the underlying need, assess internal capabilities with IT, and interpret priorities between leadership teams before consuming broader resources.
Explore the offeringIndependent Technology & Vendor Advisory
Pressure-test investments, business cases, technologies, vendors, partners, and implementation strategies without sales or delivery bias.
Explore the offeringHow we work
Interpret → Align → Advise → Navigate
01
Interpret
Clarify the business problem, stakeholder priorities, constraints, and the decision that actually needs to be made.
02
Align
Create shared understanding among technology, business, procurement, and executive leadership.
03
Advise
Pressure-test the options, investment rationale, vendors, partners, risks, and proposed path forward.
04
Navigate
Help leadership move from an ambiguous question to a defensible decision and actionable next step.
No forms. No sales qualification.
Begin with a direct, confidential email.
Some questions take a single conversation. Others warrant a focused assessment over a few weeks. Start with the question, and we will size the rest to fit.