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BUYER'S GUIDE

How to evaluate AI platforms

A vendor-neutral framework for regulated organizations. Architecture, operational, commercial, and compliance criteria.

Steps
5
Applies to
Any AI platform, Huitzo included

This framework applies to evaluating any self-hosted AI runtime, cloud AI platform (AWS Bedrock, Azure AI), or DIY stack, Huitzo included. Score each vendor's Intelligence Pack methodology (or equivalent application unit) against the criteria below; a self-hosted deployment that clears this framework typically reaches production in weeks, not the 12-18 months a custom build requires.


THE FRAMEWORK

What are the five criteria for evaluating AI platform vendors?

STEP 1

Define the workload boundary

List the data the workload touches and the regulatory regime it sits under. This determines whether self-hosted AI is required or just preferred.

STEP 2

List your model and integration constraints

Which models can the team run? Which internal systems must the runtime reach? Capture both before evaluating any vendor.

STEP 3

Evaluate vendors against architecture criteria

Where does data sit at rest and in flight? Is the runtime portable across environments? Can the customer swap models without changing applications?

STEP 4

Evaluate operational and commercial criteria

Deployment time, on-call ownership, upgrade cadence, version pinning, exit clauses, support tiers, professional-services scope.

STEP 5

Score against compliance posture

What does the vendor claim today? What is the customer's deployment expected to provide? Document both vendor claims and customer obligations.



QUESTIONS

Is this buyer's guide vendor-neutral, or a sales pitch for Huitzo?

Is this guide neutral or a Huitzo sales doc?

The framework is vendor-neutral. Where Huitzo scores poorly today (no SOC 2, no GA), we say so. Use it to evaluate any AI platform.

Where should compliance evidence come from?

From third-party audits and from the vendor's explicit "what we do not claim" page. A vendor without one of those is a yellow flag.


AI operating system for regulated companies

Simple by design. Built to scale. Runs where your data lives.

Product access
Huitzo Hub is available by invitation for teams evaluating the product.