What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Proposal call for Starter. Maarten Zwart, the economic buyer, wants proof of use, EU data residency in writing and a clear price breakdown. Matteo Ricci would not call the £28k annual or promise a connector date.
What happened: Matteo Ricci walked Ilse Kuipers and Maarten Zwart through the Starter proposal: fifteen users and four connectors for client services. Maarten asked who will actually use it.
Customer view: Maarten wants a regulator-ready trail of who asked what, who sees which client file and where data sits. He said the data should stay in Europe and he wants that in writing.
Commercial: The deal record shows £28k, but Matteo would not call it annual until the order form says so. The breakdown goes to Ilse and Anouk. Dedicated EU data residency is an add-on, not part of Starter.
Watch: The claims system is old and the renewals system is being reworked, which may slow the start. The mailbox connector needs IT approval, and no go-live date was promised.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Who was there
BG-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Matteo Ricci to send the written deal breakdown, EU residency position, one-page note and access model.
- Matteo to confirm the claims system connector position after the implementation team has looked at it.
- Ilse Kuipers to confirm named users by email.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The old claims system may delay or block the connector commitment, and the renewals rework competes for the same people.
- The mailbox connector needs IT manager approval, which could stall the start if raised late.
- The £28,000 deal figure is not confirmed as annual, so the customer's budget view may differ from the order form.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Dedicated EU data residency can be sold as an add-on to the Starter proposal.
- A clear written breakdown and honest connector position build trust with the economic buyer.
Transcript
- Matteo RicciGood morning, Ilse, Maarten. Can you both hear me all right?
- Ilse KuipersYes, hi Matteo, we can hear you. Good morning.
- Maarten ZwartMorning. Sorry, my camera is being stubborn today. Give me a moment.
- Matteo RicciNo rush at all. Take your time.
- Maarten ZwartThere. Right, I am back. Hello again.
- Matteo RicciHello. Thank you both for making the time, I know your diaries are tight this month. I would like to do three things today: recap where we are, walk through the proposal for the Starter tier, and agree what happens next so that nothing sits in an inbox.
- Ilse KuipersThat sounds sensible. Maarten read the proposal on the train, twice, so he has questions. Maybe we start there?
- Maarten ZwartYes, the train had very bad signal, so I read it slowly. My first question is simple. Who is actually going to use this? I do not want a tool that sits on a shelf.
- Matteo RicciThat is the right question, and I would rather you asked it now than in six months. Starter is built for one team. For you that is client services, the people who answer renewal questions and claims queries every day. The proposal assumes fifteen users, which is the soft limit on that tier, and four connectors: the renewals system, the claims system, the shared document store and the mailbox.
- Maarten ZwartFour connectors. Hm. I should be honest, the claims system is old. Someone built it before I joined and nobody really likes it.
- Ilse KuipersIt works, Maarten, it just works slowly. That is exactly why we want the layer in front of it, so people stop exporting spreadsheets every Monday.
- Matteo RicciExactly. Old systems are where connector risk usually sits, so I do not want to promise anything I cannot keep. Our implementation team will look at the claims system before we put a date on it in writing. I will confirm the position by email after this call.
- Maarten ZwartGood. I would rather you say no than say yes too early. We have a regulator who asks for proof of everything.
- Matteo RicciI understand. So what does your regulator need to see? Is it who asked what, is it access controls, or is it where the data sits?
- Maarten ZwartAll of it, in some form. Who asked which question, who could see which client file, and where the data lives. We are a Dutch firm, so the data should stay in Europe. I am told that is possible but I want it in writing.
- Matteo RicciDedicated EU data residency is available as an add-on, and I will put it in the proposal in plain words so there is no confusion later. I am not going to tell you it is included in Starter if it is not. Let me confirm that in writing as well.
- Ilse KuipersThank you. Can I raise the price? Maarten will ask anyway, so I may as well.
- Matteo RicciPlease do. The deal record shows £28,000. I would rather be exact about what that figure covers, so I will show you the breakdown in the order form, line by line, and you can check every part of it.
- Maarten ZwartTwenty-eight thousand. In total? Not per year?
- Matteo RicciI would rather not call it annual until the order form says so. I will not guess on your behalf. What matters for your budget is the breakdown, and that goes to Ilse and to Anouk at the same time.
- Ilse KuipersGood. Anouk will want it in writing before she says anything to me about money.
- Maarten ZwartRight. Then let me ask about the people. Who on our side has to say yes? I am not going to sign something that only Ilse likes.
- Matteo RicciThat is fair, and it is the right instinct. Ilse is your champion, which means she will run it day to day. You, Maarten, are the economic buyer, so the decision sits with you. Would it help if I sent a short note on what you would be signing, so you can share it with your board without having to translate it?
- Maarten ZwartYes, please. Keep it short. Ilse reads everything I forward and then tells me it is too long.
- Ilse KuipersThat is not fair, Maarten.
- Maarten ZwartIt is a little fair.
- Matteo RicciI will keep it to one page. Next, can we agree timing? I would like a decision in the next few weeks, so that the implementation slots in before the summer.
- Ilse KuipersBefore the summer is possible, if we do not lose the claims system to someone else's project. That is the risk I see.
- Matteo RicciThen let me ask it directly. Is anyone else's project competing for the same people in the next month?
- Ilse KuipersYes, the renewals system is being reworked, and the people who know it are busy. It is not a blocker, but it will slow things down.
- Matteo RicciThank you for telling me. I would rather plan around that now than be surprised. I will note it against the timeline, and we will not promise a go-live date until we have seen the connector plan.
- Maarten ZwartGood. I like that you are not trying to sell me the moon.
- Matteo RicciI am not going to try. I would rather lose a deal honestly than win it badly.
- Ilse KuipersSorry, one moment. I am looking for the page with the connector list. Maarten, which page were you on?
- Maarten ZwartThe annex, near the back. I have it open, give me a second. Here. Hm, it says the mailbox connector needs an admin to approve access.
- Matteo RicciThat is right, and it is a sensible control. Your IT manager will need to approve it, and I would like that conversation to happen early so it does not stall the start.
- Ilse KuipersJoost will want to see the access model. He is careful, which is good. I will tell him it is coming.
- Matteo RicciPlease do. I can send him the access model with the written breakdown, so he has everything in one place.
- Maarten ZwartYes. Send everything to Ilse first, she can filter it for me. I am sorry, that sounds unkind.
- Ilse KuipersIt is fine, Maarten. It is accurate.
- Matteo RicciShall we recap the next steps, then? My side: the written breakdown of the deal, the EU residency position, the one-page note for Maarten, the access model, and the connector position once the implementation team has looked at the claims system.
- Ilse KuipersAnd on our side I will confirm the named users by email. Probably the team leads plus three or four analysts.
- Matteo RicciThat works. If the list changes after the order form, we can adjust, but I would rather we agreed it now.
- Maarten ZwartAgreed. Anything else from you, Matteo, before we finish?
- Matteo RicciOnly that I appreciate you both being straight with me. It makes the next few weeks much easier for everyone.
- Ilse KuipersThanks Matteo. It has been useful. Speak soon.
- Maarten ZwartGoodbye, and send the note. I will read it on a train with proper signal this time.
- Matteo RicciHa, I will make sure the signal is good. Thank you both. Have a good rest of your week.
- Ilse KuipersYou too. Bye for now.
- Matteo RicciGoodbye.