Why Choose Us
The same price as going direct. None of the bias.
We define your requirements before anyone demos anything, put 250+ suppliers in competition against them, and get paid the same whichever one wins. No quota deciding the recommendation, no catalog limiting the options, and the same pricing you would get going direct.
The Honest Comparison
ObsidianX vs. going direct
Carriers have excellent engineers and terrible incentives. A direct rep has one catalog to sell and a quota measured against it, so the answer is decided before the discovery call. Here is exactly what changes when the process belongs to you instead.
| What matters | Going direct to a carrier | With ObsidianX |
|---|---|---|
| Who they work for | The carrier's sales quota | You. We are paid the same regardless of which supplier wins |
| Where the process starts | A demo, with discovery worked backwards from it | Your requirements and scoring criteria, defined before any supplier is contacted |
| Options on the table | One provider's catalog | 250+ vetted suppliers competing for your business |
| Pricing leverage | Rack rates, negotiated alone | Market benchmarks from thousands of deals through Avant |
| Contract terms | Boilerplate that protects the carrier | Negotiated SLAs, rate protections, and exit clauses |
| Support after signing | The 800 number and a ticket queue | A named advisor who escalates for you for the life of the contract |
| Cost to you | Your time, plus whatever you leave on the table | $0. Suppliers compensate us, at the same price you would pay direct |
How we get paid, since most advisors will not say it out loud
There is no cost to you. ObsidianX is compensated by suppliers through our master agent Avant when solutions are placed, at the same pricing you would receive going direct. We are paid the same whichever supplier wins.
That last sentence is the one that matters. An advisor paid more by some suppliers than others has a quiet reason to steer, which is exactly what buyers are told to ask about. Ours does not work that way, and that is the structural reason we can recommend that you stay put, renegotiate instead of migrate, or fix a process instead of buying anything at all.
Our Differentiators
Six reasons clients stay for years
Not adjectives. The six things that are actually different about how the work gets done, and why each one holds up under a skeptical question.
Neutrality with a mechanism behind it
Every advisor claims to be unbiased. Ours is structural: we are compensated the same whichever supplier you select, so there is no version of this where steering you pays. That is why we can tell you to stay put, renegotiate instead of migrate, or fix a process instead of buying anything.
Requirements before the demo
A direct rep demos first and works discovery backwards from the product. We start from how your operation actually runs, define the scoring criteria with you, and only then let suppliers respond to it. You compare like for like instead of comparing sales narratives.
Negotiation leverage you do not have alone
One buyer negotiating one quote has no reference points. Through Avant we benchmark against market data from thousands of deals, so the conversation is about rate protections, term, escalators, and exit clauses rather than whatever the first proposal happened to say.
One advisor across the whole stack
UCaaS, CCaaS, SD-WAN, managed networks, technology expense management, mobility, and security sourced by the same person, in the order that respects your contract dates. Buying them separately is how businesses end up paying for a circuit eight months before the platform that needed it.
We stay after the signature
Support and escalation for the life of every contract: quarterly reviews, billing dispute advocacy, renewal benchmarking ahead of expiry, and a named person who escalates on your behalf. You never start over with an 800 number and a ticket queue.
20+ years, including the supplier side
Brandon Stone sold on the carrier and platform side before founding ObsidianX, which is where you learn how quotes are built, where the margin sits, and which terms actually move. That experience now works in your direction instead of against it.
The method behind it
Neutrality is a claim until a process enforces it
Everything on this page is delivered through one engagement method, the Strategic IT Blueprint. Four phases: discovery and financial analysis, requirements and solution architecture, competitive sourcing with implementation oversight, then optimization and advocacy. The scoring criteria are defined with you in phase two, deliberately before any supplier is contacted, so the shortlist is judged against a standard you set rather than one we brought with us.
See the proof
What the process looks like when it is finished
Two published engagements, documented with the client's own numbers. Both started the same way: current state and invoices first, requirements second, suppliers last.
Free Tech Stack Assessment
Find out what your stack should cost
Tell us where it hurts and we will benchmark your current setup against the market. No sales pitch, just answers.
- A ranked list of savings and upgrade opportunities in your stack
- Benchmarked against 250+ vetted suppliers, not one vendor's catalog
- Yours to keep with no obligation, whoever you build with
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions buyers ask about the advisor model, including the ones the rest of this industry would rather answer in a footnote.
What makes ObsidianX different from going direct to a carrier?
A direct rep can only sell one catalog and is measured on quota against it, so the recommendation is decided before the discovery call. We start from your requirements, put 250+ suppliers in competition against them, and are compensated the same whichever one wins. The price you pay is the same either way, so the difference is the process and who it serves.
What does it cost, and how does ObsidianX get paid?
There is no cost to you. ObsidianX is compensated by suppliers through our master agent Avant when solutions are placed, at the same pricing you would receive going direct, and we are paid the same whichever supplier wins. The market will tell you to ask an advisor whether commission rates vary across their suppliers, and that is a fair question. Ours do not vary in a way that changes what we recommend, which is the structural reason the advice stays neutral.
Do I have to buy through ObsidianX?
No. There is no purchase obligation and no exclusivity. The analysis, the requirements set, and the roadmap are yours to keep whoever you build with. What you would give up by going direct afterward is the competitive process, the benchmark data behind the negotiation, and someone other than the supplier holding them to the acceptance criteria.
How does the Strategic IT Blueprint fit in?
The Blueprint is the method behind everything on this page. It is our four-phase engagement: discovery and financial analysis, requirements and solution architecture, competitive sourcing with implementation oversight, then optimization and advocacy. Neutrality is a claim until there is a process that enforces it, and the Blueprint is that process.
Can you help if we already know we need CCaaS, phones, or SD-WAN?
Yes, and that is how most engagements start. Knowing the category is not the same as knowing the requirements. Discovery confirms whether the platform is genuinely the constraint or whether routing, staffing, integrations, or circuits are. If you are right, you get a better specified and better negotiated version of what you already wanted.
Is the price really the same as going direct?
Yes, and frequently better. Carriers price through the partner channel at parity with direct sales, and because we make suppliers compete and benchmark against market data from thousands of deals through Avant, negotiated outcomes routinely beat what a single direct quote would deliver.
What is Avant and why does it matter?
Avant is one of the industry's leading master agents (technology services distributors). Our Avant partnership gives ObsidianX contracted access to 250+ vetted suppliers, engineering resources, and market pricing intelligence that individual buyers, and most consultants, cannot access on their own.
What happens in the first conversation?
Roughly thirty minutes with Brandon Stone. We ask what is breaking, how many sites and suppliers are involved, what is contractually committed and when it expires, and what outcome you are measured on. You leave with an honest read on whether there is enough here to work on, and if there is not, we say so on the call.
Start with a conversation, not a proposal
Thirty minutes to map your sites, your spend, and your contract dates, and an honest read on whether there is enough here to work on. No cost, no obligation to buy through us, ever.
Vendor-agnostic advice. No quotas, no obligation, no pressure.