Predictika · managed multicloud service quotes

An AI sales agent's managed cloud services quote, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a managed cloud services quote for a customer: an engineering tier, support add-ons priced on the customer's cloud spend, a term and an optional prepayment. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the tier, term and prepayment rules, returns a verdict and every reason, and builds an estimated line-item quote. This model has no price list of its own: it uses the rates in a public 2022 UK government framework pricing document, labeled as estimates throughout.

Scope: Elastic Engineering Plus tiers, Optimizer+ with Platform Support, VM Management, contract term and prepayment. See everything this validator covers

This validator models managed cloud service quotes built from these parts — not just the scenarios shown below. Any quote made of them is in scope.

  • Elastic Engineering Plus — seven monthly tiers (Tier 0 to Tier 6) with a maximum number of engineering hours each, the fixed infrastructure charge up to £100,000 of monthly spend and 10 percent of spend above it, and a check that the hours the customer needs fit the tier.
  • Optimizer+ with Platform Support — a percentage of monthly cloud spend that falls in steps from 10 percent down to 3 percent, with a minimum fee.
  • VM Management — an approximate per-VM monthly charge.
  • Term and prepayment — terms of 12 to 36 months, and an optional prepayment discount of the typical 4 to 5 percent, which is reviewed case by case.
  • Quoted totals — the monthly and term totals stated in the quote are compared with the computed ones.

Not covered: the Aspire service levels and other tiers with no public structure, Advanced Monitoring and Resolution, hours-based Elastic Engineering outside the Plus tiers, resale of cloud commitments, private cloud and VMware hosting, managed security, professional consultancy day rates, the optional 12-month extension, and any custom statement of work. Assumptions: the rates are from a May 2022 UK G-Cloud 13 pricing document and are not current; the percentage steps are applied to each slice of spend, which is our reading of the table; the 4 to 5 percent prepayment range is described there as typical and subject to review.

The AI sales agentBuilds the managed services quote from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the estimated line-item quote.

7 scenarios in 4 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
Click to expand
    
Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
Engineering hours that do not fit the tier quotedOnly with care
The tier ceiling is a price-table value, while the hours the customer needs usually sit in the statement of work, not on the quote, so a validation rule has to be added and kept in step with the table.		The hours travel with the quote and are compared with the ceiling of the chosen tier on every call.
A support fee that is a percentage of spend in steps, with a minimum feeOnly with care
Each step is its own price rule or lookup row, and the minimum is another rule that must agree with them.		The steps are applied slice by slice in one calculation and the minimum is taken in the same pass.
A flat infrastructure charge that becomes a percentage above a spend thresholdOnly with care
Two price rules with a threshold between them; it is easy to double charge or skip the boundary.		The charge is computed from the spend as one expression.
A prepayment discount described as typical and reviewed case by caseOnly with workarounds
Approval chains route a request upward, but refusing a discount nobody should grant needs a separate validation rule that repeats the range.		Above the range the validator blocks; inside it the quote needs approval, with the reason stated.
An agent that states totals which leave out a chargeOnly with workarounds
The total the agent or rep states is usually not a field on the quote, so nothing compares it with the calculated total.		The stated monthly and term totals travel with the quote and are compared on every call.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
Click to expand
    
Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off.

    
1450 engineering hours a month is above the 400 hours the quoted Elastic Engineering Plus tier allows; quote a higher tier.
2An Elastic Engineering Plus tier is quoted but the hours the customer needs each month are not stated.
3The customer needs 200 engineering hours a month but no Elastic Engineering Plus tier is quoted.
4A 48 month term is outside the 12 to 36 months the pricing document allows (an optional 12 month extension is added after the term).
5The monthly infrastructure spend is missing; Optimizer+ and the Elastic Engineering Plus infrastructure charge are priced from it.
6A prepayment discount of 8 percent is above the typical 4 to 5 percent range; anything higher needs a custom agreement.
7A prepayment discount of 4 percent is requested but prepayment for the full term is not selected.
8The quote states a monthly total of £1,500.00; the validator computes £1,700.00.
9The quote states a term total of £40,800.00; the validator computes £38,760.00.
10The quote contains no service; add an Elastic Engineering Plus tier, Optimizer+ or VM Management.
11350 engineering hours a month fits in a smaller tier (up to 400 hours); the quoted tier costs more than the customer needs.
12A prepayment discount of 4 percent is calculated case by case and is subject to review.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
Click to expand
    
The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Engineering tier and hours: Tier 2 quoted for more hours than it allows

    
The agent's request. Please quote a managed services package for Harborline Insurance: Elastic Engineering Plus Tier 2 for 450 engineering hours a month, plus Optimizer+ with Platform Support and VM Management for 80 VMs, on £60,000 of monthly cloud infrastructure spend and a 24-month term, billed monthly. The quote states a monthly total of £75,950.00 and a term total of £1,822,800.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • More hours than the tier allows. 450 engineering hours a month is above the 400 hours the quoted Elastic Engineering Plus tier allows; quote a higher tier.
    • 
    

    
2. Engineering tier and hours: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a managed services package for Harborline Insurance: Elastic Engineering Plus Tier 3 for 450 engineering hours a month, plus Optimizer+ with Platform Support and VM Management for 80 VMs, on £60,000 of monthly cloud infrastructure spend and a 24-month term, billed monthly. The quote states a monthly total of £94,640.00 and a term total of £2,271,360.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Quote summary. Monthly total £94,640.00; 24 months comes to £2,271,360.00; term total £2,271,360.00. Estimates from the public 2022 UK G-Cloud 13 Rackspace pricing document.
    • 
    

    
3. Term length and prepayment: A 48-month term with a prepayment discount

    
The agent's request. Please quote a managed services package for Lakeshore Retail: Elastic Engineering Plus Tier 1 for 200 engineering hours a month, plus Optimizer+ with Platform Support, on £40,000 of monthly cloud infrastructure spend and a 48-month term, paid in full up front with a 4 percent prepayment discount. The quote states a monthly total of £54,575.00 and a term total of £2,514,816.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Term outside 12 to 36 months. A 48 month term is outside the 12 to 36 months the pricing document allows (an optional 12 month extension is added after the term).
    • 
      
  • Prepayment discount needs review. A prepayment discount of 4 percent is calculated case by case and is subject to review.
    • 
    

    
4. Term length and prepayment: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a managed services package for Lakeshore Retail: Elastic Engineering Plus Tier 1 for 200 engineering hours a month, plus Optimizer+ with Platform Support, on £40,000 of monthly cloud infrastructure spend and a 36-month term, paid in full up front with a 4 percent prepayment discount. The quote states a monthly total of £54,575.00 and a term total of £1,886,112.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Prepayment discount needs review. A prepayment discount of 4 percent is calculated case by case and is subject to review.
    • 
      
  • Quote summary. Monthly total £54,575.00; 36 months comes to £1,964,700.00, less a prepayment deduction of £78,588.00; term total £1,886,112.00. Estimates from the public 2022 UK G-Cloud 13 Rackspace pricing document.
    • 
    

    
5. Quoted monthly total: Monthly total missing the infrastructure charge

    
The agent's request. Please quote a managed services package for Northfield Credit Union: Elastic Engineering Plus Tier 4 for 650 engineering hours a month, plus Optimizer+ with Platform Support and VM Management for 120 VMs, on £250,000 of monthly cloud infrastructure spend and a 24-month term, billed monthly. The quote states a monthly total of £119,110.00 and a term total of £3,458,640.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Quoted monthly total does not match. The quote states a monthly total of £119,110.00; the validator computes £144,110.00.
    • 
    

    
6. Quoted monthly total: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a managed services package for Northfield Credit Union: Elastic Engineering Plus Tier 4 for 650 engineering hours a month, plus Optimizer+ with Platform Support and VM Management for 120 VMs, on £250,000 of monthly cloud infrastructure spend and a 24-month term, billed monthly. The quote states a monthly total of £144,110.00 and a term total of £3,458,640.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Quote summary. Monthly total £144,110.00; 24 months comes to £3,458,640.00; term total £3,458,640.00. Estimates from the public 2022 UK G-Cloud 13 Rackspace pricing document.
    • 
    

    
7. Hours with no tier: Engineering hours with no tier and an 8 percent prepayment discount

    
The agent's request. Please quote a managed services package for Pinecrest Logistics: 300 engineering hours a month, plus Optimizer+ with Platform Support, on £45,000 of monthly cloud infrastructure spend and a 24-month term, paid in full up front with a 8 percent prepayment discount. The quote states a monthly total of £3,450.00 and a term total of £76,176.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Hours with no engineering tier. The customer needs 300 engineering hours a month but no Elastic Engineering Plus tier is quoted.
    • 
      
  • Prepayment discount above the usual range. A prepayment discount of 8 percent is above the typical 4 to 5 percent range; anything higher needs a custom agreement.
    • 
    

  

  

    
Narration transcript
Click to expand
    
The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a managed cloud services quote for a customer: an engineering tier, support add-ons priced on the customer's cloud spend, a term and an optional prepayment. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the tier, term and prepayment rules, returns a verdict and every reason, and builds an estimated line-item quote. This model has no price list of its own: it uses the rates in a public 2022 UK government framework pricing document, labeled as estimates throughout.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please quote a managed services package for Harborline Insurance: Elastic Engineering Plus Tier 2 for 450 engineering hours a month. The quote states a monthly total of £75,950.00 and a term total of £1,822,800.00. The rest of the request is on screen.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with one finding, all in one answer. 450 engineering hours a month is above the 400 hours the quoted Elastic Engineering Plus tier allows; quote a higher tier.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned one blocking finding in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
    7. 
      
  7. What this shows: for engineering hours that do not fit the tier quoted, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
    8. 
      
  8. Now the agent resubmits.
    9. 
      
  9. The corrected request. It changes the Elastic Engineering Plus tier to Tier 3, the quoted monthly total to 94,640 GBP and the quoted term total to 2,271,360 GBP.
    10. 
      
  10. It calls the validator again.
    11. 
      
  11. This time the validator clears it.
    12. 
      
  12. The validator also returns the line-item quote. It starts with Tier 3 engineering and 24x7 infrastructure charge on £60,000 monthly spend; the other two lines are on screen.
    13. 
      
  13. The earlier finding is cleared.
    14. 
      
  14. One problem caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer.
    15.