How it works, and what it costs
Know the build price and monthly cost before work begins.
Every managed automation has a one-time build price and an expected monthly service cost. The monthly service combines a platform fee with monitoring for each managed automation. There is no per-user Ops Organizer license and nothing new for your team to administer.
How the agreement works
- Build
- One-time, scoped and quoted per automation before work begins.
- Managed service
- Monthly platform fee plus monitoring for each managed automation.
- Term
- Annual service agreement, billed monthly. If NIS already manages your IT, the service can be added to your existing agreement.
- Software
- No per-user Ops Organizer license and no new software your team must operate.
- Ownership
- Once paid, the implementation plan, runbook, and any customer-specific source code are yours. Shared Ops Organizer platform components remain with NIS.
- Starts with
- A free one-hour audit that produces a concise implementation plan and a clear recommendation.
The path
Four stages, with a clear decision before each one.
Nothing replaces the manual process until the automation has been tested against agreed outcomes. Testing runs in parallel where practical and in a safe test environment when it is not.
- Stage 01
Audit: start with one real workflow
We follow one workflow from beginning to end, identify the systems, rules, exceptions, and expected outcome, then provide a concise implementation plan and a clear recommendation. If the workflow is a good candidate, formal pricing follows after any necessary research. There is no obligation to continue.
- Stage 02
Document and build: write it down before automating it
The first paid session produces a detailed runbook of the current manual process. The remaining build time is used to connect the required systems and build, test, and refine the automation. You can participate in the sessions or authorize us to work independently during the time you reserve.
- Stage 03
Test and approve: prove it before relying on it
The automation is tested against the agreed outcomes. It runs beside the manual process where practical, or in a safe test environment when parallel testing is not possible. The manual process is not retired until the results are approved.
- Stage 04
Manage: NIS monitors and maintains it
The automation enters the managed service under an annual agreement billed monthly. Monitoring runs continuously. Failures are flagged automatically and investigated during normal business hours. Routine maintenance and moderate API changes are included; major software, vendor, or workflow changes requiring a rebuild are quoted separately.
Most customers continue into the managed service. If you choose to operate the automation yourself, NIS provides the runbook and any paid customer-specific source code, but ongoing monitoring and maintenance become your responsibility.
Security and access
Your environment stays isolated. Your access stays under your control.
Automations require access to business systems. We design that access so each customer remains isolated, credentials stay on the dedicated server, and access can be reviewed or revoked without depending on the Ops Organizer control plane.
A dedicated environment for every customer
Compute, credentials, tunnels, and access policies are separated by customer. Tenants do not share servers, credentials, connections, or business data.
Credentials remain with the tenant
When NIS hosts the environment, credentials remain on the customer’s dedicated server. When the server is hosted locally, credentials remain local. Mission Control does not store API keys or account credentials.
Access is limited to the workflow
Customer-owned service accounts are scoped to the systems and actions each workflow requires. Access remains read-only unless the automation must make a documented and approved change.
Monitoring does not centralize business data
Mission Control receives health and usage information rather than API keys, request values, or result data. Detailed activity and error information remains on the tenant server and is accessed only when monitoring or troubleshooting requires it.
NIS can manage the automation on a dedicated server we provide or on a server inside the customer’s environment. Hosting location does not change the managed service: NIS still monitors and maintains the automation while credentials remain on the dedicated server.
If the managed service ends, NIS access is removed and managed platform services, including shared MCP servers, stop. The customer keeps the implementation plan, runbook, vendor accounts, and paid customer-specific source code. Shared Ops Organizer platform components do not transfer.
What an automation actually is.
An automation is a documented workflow translated into explicit triggers, conditions, actions, and failure paths. Every expected outcome has a route, and anything unsuccessful or unclear is handed to a person. The example below shows one appointment being rescheduled across connected systems.
Calendar change detected
Trigger
A meeting is moved or canceled in the shared calendar
Read OKRead failed
Already booked downstream?
Condition
Condition metCondition not met
Calendar unreachable
End
Failed — don't retry
Create the new slot
Action
Write the appointment into the scheduling system
CreatedCreate failed
Move the existing slot
Action
Update the appointment already on the books
UpdatedUpdate failed
Notify everyone affected
Action
Email the customer and the assigned staff member
Notice sentNotice failed
Create failed
End
Flagged for a human
Attendees notified
End
Success
Move failed — queued for review
End
Failed
Change confirmed
End
Success
Notice not sent — flagged
End
Failed
What’s in each number
Build is the project. Managed service is the ongoing responsibility.
Build
One-time, quoted per automation- The free audit produces the implementation plan and recommendation
- The first paid session produces the detailed runbook
- Required tenant, server, connection, and platform setup included in the build quote
- The automation built and tested against agreed outcomes
- Activity logging and a documented manual fallback
- Customer-specific source code transferred once the build is paid in full
Managed service
Annual agreement, billed monthly- A platform fee covering managed infrastructure, backups, Mission Control, and included usage
- Monitoring priced for each managed automation
- Continuous automated monitoring with failures flagged when they occur
- Investigation and correction during normal business hours
- Routine maintenance and moderate vendor API changes included
- The runbook updated when NIS makes managed changes
- An optional read-only dashboard with 30 days of activity and error history
The platform fee reflects where the dedicated server is hosted. A customer-hosted managed deployment has a lower platform fee because NIS is not providing the server, while monitoring and maintenance remain managed by NIS.
Major vendor, software, or workflow changes requiring a rebuild are scoped and quoted separately.
Customers who choose to operate the automation without NIS monitoring pay for the build and assume responsibility for hosting, monitoring, maintenance, and future changes.
Managed monitoring, visible when you want it.
NIS uses Mission Control to view tenant-specific connection health, activity, and errors. Activity and error history is retained for 30 days. You do not need to monitor it yourself because monitoring and maintenance are handled for you, but optional read-only access provides the same tenant-filtered information we see.
CONNECTIONS 6
microsoft-365
ONLINE
412 calls
quickbooks
ONLINE
306 calls
sharepoint
ONLINE
188 calls
google-workspace
ONLINE
154 calls
dropbox
ONLINE
132 calls
slack
ONLINE
92 calls
LIVE ACTIVITY
- 14:22:08match_invoicesquickbooks412ms
- 14:21:54provision_mailboxmicrosoft-3651284ms
- 14:19:31file_signed_documentsharepoint96ms
- 14:18:02send_daily_reportgoogle-workspace143ms
- 14:16:47verify_backupdropbox221ms
RESPONSE TIME · 24H
HOST RESOURCES
| Time | Server | Tool | Result | Latency | Argument keys |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 04 · 14:22 | quickbooks | match_invoices | success | 412ms | invoice_id, vendor_id |
| Mar 04 · 14:21 | microsoft-365 | provision_mailbox | success | 1284ms | upn, license_sku |
| Mar 04 · 14:19 | sharepoint | file_signed_document | success | 96ms | site_id, folder_path |
| Mar 03 · 09:41 | google-workspace | send_daily_report | failure | 30s | recipient_group, report_date |
| Mar 03 · 09:12 | dropbox | verify_backup | success | 221ms | folder_id |
Argument key names are recorded so a run can be traced. Values, results and credentials are not — they stay on the tenant server.
BY ENDPOINT · 30D
- graph.microsoft.com3
- www.googleapis.com2
- api.dropboxapi.com1
BY CLASS · 30D
- Caller error (4xx)4
- Platform error (5xx)2
BY TOOL · 30D
- send_daily_report3
- provision_mailbox2
- verify_backup1
- Mar 03 · 09:41send_daily_reportgoogle-workspace429 · callerRate limited by provider — retried and succeeded on the next attempt.
- Feb 27 · 02:15provision_mailboxmicrosoft-365503 · platformUpstream service unavailable during a vendor maintenance window.
- Feb 19 · 22:04verify_backupdropbox401 · callerService account token expired — re-authorized, no data affected.
Counts and summaries are what Mission Control holds. Detailed errors remain on the tenant server and are read only when troubleshooting requires them.
What drives the number
Your price comes from the workflow, not a tier.
Formal pricing is prepared after the free audit and any necessary research. The proposal separates the one-time build price from the expected monthly managed-service cost.
What affects the build price
- The number of systems and connections involved
- The number of steps, branches, and exceptions in the workflow
- The amount of platform setup or customer-specific code required
- The testing needed to prove the agreed outcomes safely
What affects the monthly cost
- Whether the dedicated server is provided by NIS or hosted by the customer
- The number of automations NIS monitors and maintains
- How frequently the automations run and how much activity they process
- The maintenance requirements of the connected systems and vendor APIs
What is not included in the monthly fee
- New automations, which are scoped and quoted separately
- Major vendor, software, or workflow changes requiring a rebuild
- Customer vendor licenses, subscriptions, or usage charges beyond what the Ops Organizer platform fee specifically includes
What the customer owns
- The implementation plan
- The runbook produced during the first paid session
- Customer-owned vendor accounts
- Paid customer-specific source code
Shared Ops Organizer platform components, including shared MCP servers, remain the property of NIS and do not transfer.
After the audit
The audit ends with a recommendation you can act on—or defer.
Nobody is asked to sign an agreement during the audit. You receive a concise implementation plan and a clear recommendation. If additional research is needed, formal pricing follows afterward.
A concise implementation plan
A summary of the current workflow, the systems involved, the expected outcome, and the likely automation approach. This is not the detailed runbook produced during the first paid session.
Clear boundaries
Which steps appear suitable for automation, which decisions should remain with your people, and which exceptions or failure paths require special handling.
A recommendation
Whether to proceed, prepare the process first, or leave it manual because automation would not provide a reasonable return.
- Proceed
The workflow is a good candidate
After any necessary research, NIS sends formal build pricing and the expected monthly managed-service cost. You decide whether to approve it and schedule the first paid build session.
- Prepare first
The workflow may be a good candidate after some groundwork
The process may need to be standardized, required information cleaned up, or system access confirmed. We identify what needs to change before money is spent building it.
- Leave it manual
Automation would not justify itself
The task happens too rarely, changes too often, or requires too much judgment to justify ongoing automation. We will say so clearly, and there is no obligation to continue.
Start with one workflow. Leave with a clear next step.
Bring one repetitive workflow to a free one-hour audit. You will leave with a concise implementation plan and a clear recommendation. If the workflow is a good candidate, formal build pricing and the expected monthly managed-service cost follow after any necessary research.
Book a free automation auditRather not book a slot? Email [email protected] and we’ll reply with times.