CKS Systems · Strategic Diagnostics

Pressure doesn't announce itself.
We show you where it's going.

CKS is built for organisations that sense something is shifting — in their sector, their market, or their own position — but can't yet see it clearly. Not prediction. Not generic advice. A sharper lens on what's actually happening, and what your realistic options are.

01 — Signal
We find the signals that actually matter
Most organisations are looking at the same information everyone else has. CKS identifies the specific signals underneath the noise — the ones that are doing real structural work, not just making headlines.
02 — Pressure
We show where it leads
Every pressure has a path. CKS traces how what's happening now moves through your system — and what it produces if nothing changes. Not a summary of problems. A map of where they go.
03 — Paths
We map your real options
Not recommendations. Three genuinely distinct paths — each with conditions, trade-offs, and one specific early signal to watch. The judgement is yours.
"The system is real.
Our view of it is not."
How it works

Three stages. Every time.

Stage 01 — AI
Speed and breadth
The CKS framework is applied by large language models — consistently, quickly, and across more signals than a single analyst could cover. Speed without shortcuts.
Stage 02 — Quality system
85% minimum threshold
Every diagnostic passes through a three-stage evaluation pipeline. Six weighted criteria. A minimum score of 85% before anything leaves the building.
Stage 03 — Human judgement
Reviewed before delivery
A human reviews every diagnostic before it reaches you. Not to rewrite it — to verify it. You are dealing with people, not a pipeline.
Free · No commitment
See what CKS produces before you commission anything
Our information and documents page lets you request an information pack, sample diagnostics, and our cross-industry stress test. Judge the quality of the lens before you invest in it.
Free Delivered by email
Start here
See your industry through the CKS lens
Before a company-specific diagnostic, we can show you how pressure is building across your entire sector — the structural forces, the realistic trajectories, and what the system looks like from the outside. Request an Industry Diagnostic to see CKS in action.
What is CKS?

Not a prediction.
Not a recommendation.
A sharper lens.

CKS does not tell you what to build. CKS helps you understand the pressure structure surrounding what you are trying to build.

Where CKS sits
CKS sits upstream of the consultant. A client who commissions a CKS diagnostic walks into any subsequent engagement — with a consultant, a board, an investor — already holding the structural picture. They know where the pressure is, what their realistic options are, and what their structural twins tried before them.
Echo extends that further: where similar structures have appeared before, what conditions mattered, and what pressures historically altered the trajectory.
01 — The cost of being sold to
Save the cost of being sold to.
Major consultancies diagnose the problem and then sell the solution. You pay for the diagnosis, the recommendation, the implementation, and the relationship. CKS removes the first step from that invoice. You arrive knowing the structural picture — asking better questions and significantly harder to sell to.
02 — The cost of being built
Focus on the cost of being built.
Once you hold the structural picture, you decide what to build and who builds it. The consultant earns their fee on the implementation — not on orienting you to a problem you've already mapped. CKS doesn't implement. The judgement stays entirely yours.
03 — The board conversation
Ask structurally sharper questions.
A board without a structural picture asks "are we growing fast enough?" A board with one asks "is our growth addressing the structural condition or masking it?" CKS changes what the room is looking at — not by providing the answer, but by making the right question visible.
04 — The view from outside
See what the inside cannot.
Your strategy team is inside the system they're trying to read. That view is necessarily partial. CKS reads from outside, built entirely from publicly observable signals — and sees things the internal view systematically misses. Not because your team is wrong. Because position determines what is visible.
How CKS is different
Every analytical tool answers a question.
The question determines what you see.
SWOT asks what exists. PESTLE categorises the environment. Porter's maps competitive structure. McKinsey 7-S checks internal alignment. These are useful tools for what they do — but none of them trace how pressure is moving through your system right now, and none of them tell you where it leads.
CKS asks instead
"How is pressure building and moving through this system right now — and where does it lead if nothing changes?"
CKS diagnostics are built entirely from externally observable signals — publicly available data, industry reporting, observable behaviour. No internal access required. No stakeholder interviews. No politics. Rapid, independent analysis from outside the system.
The CKS Stack
Industry Diagnostic
"What's really happening in my sector — and where is it heading?"
The structural forces shaping your sector. How pressure is building and where it's moving. The realistic trajectories available to every player in your space.
Company Diagnostic
"Given everything happening in my sector, how exposed is my organisation specifically?"
Your specific position within those forces. Which chains are live for you. What your actual pressure profile looks like. And a grade — a direct, honest assessment of your organisation's current stability.
Navigator
"Something has changed. Does it move my position?"
Continuous monitoring of your pressure state. New signals assessed. Chains re-evaluated. Grade movement confirmed or held — with the evidence that justifies either.
Echo · Comparative pressure intelligence
Where similar structural pressure has appeared before, what conditions mattered, and what pressures historically altered the trajectory. Echo takes the rare, accidental boardroom insight — "I used to work in industry X and they had similar issues" — and makes it structural, evidenced, and repeatable. Without the implementation invoice attached.
The framework
CKS — Centaurus · Komodo · Serket

Eight components. Each one doing a specific job. Together they produce a complete picture of how a system is behaving under pressure — and what options realistically exist.

C — Centaurus
Signal mapping
Like a constellation where some stars are brighter than others, your sector is generating signals constantly — some serious, some noise. Centaurus identifies the ones that are doing real structural work, rated by severity and by how current the evidence actually is.
K — Komodo
Pressure propagation
Komodo dragons weaken prey through venom that spreads gradually. In organisations, pressure behaves similarly — financial strain becomes cultural decline, cultural decline becomes market perception. Komodo traces how pressure moves through the system as causal chains: X → Y → Z.
S — Serket
Stabilisation levers
In Egyptian mythology, Serket neutralised venom and restored balance. In CKS, Serket maps the interventions available to the system. A lever is Engaged when it changes the pressure path. It is Performed when it merely responds to symptoms without addressing their cause.
Nebula
External reality
The world your organisation operates inside — economic conditions, cultural shifts, regulatory changes, customer behaviour. These are the forces no single business controls, but that shape everything it does. Nebula maps them so nothing comes as a surprise.
Actor
Decision context
The same system under the same pressure produces different outcomes depending on who makes decisions, what they can see from their position, and what they are incentivised to do. Actor maps what a decision-maker's position causes them to focus on — and what it causes them to miss. Same pressure. Different worlds.
Navigator
Decision paths
Three distinct forward paths. Each with conditions, trade-offs, and one specific observable early signal. Not a recommendation — a structural description of what's actually available given the system's current state. No probabilities.
Stress Test
Fragility points
Every system has assumptions buried inside it — things that work until they don't. Stress Test surfaces those specific fragility points and maps what happens if they fail. At deeper diagnostic levels it includes a Black Swan scenario: the low-probability event that bypasses normal pressure entirely and arrives without warning.
Core Insight + Grade
The reframe and the score
Every diagnostic closes with a single finding — not a summary of everything above it, but the structural truth that explains the most. For company diagnostics, it closes with a grade: A+ to F. A precise, honest assessment of where your organisation stands right now. Sectors don't get a grade. Companies do — because companies make decisions.
What CKS is not
✕
A prediction toolCKS maps what's already in motion and where it leads if nothing changes. It does not forecast prices, market share, or outcomes.
✕
A recommendation engineCKS maps three realistic paths with conditions and trade-offs. Which one you take — or whether you take any — is entirely yours.
✕
A replacement for consultantsCKS sits upstream of them. You walk into any consulting engagement already holding the structural picture — asking better questions and harder to sell to.
✕
An attack on your organisationCKS maps structural pressure from outside. The diagnostic is on your side — showing you the system as it actually is, without the politics of being inside it.
We show you what we know. What we've concluded. Where we're uncertain.
Every finding carries an explicit confidence marker: Known ✓ · Inferred ? · Speculative ⚠. The diagnostic shows you the signal and the uncertainty simultaneously. The judgement is yours.
On visible data
The CKS lens operates on visible data only — publicly available signals, industry reporting, observable behaviour. Not shadow data. Not information you haven't chosen to share.
This is not a limitation. It is a design principle. What CKS can see, it analyses with rigour. What it cannot see, it names as a gap rather than filling it with assumption. That epistemic discipline is what makes the findings trustworthy.
"The framework is the product. The AI is the pipeline."
CKS Systems · forewarned is forearmed
Products

Three levels.
One framework.

Company diagnostics go as deep as the decision warrants. Industry diagnostics show you the sector before we look at your organisation specifically.

Company · Level 1
Snapshot
Surface-level signal mapping and light pressure chains. For a fast read on what's happening. Delivered within 48 hours.
From £350
By org size
Company · Level 2 — Core product
Standard Diagnostic
Full CKS. All eight components. Navigator included. Quality assured. The complete picture of what's really happening and what paths exist.
From £750
By org size
Company · Level 3
Deep Dive
Multiple passes. Expanded Actor analysis. Extended Stress Test. For complex, high-stakes systems where the full picture takes time to assemble.
From £1,500
By org size
Industry Diagnostics — the entry point
Industry · Level 1
Industry Snapshot
Sector-wide signals, macro forces, primary pressure chains, two forward trajectories. Here's the world you're operating in — before we look at your specific position within it.
£250
Flat rate
Industry · Level 2
Industry Diagnostic
Full sector diagnostic. Pressure chains across player types. Three sector trajectory paths. Where your industry is heading and what the realistic options are.
£650
Flat rate
Industry · Level 3
Industry Deep Dive
Extended sector analysis. Threshold proximity on all chains. Actor telescope conflicts. Second-order consequences. Extended Black Swan mapping. The fullest available view of your sector.
£1,200
Flat rate
Navigator Package — the subscription layer
Monthly monitoring that tracks grade movement, signal shifts, and pressure changes against your first diagnostic as a baseline. From £500/month. Minimum 3-month commitment. Level 2 required first.
Pricing

Transparent pricing.
No ambiguity.

The same epistemic discipline we apply to diagnostics, we apply to what we charge.

Level 1
Snapshot
£350
Level 2 — Core
Standard
£750
Level 3
Deep Dive
£1,500
Company Navigator — ongoing pressure monitoring
Quarterly
£1,500
per quarter · default cadence
Bi-Annual
£2,400
per 6 months · stable systems
One-off
£750
single update · Black Swan events
Minimum 2-cycle commitment. Level 2 diagnostic required as baseline. All new information must be publicly available and independently verifiable — Navigator updates track what has happened, not what might happen.
Industry Navigator — quarterly sector monitoring
Tracks how sector-wide pressure moves each quarter · Shared across subscribers · Available upon request
£500/qtr
Resilience Assessment Add-on
Extended Stress Test + fragility map · Added to any Standard or Deep Dive
+£500
Echo · Comparative Pressure Intelligence
Where similar structural pressure has appeared before, what conditions mattered, and what pressures historically altered the trajectory. Requires a prior L2 or L3 diagnostic.
Echo — Company
£1,500
structural twin analysis · company
Echo — Industry
£950
structural twin analysis · sector
Echo Update
£650
event-driven reclassification
Echo Observation — a structural twin teaser — is included at no additional charge within any L2 or L3 diagnostic. Full Echo Analysis commissioned separately.
Industry Diagnostics — flat rate, no org-size tiering
Industry Level 1
Industry Snapshot
£250
Industry Level 2
Industry Diagnostic
£650
Industry Level 3
Industry Deep Dive
£1,200
Commission a company Standard Diagnostic within 60 days of an Industry Diagnostic and the cost is credited against your fee. 15% charity rate available on request. Above 500 people — let's have a conversation.

Delivery timelines: Level 1 · 1–2 working days  ·  Level 2 · 3–5 working days  ·  Level 3 · 5–10 working days  ·  Navigator update · 2–3 working days. Timelines begin from receipt of complete intake information.
Industry Diagnostic

Request an
Industry Diagnostic

Tell us your sector and what you're trying to understand. We'll show you how pressure is moving through the industry you're operating in.

We work from publicly available signals and the structural context you provide here. No confidential, privileged, or personally identifiable information — CKS operates on visible data only.

About us

Two people.
One framework.

We built CKS because we kept seeing the same disconnect — what the data showed, what the narrative said, and what decisions were being made didn't line up. The information existed — it just wasn't being seen as a system.

Jules Hinds
Data & Insight · Framework Design
CKS is the brainchild of Jules — conceived while tracking the Paramount / Warner Bros. Discovery deal when he should've been concentrating on his day-to-day job.

I built CKS because I kept running into the same problem — the data said one thing, but the decisions being made didn't follow it. That became clear while tracking the Paramount / Warner Bros. Discovery deal. Audience behaviour had already shifted — away from regular cinema attendance and toward event-driven viewing — yet capital was still being deployed as if the old model held. The information existed. It just wasn't being read as a system.

So I started mapping it properly — signals, pressure, behaviour, constraints, and how they connect. That became CKS.

I think in structures. How signals connect, how pressure builds, how systems move under it — and where they break. CKS is simply that way of seeing, made usable.
Hannah Stead
Domain Expert · Quality Validation
I've spent over a decade working inside education and training systems, and more recently delivering AI apprenticeships into real organisations. I've watched strategy meet reality more times than I can count — and I know exactly where it breaks down.

My role in CKS is to test every output against how organisations actually behave. Not how they say they behave, and not how the model assumes they should — but what happens when people, incentives, and constraints interact under pressure.

That matters here because small gaps in reasoning become big problems in decision-making. If a finding doesn't hold up against reality, it doesn't pass.

CKS isn't only for large organisations with layers of analysis already in place. It's often the smaller teams — startups, SMEs, charities — who feel pressure most directly and benefit most from seeing it clearly.
Why we built CKS
We built CKS because we kept seeing the same disconnect — what the data showed, what the narrative said, and what decisions were being made didn't line up. The information existed — it just wasn't being seen as a system.

CKS was built to connect those layers. Not to predict outcomes, and not to simplify complexity, but to show how pressure is actually building and moving through a system, how exposure builds quietly — and what that means for the decisions in front of you.

It works because it combines two perspectives: structural pattern recognition, and real-world validation. If it doesn't hold up in both, it doesn't pass.
"AI for speed and clarity. Human judgement for execution."
Company Diagnostic

Tell us about
your system.

CKS works from publicly observable information only. This form is designed to help you tell us what's happening — and where we can verify it.

Before you begin — visible data only
CKS analyses what's externally observable about your organisation — what the system reveals from the outside. You don't need to share anything confidential. In fact, please don't.
For each piece of information you provide, we'll ask: where would we find this publicly? If the answer is "you wouldn't" — leave it out. CKS will find what it needs from the outside.
Think: your website, annual report, press releases, LinkedIn, news articles, Companies House, sector publications. That's our data.
Diagnostic Reference CKS-2026-001
Before you begin — three things CKS needs from you
Public sources only.
For everything you tell us, ask: where would someone outside your organisation find this? If the answer is "they wouldn't" — leave it out.
What is, not what should be.
Tell us what has happened or changed — not what you hope will happen or whether a decision was right. CKS maps structure, not outcomes.
Label your instinct as instinct.
If you think you know what's driving the pressure, tell us — but tell us it's your read, not a confirmed fact. The diagnostic may confirm, complicate, or redirect it.
Step 1 About you
Step 2 What has happened or changed?
Describe a specific event, decision, or change — something observable, with a public source. Vague submissions can't be structurally anchored and will delay your diagnostic.
e.g. "We joined the Industry Accord Against Online Scams & Fraud in March 2026."
e.g. press release URL, news article, annual report page, LinkedIn post
Step 3 What are you trying to see more clearly?
What's the structural question underneath the surface one? CKS maps what's driving a situation and where it leads — not whether a decision was right or what you should do next.
✓ Good questions
"What pressure chains does this decision activate that we might not see from inside?"
"How exposed are we to the regulatory change in our sector?"
✗ Not CKS territory
"Was this the right decision?" · "Will we be okay?" — CKS maps structure. Certainty isn't available.
Step 4 👤 Your perspective optional but genuinely useful
What's your read on what's driving the pressure? Where do you think the real tension is? What are you most uncertain about?
This isn't data — it's your view from inside the system. CKS reads from the outside; your perspective tells us where to look most carefully. It may be confirmed, complicated, or redirected by what the structure shows.
Label it honestly — "I think..." or "My instinct is..." rather than stating it as fact.
✓ Useful
"I think the pressure is coming from our pricing model, but I can't tell if that's structural or just where my attention is."
✗ Not useful here
"I feel this is a safe path." — CKS doesn't confirm safety. It maps the structural picture.
Step 5 Additional context optional
Anything else that would help us understand your system — with a source for each. Each item needs a public source. If you can't point to where someone outside your organisation would find it — leave it out.
Additional item 1
Additional item 2
Additional item 3
Step 6 Diagnostic level

We'll review your submission and be in touch within one working day. If any information can't be verified from the sources provided, we'll come back to you before running the diagnostic — not after. Your reference number is shown at the top of this form.

Information & Documents

See it before
you commission it.

All CKS documents are free to request. No commitment, no sales call. Just an email address and we'll send what you need.

Information Pack
What CKS is and how it works
Framework overview, quality system, diagnostic levels, pricing, and how to commission a diagnostic. The complete picture before you invest in anything.
Case Studies Pack
CKS across industries
A stress test of the CKS framework across very different environments — from healthcare and law to logistics, cybersecurity, politics, and small businesses. Shows where CKS holds and where it doesn't apply.
Navigator Package

Submit new information
for your Navigator update.

Your baseline diagnostic is the anchor. Every Navigator update is measured against it. Provide your diagnostic reference number and the new publicly available information you want assessed.

What the Navigator does
The Navigator updates your diagnostic — it does not rebuild it. Your original grade and pressure map are the baseline. New information is assessed against them. We tell you what has materially changed, what hasn't, and whether the grade moves. Requires a prior Level 2 diagnostic.
Visible data only — publicly available information. No internal, confidential, or privileged material.

We'll run your update and deliver within the agreed Navigator schedule. Your updated grade and delta assessment will be sent to your email.

Terms & Conditions

Consultancy
Terms & Conditions

Current status
These Terms & Conditions are currently under independent legal review. They represent our good-faith current position and will be updated on completion of that review. If you are engaging with CKS Systems during this period, we will notify you of any material changes.
Version 1.0 · Last updated 24 July 2026 · CKS Systems Ltd

1. Definitions

1.1 In these terms and conditions, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) "Business Day" means any day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday in England and Wales;

(b) "Client" means the person or entity identified as the client in the Statement of Work;

(c) "Confidential Information" means any information disclosed by one party to the other party, whether orally or in writing, that is designated as confidential or that reasonably should be understood to be confidential given the nature of the information and the circumstances of disclosure. The Client acknowledges that the Services are performed exclusively using publicly available information. The Client shall not disclose any confidential, proprietary, or non-public information to the Consultant. The Consultant shall have no obligation of confidentiality in respect of any information provided by the Client that is publicly available;

(d) "Consultant" means CKS Systems Ltd;

(e) "Deliverables" means the deliverables produced by the Consultant as specified in the Statement of Work;

(f) "Intellectual Property Rights" means patents, rights to inventions, copyright, trade marks, business names, domain names, rights in designs, database rights, rights in confidential information and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered;

(g) "Services" means the consultancy services to be provided by the Consultant as set out in the Statement of Work;

(h) "Statement of Work" means the document setting out the scope and particulars of the Services to be provided under these terms and conditions.

2. Consultancy services

2.1 The Consultant shall provide the Services to the Client in accordance with the Statement of Work and these terms and conditions.

2.2 The Consultant shall exercise reasonable skill, care, and diligence in the performance of the Services.

2.3 The Consultant shall use reasonable endeavours to perform the Services in accordance with any timetable set out in the Statement of Work, but time shall not be of the essence in respect of the provision of the Services.

2.4 The Consultant shall comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and professional standards in the performance of the Services.

2.5 The Consultant may, with the prior written consent of the Client, not to be unreasonably withheld, subcontract the performance of all or any part of the Services to a suitably qualified third party.

2.6 The Services comprise structured analytical and diagnostic work based on publicly available information. The Deliverables represent the Consultant's analysis as at the date of delivery and do not constitute predictions, forecasts, investment advice, legal advice, or recommendations to take any specific course of action. The Client acknowledges that the Consultant makes no representation as to the future performance, condition, or prospects of any company, sector, or market analysed.

2.7 Where the Consultant provides Echo Analysis, this constitutes a separate and distinct engagement from any prior or concurrent diagnostic Services. Echo Analysis is subject to a separate Statement of Work and fee, and shall not be construed as a revision, update, or continuation of any diagnostic Deliverable.

2.8 Echo Analysis identifies structural similarity between systems based on observable pressure geometry. It does not predict, forecast, or imply that the Client's organisation will follow the trajectory of any identified structural twin. The interpretation of Echo Analysis outputs and any decisions made in reliance upon them are entirely the responsibility of the Client.

3. Client obligations

3.1 The Client shall co-operate with the Consultant in all matters relating to the Services and shall provide the Consultant with such information, materials, and access, to the extent applicable to the nature of the Services, as the Consultant may reasonably require in order to perform the Services.

3.2 The Client shall ensure that any information it provides to the Consultant is accurate and complete in all material respects.

3.3 The Client shall appoint a named representative to act as the primary point of contact for the Consultant in relation to the Services.

4. Fees and payment

4.1 In consideration of the provision of the Services, the Client shall pay the fees as set out in the Statement of Work (the "Fees").

4.2 The Fees shall be as set out in the Statement of Work.

4.3 The Consultant shall invoice the Client in accordance with the payment schedule set out in the Statement of Work. The deposit will be paid on acceptance of the Statement of Work, with the full balance paid on delivery.

4.4 The Client shall pay each deposit immediately on acceptance and the full balance within 5 working days of the date of the final invoice. Payment shall be made by bank transfer to the account specified by the Consultant.

4.5 All amounts payable under these terms and conditions are exclusive of VAT, which shall be added at the prevailing rate where applicable.

4.6 If the Client fails to make any payment due under these terms and conditions by the due date, the Consultant shall be entitled to charge interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 8% per annum above the base rate of the Bank of England from time to time, accruing daily from the due date until payment is made.

5. Expenses

5.1 The Client shall reimburse the Consultant for all reasonable expenses properly incurred by the Consultant in the performance of the Services, provided that the Consultant has obtained the prior written approval of the Client for any individual expense exceeding £100.

5.2 The Consultant shall provide receipts or other evidence of expenditure as the Client may reasonably require.

5.3 The Consultant shall invoice expenses together with the Fees, and such invoices shall be payable in accordance with Section 4.

6. Intellectual property

6.1 All Intellectual Property Rights in the Deliverables, including the methodology, structure, and analytical frameworks used in producing them, shall remain vested in the Consultant.

6.2 The Consultant grants the Client a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Deliverables for the Client's internal business purposes. The Client shall not reproduce, distribute, or publish the Deliverables (or any substantial part thereof) to third parties without the prior written consent of the Consultant.

6.3 The Consultant warrants that the Deliverables will not infringe the Intellectual Property Rights of any third party.

6.4 Nothing in these terms and conditions shall prevent the Consultant from using any general knowledge, skills, experience, techniques, or know-how acquired or developed in the course of performing the Services.

6.5 The Echo Library, including all structural fingerprints, analytical frameworks, and comparative methodologies contained within it, constitutes proprietary intellectual property of the Consultant. Nothing in these terms and conditions or any Statement of Work shall confer on the Client any rights in or to the Echo Library or any component thereof. The Deliverables produced from Echo Analysis reflect the Consultant's application of the Echo Library but do not transfer, licence, or otherwise grant any interest in the Echo Library itself.

6.6 Individual entries in the Echo Library derived from company-tier analyses are anonymised prior to inclusion. No Echo Analysis Deliverable will identify any named third-party organisation as a structural twin of the Client. Structural comparisons at company tier are presented at economy or industry level only.

7. Confidentiality

7.1 The Client acknowledges that the Services are performed exclusively using publicly available information. The Client shall not disclose any confidential, proprietary, or non-public information to the Consultant. The Consultant shall have no obligation of confidentiality in respect of any information provided by the Client that is publicly available.

7.2 Each party may disclose the other party's Confidential Information:

(a) to its employees, officers, agents, consultants, or subcontractors who need to know such information for the purposes of exercising the party's rights or carrying out its obligations under these terms and conditions, provided that the disclosing party takes all reasonable steps to ensure that such persons comply with the confidentiality obligations contained in this Section; and

(b) as may be required by law, a court of competent jurisdiction, or any governmental or regulatory authority.

7.3 The obligations of confidentiality in this Section shall not apply to any information that is or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of a breach of this Section.

8. Data protection

8.1 Each party shall comply with its obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 (together, the "Data Protection Legislation") in connection with the performance of these terms and conditions.

8.2 The Consultant collects and processes personal data of the Client's representatives for the purposes of providing the Services, in accordance with the Consultant's Privacy Policy. Each party shall comply with its obligations as an independent data controller under the Data Protection Legislation in respect of any personal data it processes in connection with these terms and conditions.

8.3 Neither party acts as data processor for the other in connection with these terms and conditions. Each party is an independent data controller in respect of any personal data it processes.

9. Limitation of liability

9.1 Nothing in these terms and conditions shall limit or exclude either party's liability for:

(a) death or personal injury caused by its negligence;

(b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or

(c) any other liability which cannot be limited or excluded by applicable law.

9.2 Subject to Section 9.1, neither party shall be liable to the other party for any indirect, special, or consequential loss or damage, including but not limited to loss of profit, loss of business, loss of opportunity, or loss of goodwill.

9.3 Subject to Section 9.1, the total aggregate liability of the Consultant under or in connection with these terms and conditions shall not exceed the total Fees paid and payable under the relevant Statement of Work.

9.4 The Deliverables are provided for informational and analytical purposes only. The Client is responsible for independently verifying any information contained in the Deliverables before relying upon it for any commercial, financial, or strategic decision. The Consultant shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the Client's reliance on the Deliverables without such independent verification.

10. Termination

10.1 Either party may terminate the engagement by giving not less than 14 days' written notice to the other party. Where the Client terminates under this clause, any deposit paid shall be non-refundable, and no further Fees shall be due from the Client in respect of Services not yet performed. Where the Consultant terminates under this clause prior to delivery of the Deliverables, the Consultant shall refund to the Client any deposit paid in full.

10.2 Without affecting any other right or remedy available to it, either party may terminate the engagement with immediate effect by giving written notice to the other party if:

(a) the other party commits a material breach of any term of these terms and conditions which is irremediable or, if remediable, fails to remedy that breach within a period of 14 days after being notified in writing to do so;

(b) the other party becomes insolvent, enters into administration, receivership, or liquidation, or takes or suffers any similar action in any jurisdiction.

10.3 On termination of the engagement for any reason, the Consultant shall promptly deliver to the Client all Deliverables (whether complete or incomplete) subject to receipt of all outstanding Fees.

10.4 Termination shall not affect any rights, remedies, obligations, or liabilities of the parties that have accrued up to the date of termination.

11. Status of consultant

11.1 The Consultant is an independent contractor and nothing in these terms and conditions shall create, or be deemed to create, a partnership, joint venture, or relationship of employer and employee between the Client and the Consultant.

11.2 The Consultant shall be responsible for the payment of all taxes, National Insurance contributions, and similar charges arising out of or in connection with the engagement, including any liability arising from any determination that the Consultant is not an independent contractor.

11.3 The Consultant shall not be entitled to any employee benefits from the Client, including but not limited to holiday pay, sick pay, pension contributions, or any other benefits.

12. Entire agreement

12.1 These terms and conditions, together with the Statement of Work, constitute the entire agreement between the parties and supersede and extinguish all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations, and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter.

12.2 Each party acknowledges that in entering into the engagement it does not rely on, and shall have no remedies in respect of, any statement, representation, assurance, or warranty that is not set out in these terms and conditions or the Statement of Work.

12.3 No variation of these terms and conditions shall be effective unless it is in writing and signed by the parties (or their authorised representatives).

13. Law and jurisdiction

13.1 These terms and conditions and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.

13.2 Each party irrevocably agrees that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).

CKS Systems Ltd · Registered in England and Wales
Questions about these terms? Email hello@ckssystems.co.uk
Privacy Policy

How we handle
your information.

Short version: we collect very little, we don't sell anything to anyone, and we work from publicly available information. Here's the detail.

The important part
CKS diagnostics are produced using publicly available information only. We do not require, request, or want access to your confidential business data. The personal data we hold is limited to what you give us in order to contact you.
Version 1.0 · Last updated 24 July 2026 · CKS Systems Ltd

1. Who we are

CKS Systems Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.

For any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, contact us at hello@ckssystems.co.uk.

2. What personal data we collect

We collect only what we need to communicate with you and deliver our services:

(a) Contact details — your name, email address, job title, and organisation name, provided by you through our website forms or by email.

(b) Correspondence — the content of emails and messages you send us.

(c) Engagement records — where you commission work from us, records relating to that engagement including Statements of Work and invoices.

We do not use tracking cookies, analytics scripts, or advertising technology on this website.

3. What we do not collect

We do not collect, request, or require confidential or proprietary business information. Our diagnostic work is performed exclusively using publicly available sources — published accounts, public filings, news reporting, official registers, and company statements.

If you send us confidential information unprompted, we will ask you to confirm whether you intended to do so, and will delete it on request.

4. Why we process your data

(a) To respond to enquiries — our lawful basis is legitimate interests. You contacted us and we need your details to reply.

(b) To deliver services you have commissioned — our lawful basis is performance of a contract.

(c) To send you documents you have requested — our lawful basis is legitimate interests or consent, depending on how the request was made.

(d) To comply with legal and accounting obligations — our lawful basis is legal obligation.

5. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share it for marketing purposes.

We use a small number of third-party service providers to operate our business — email, document storage, and website hosting. These providers process data on our behalf under appropriate contractual terms.

We may disclose personal data where required by law, a court order, or a regulatory authority.

6. How long we keep it

(a) Enquiries that do not lead to an engagement — retained for up to 12 months, then deleted.

(b) Client engagement records — retained for 6 years from the end of the engagement, in line with standard UK business and accounting requirements.

(c) Correspondence — retained for as long as it remains relevant to an active or recent engagement.

7. Where your data is held

Your data is stored within the UK or European Economic Area, or with providers offering equivalent protections under UK data protection law.

8. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

(a) request a copy of the personal data we hold about you;

(b) ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data;

(c) ask us to delete your data, where we have no ongoing lawful reason to keep it;

(d) object to or restrict our processing of your data;

(e) request that we transfer your data to another provider;

(f) withdraw consent at any time, where consent is the basis for processing.

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@ckssystems.co.uk. We will respond within one month.

9. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first so we can put it right.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk.

10. Changes to this policy

We will update this policy as our business develops. The version number and date at the top of this page will always tell you which version is current. Where changes are material, we will notify existing clients directly.

CKS Systems Ltd · Registered in England and Wales
Data protection questions? Email hello@ckssystems.co.uk