ekeraWhat Ekera saves: architect time, licences, assessments
Typical cases, assumptions to be measured with our first customers
For a mid-sized company, the typical case is about €100,000 a year: the architecture function costs half a position instead of a full one, unused licences are spotted, and the NIS2 assessment takes 2 days instead of 16 to 28. For a large account, the fictitious typical case gives back 10 full-time equivalents (FTEs), about €1M a year.
These figures are not measurements: they are typical cases built from public statistics and assumptions we show. They will be replaced by measurements from our first customers. The avoided cyber risk, calculated from each customer’s accounts, is not counted.
For a mid-sized company: about €100,000 a year
The typical case is a company of 550 employees with one architecture function (often carried by the CIO).
| Item | Typical case | Where the figure comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Architect time | ≈ €40k / year | Ekera collects, checks and formats: the function costs half a position instead of a full one. |
| Unused licences spotted | ≈ €62k / year | Unused licences and subscriptions, matched against accounts and invoices (unused share per Zylo 2026). |
| Total per year | ≈ €100k | €102k in the calculation, rounded. |
| Initial NIS2 assessment | ≈ €30k, once | 2 days instead of 16 to 28 consulting days, against public NIS2 audit rates in 2026. |
| Purchases avoided through the network effect | ≈ €75k / year | A component dropped or more expensive at comparable companies is flagged before ordering; later, with about a hundred customers. |
Savings follow the sector’s IT intensity: there are more architects and more software spending in banking than in construction.
| Sector | Mid-sized company, per year (typical case) |
|---|---|
| Banking and insurance | ≈ €250k |
| Digital services and consulting | ≈ €184k |
| Energy, water, waste; healthcare | ≈ €133k |
| Manufacturing | ≈ €102k |
| Transport and logistics | ≈ €92k |
| Retail and wholesale | ≈ €82k |
| Construction | ≈ €51k |
For a large account: a fictitious typical case
The large-account typical case is fictitious: 50 architects spend about 35% of their time documenting (architecture, accreditation and decision files). Ekera pre-fills these files from the map, every fact cited and every figure calculated; the architect reviews and approves. It gives back 40 days to each one a year, that is 10 FTEs and about €1M a year, plus about €80k of committee time. The cautious floor, documentation only, gives back 20 days per architect (5 FTEs).
With unused licences spotted, an average large French company (30 architects, 13,300 employees per Insee) saves about €1.2M a year: €600k of architect time and €600k of licences. A large bank or insurer (75 architects, 22,700 employees on average) reaches about €4.1M a year: €1.5M of time and €2.55M of licences.
Your case
Change the values and the calculation updates. Without JavaScript, the results shown are those of the typical case.
Calculation: 200 working days × share documented × share taken over = days given back, rounded to the day; × number of people ÷ 200 = FTEs; × cost of a day = euros. Time given back is only a saving if it is reassigned or avoids a hire.
The potential in France
If every company concerned were equipped (327 large companies, 7,296 mid-sized companies and 172,520 SMEs per Insee, plus banking and insurance), savings would be about €1.5bn a year, in a range of €0.6bn to €3.4bn, and 5,500 architect FTEs freed. This is a potential: neither Ekera’s revenue nor a market share.
| Per year | Low | Central | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architect time | €170M | €550M | €1.4bn |
| Licences | €420M | €980M | €2.0bn |
| Total | €0.6bn | €1.5bn | €3.4bn |
| With the network effect (purchases avoided by mid-sized companies) | €1.0bn | €2.1bn | €4.1bn |
The public sector is not counted. Banking and insurance fall under DORA rather than NIS2.
What we do not put a figure on here
- Better-targeted penetration tests: Ekera tells the provider what to test first and tracks exposure between two campaigns. We publish no percentage: it has not been measured. Who tests what.
- The security resources of a large group, shared: at least 30% of every subscription funds Ekera’s R&D, quality and security, which a mid-sized company could not afford alone. Shared security.
- Easier insurance underwriting: verified indicators to show your insurer, with your consent; the insurer decides. Insurance.
- Avoided cyber risk: calculated from your accounts, in your assessment.
Assumptions and limits
- Every figure on this page is a typical case, to be replaced by measurements from our first customers.
- The large-account typical case is fictitious; it describes no real company.
- Time given back is only a saving if it is reassigned or avoids a hire. Ekera does not replace the architect: it takes over collecting, checking and formatting.
- Ekera spots unused licences; the customer decides whether to cancel them.
Sources
- Insee, company characteristics by category, 2023 data; Tableaux de l’économie française 2018 (financial sector, 2015 data).
- Zylo, SaaS Management Index 2026 (share of unused licences).
- Public NIS2 audit rates published by consulting firms in 2026.
- Day rate of a freelance enterprise architect, contract platforms, 2026; IT spending by sector, Avasant (Computer Economics).
- Other figures are Ekera’s assumptions, detailed in our financial plan, available on request at contact@ekera.ai.