An honest table for business owners in Kazakhstan
Below is the most down-to-earth comparison taking into account the realities of Kazakhstan: Kaspi/Halyk, eGov, 1C/Bitrix24, bilingualism (Russian/Kazakh), data hosting requirements and limited team resources.
Quick conclusion
- Ready-made service — when the task is standard, speed of launch is important, and budget is minimal.
- Custom AI — when you need precision tailored to your process/language/data, there are integrations available, and ROI is clear.
Honest comparison table
Criterion | Ready-made Service (SaaS) | Custom AI (turnkey solution) |
Launch timeframe | 1–10 days | 3–10 weeks (MVP), 2–4 months until full maturity |
Initial cost | Low (subscription-based) | Medium/higher (project + integrations) |
Monthly payments | Subscription increases with number of users/requests | Low variable costs, payment for support and inference |
Accuracy tailored to Kazakhstani context (Russian/Kazakh languages, names, addresses, receipts, accounting) | Average: "out-of-the-box" often confuses Kazakh first/middle/last names and domain-specific terms | High: fine-tuning on your data, rules, dictionaries |
Integrations (Kaspi, Halyk, eGov, 1C, Bitrix24) | Depends on ready-made connectors; non-standard solutions are difficult/costly | Any required integrations, including rare/internal ones |
Logic flexibility | Limited by service settings | Full: business rules, roles, scenarios, KPIs |
Data/model ownership | Data stored at provider's side, export restricted | Данные и модели под вашим контролем (on-prem/частное облако) |
Security and compliance with internal policies/NPA | Depend on the provider; not always possible to store within RK | Flexible: deployment in KZ, access control, audit |
Scalability | Simple, but tariffs increase | Economically scalable (pay for actual load) |
Vendor lock-in risk | High | Low: code/architecture belongs to you, possibly multi-vendor |
Transparency of quality (metrics) | Often a "black box" | Complete: precision/recall, WER/CER, A/B testing, drift monitoring |
Type of tasks | Standard: recognition of standard documents, chatbot without industry depth | Industry-specific: fintech anti-fraud, local format KYC, computer vision in manufacturing, complex document workflow |
Time-to-value | Instantaneous if it fits the process | 4–12 weeks before tangible benefits, but more precise and deeper |
When "off-the-shelf" wins honestly
- Need a quick pilot "touch AI" without lengthy approvals.
- The task is standard (for example, an FAQ chatbot without subtle sales/service logic).
- Minimum budget, measurable effect is not critical.
- No complex integrations needed (Sufficient website and Telegram integration)
When Custom AI pays off better
- Local nuances: Languages, local services, legal specifics
- Money drains into manual operations: Reconciliations, routine approvals, input errors
- Integrations are mandatory: 1C, eGov, Kaspi/Halyk, WMS/TMS, telephony, CRM
- Responsibility and control are necessary:data storage in RK, model decision tracing
- Your uniqueness equals your competitive advantage ("moats") (processes, pricing, risk thresholds) → "off-the-shelf" won't adjust.
Simple payback formula (without technical details)
ROI over 12 months = (Cost savings + Additional profit) - Project and ownership costs
Where:
- Savings = (manual work hours x rate) + (reduced errors/fines) + (fewer returns/defects)
- Additional Profit = (conversion growth x margin) + (more upsell/retention)
- Cost = (development + integrations) + (cloud/server) + (support).
Rule of simple decision-making: if expected payback period ≤ 6–9 months, custom AI is almost always justified.
Mini calculator for business owner
How many people are engaged in routine tasks? × average rate × hours per month = Routine-related expenses.
- How many errors/fines/losses per month? = Losses
- How many leads are lost? × conversion × margin = Lost profits.
- Add (1)+(2)+(3) = Potential.
- Compare Potential with the estimate of a custom project and ownership for 12 months. If Potential ≥ 2×Cost — green light.
What does the implementation path look like (seriously, but simply)?
- Discovery (1–2 weeks): calculate economics, describe processes, gather requirements.
- MVP (3–6 weeks): launch working prototype, integrate 1–2 systems, measure metrics.
- Scaling (4–8 weeks): expand use cases, automate quality control, train employees.
- Operation: support, reports, retraining, A/B improvements.
FAQ (briefly)
Is this more expensive? At the start — yes. But ownership is often cheaper, and the impact is greater.
Will we have to wait long? Первую пользу даём в MVP через 3–6 недель.
Нужны свои дата-сайентисты? No, Sailet handles everything "turnkey."
Will our data leave the country? Upon request, they remain in RK (on-premise/private cloud).
What's next?
Want to figure out what will pay off for you: ready-made solution or custom one?
- Send us 3–5 sentences about your routine/losses and a list of systems you're using (Kaspi/Halyk/1C/CRM/eGov).
- We'll prepare it within 48 hours mini ROI assessment and MVP roadmap for 4–6 weeks.
Contact Sailet and receive a free pre-project evaluation (up to 1 hour call + numbers table).
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