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TealTiger is focused on AI governance. To stay focused, we intentionally avoid solving problems that other tools handle better. This page explains what we don’t do and why.

Why Non-Goals Matter

Defining what we DON’T do is just as important as defining what we DO:
  • Prevents misuse - Helps you use TealTiger correctly
  • Avoids overlap - Works with your existing tools, doesn’t replace them
  • Keeps us focused - We do one thing well instead of many things poorly
  • Sets expectations - You know what to expect (and what not to expect)

What TealTiger Is NOT

1. NOT a Model Hosting Platform

We don’t:
  • Host LLMs or run inference
  • Replace OpenAI, Anthropic, Bedrock, or other providers
  • Manage GPUs, batching, or model serving
Why: Model hosting is a solved problem. We focus on governing what those models do, not running them. Use instead:
  • OpenAI API
  • Anthropic Claude
  • AWS Bedrock
  • Azure OpenAI
  • Self-hosted models

2. NOT a Prompt Engineering Tool

We don’t:
  • Generate or optimize prompts
  • Suggest better prompt templates
  • Automatically rewrite prompts
Why: Prompt design is your domain expertise. We only evaluate and govern what you send. Use instead:
  • LangChain for prompt templates
  • Your own prompt engineering
  • Prompt optimization tools

3. NOT an Identity or Secrets Manager

We don’t:
  • Authenticate users
  • Store API keys or credentials
  • Replace IAM systems
  • Manage secrets or encryption keys
Why: Identity and secrets are critical infrastructure. Use battle-tested tools, not governance SDKs. Use instead:
  • AWS IAM, Azure AD, GCP IAM
  • AWS KMS, HashiCorp Vault
  • Your existing auth system

4. NOT a SIEM or Analytics Platform

We don’t:
  • Provide dashboards for log analysis
  • Correlate events across infrastructure
  • Replace SIEM, XDR, or SOAR platforms
  • Store logs long-term
Why: We emit structured audit events. Your existing observability stack handles the rest. Use instead:
  • Datadog, Splunk, Elastic
  • Your SIEM
  • Grafana, Kibana

5. NOT a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Engine

We don’t:
  • Discover sensitive data at rest
  • Classify enterprise datasets
  • Scan file systems or databases
  • Replace enterprise DLP products
Why: We focus on AI interaction governance, not enterprise-wide data discovery. Use instead:
  • Enterprise DLP tools
  • Cloud provider DLP services
  • Data classification tools

6. NOT an Incident Response System

We don’t:
  • Automatically quarantine agents
  • Trigger incident response playbooks
  • Perform kill-switch actions
  • Replace SOC workflows
Why: Policy enforcement is deterministic and scoped. Incident response requires broader context and human judgment. Use instead:
  • PagerDuty, Opsgenie
  • Your SOC workflows
  • Incident management tools

7. NOT an AI Ethics Framework

We don’t:
  • Evaluate model bias or fairness
  • Certify models for ethical compliance
  • Perform human-value alignment assessments
  • Make moral judgments
Why: We enforce technical governance (cost, security, reliability), not ethical judgments. Use instead:
  • AI ethics frameworks
  • Fairness evaluation tools
  • Human review processes

8. NOT a FinOps Platform

We don’t:
  • Forecast budgets
  • Optimize vendor pricing
  • Perform chargeback or showback
  • Replace FinOps tooling
Why: We track and limit AI spending in real-time. Financial planning is a different problem. Use instead:
  • CloudHealth, Cloudability
  • Your FinOps tools
  • Vendor cost management

9. NOT a UI-First Product

We don’t:
  • Require dashboards for core functionality
  • Enforce UI-based configuration
  • Provide hosted policy management
Why: We’re SDK-first. Developers should be able to use TealTiger entirely from code. Use instead:
  • Your code editor
  • Your CI/CD pipelines
  • Infrastructure as code
Note: A SaaS platform with UI is planned for future versions, but the SDK will always remain open source and fully functional without it.

10. NOT a Black Box

We don’t:
  • Use hidden heuristics
  • Make probabilistic decisions
  • Apply undocumented behavior
  • Hide why policies pass or fail
Why: Governance requires transparency. Every decision is deterministic and explainable.

The Pattern: We Govern, You Own

TealTiger follows a consistent pattern: We do one thing well and integrate with everything else.

Why This Matters

By staying focused, TealTiger: Integrates easily - Works with your existing stack
Avoids lock-in - You own your infrastructure
Stays simple - One SDK, one purpose
Evolves safely - Focused scope means stable behavior
If we tried to do everything, we’d do nothing well.

What About Future Versions?

Some non-goals may evolve: v1.2.x (Q3 2026):
  • Multi-agent coordination
  • Workflow orchestration
  • Advanced cost allocation
v1.3.x (Q4 2026):
  • Adaptive policies
  • Learning from decisions
  • Advanced analytics
v2.0.0 (2027):
  • SaaS platform with UI
  • Hosted policy management
  • Team collaboration
But TealTiger will never become a monolithic AI platform. We’ll always focus on governance and integrate with your stack.

Summary

TealTiger is:
  • ✅ AI governance (cost, security, reliability)
  • ✅ Policy enforcement
  • ✅ Audit logging
  • ✅ Developer-friendly SDK
TealTiger is NOT:
  • ❌ Model hosting
  • ❌ Identity management
  • ❌ SIEM or analytics
  • ❌ FinOps platform
  • ❌ Incident response
  • ❌ Ethics framework
We do one thing well and let you own the rest.

Goals

What TealTiger is designed to achieve

Anti-Patterns

Common mistakes to avoid

Best Practices

How to use TealTiger effectively

v1.1.0 Scope

What’s included in this version