Opinion: Don't buy hardware before a Proof of Concept

Just a short post today to call out something that I’m seeing again and again. It’s where organizations purchase all their hardware and software platforms before they start to carry out a proof of concept. This is a very poor option.

I was reading the data strategy for a global company that I was doing consulting work for. They were proudly introducing the new strategy yet I was sitting looking at it, trying to work out what they were thinking. The first step of their plan was to buy everything they needed. The second step was to carry out a proof of concept to see how it would all work (presuming it would work suitably at all).

This is ridiculous.

In that case, I think what’s happening is that the IT management wants to seem proactive, buying hardware and software platforms is what they are experienced at, and they want to look like they are “doing something”.

[caption id=“attachment_3821” align=“alignnone” width=“555”] Image by RawPixel[/caption]

Yet, invariably, this locks them into decisions that aren’t in the best interests of the organization. Instead of making sensible decisions, they end up making decisions, based on what they have already committed to. And the more expensive that purchase was, the more they will try for years to justify the expenditure decision that they made. Every choice will later be taken, based upon how well it fits with their existing purchase.

Don’t do this.

Do everything you can to carry out the proof of concept without buying anything that locks you into a decision path.

2018-09-04