Build or buy? The futility of trying to alchemy money into technology, and convert technology back into more money. For IT it’s an old dilemma with new implications.
Build or buy? The futility of trying to alchemy money into technology, and convert technology back into more money. For IT it’s an old dilemma with new implications.
Build or buy? The futility of trying to alchemy money into technology, and convert technology back into more money. For IT it’s an old dilemma with new implications.
Nov 12, 2016
Nov 12, 2016
Nov 12, 2016
Business
Engineering
Management
Analysis
Technology
With the onslaught of new tools and techniques, experts stand ready to offer solutions from all ends of the earth. Ideas and problems outstrip building capabilities and solutions. What questions should accompany solutions claiming to meet our needs? Benefits and consequences exist from building, buying, and everything in-between.
Hitting the impasse
Problems and solutions are best recognized and defined through knowledge and skills. Home court comes with its advantages, and navigating your industry or institution can guide your path. But roadblocks come with time. Whether you can’t code or can’t code that language, can’t code enough, can’t design, test, or whatever, you’ll be reminded of what can’t be done within your business. Build if you never expect the reminder, but know these systems must be planned, constructed, integrated, and maintained, with considerations needed long before any code is written
Birthing systems
When introducing IT solutions, from website, to networks, to apps, accept the decision to impose constraints on the current order. Further breaking down the process, conception of new IT systems can be broken down into stages: initiation, modularization, introduction, and adaptation. However the system gets introduced, the implications go beyond the procedure itself.
Who is paid, and what’s the currency
Beyond the simple ‘it depends’ cop-out is a process to help guide a more predictable path to building or buying. Start with an honest assessment of your business capabilities.
Experience needed to implementing the solution
Long-term value of human capital gained from attempting to implement the solution
Ability and willingness to invest time
Similarities between your solutions & problems, versus what exist in the market
Ability to monitor how the solution addresses the problem
Amount of changes expected to maintain and update the solution
Personnel needed for support to users interacting with the solution
Knowing these can help gravitate initial and subsequent questions around which direction to go for all IT solutions. But even after getting the answer, nothing gets easier. Do you buy buildings or builders? Do you build with straw, wood, or bricks? How can is the building process and results signed-off?
The question can narrow the mind, as its answer solves little. It reflects confidence in self and team. Without the desire to expand on the skills needed to build, what is the purpose? The fixation to build things cheap, fast, and well lead us to these musing. But there is always a point of return, as systems we implement grow and evolve before dying to be replace by new problems.
Learning is the best way to overcome the shallow framing of the choice. Learn til it hurts, because it may hurt even more without the proper due diligence. Before securing a plot of land, know the dimensions, anticipate what you will build on it. Introspection and research will get you far. See past market offerings, and map it to present solutions, considering all the changes guiding a path to the future. While there are benefits and pitfalls to each path, gains are always made trying to understand the meaning behind the decision.
With the onslaught of new tools and techniques, experts stand ready to offer solutions from all ends of the earth. Ideas and problems outstrip building capabilities and solutions. What questions should accompany solutions claiming to meet our needs? Benefits and consequences exist from building, buying, and everything in-between.
Hitting the impasse
Problems and solutions are best recognized and defined through knowledge and skills. Home court comes with its advantages, and navigating your industry or institution can guide your path. But roadblocks come with time. Whether you can’t code or can’t code that language, can’t code enough, can’t design, test, or whatever, you’ll be reminded of what can’t be done within your business. Build if you never expect the reminder, but know these systems must be planned, constructed, integrated, and maintained, with considerations needed long before any code is written
Birthing systems
When introducing IT solutions, from website, to networks, to apps, accept the decision to impose constraints on the current order. Further breaking down the process, conception of new IT systems can be broken down into stages: initiation, modularization, introduction, and adaptation. However the system gets introduced, the implications go beyond the procedure itself.
Who is paid, and what’s the currency
Beyond the simple ‘it depends’ cop-out is a process to help guide a more predictable path to building or buying. Start with an honest assessment of your business capabilities.
Experience needed to implementing the solution
Long-term value of human capital gained from attempting to implement the solution
Ability and willingness to invest time
Similarities between your solutions & problems, versus what exist in the market
Ability to monitor how the solution addresses the problem
Amount of changes expected to maintain and update the solution
Personnel needed for support to users interacting with the solution
Knowing these can help gravitate initial and subsequent questions around which direction to go for all IT solutions. But even after getting the answer, nothing gets easier. Do you buy buildings or builders? Do you build with straw, wood, or bricks? How can is the building process and results signed-off?
The question can narrow the mind, as its answer solves little. It reflects confidence in self and team. Without the desire to expand on the skills needed to build, what is the purpose? The fixation to build things cheap, fast, and well lead us to these musing. But there is always a point of return, as systems we implement grow and evolve before dying to be replace by new problems.
Learning is the best way to overcome the shallow framing of the choice. Learn til it hurts, because it may hurt even more without the proper due diligence. Before securing a plot of land, know the dimensions, anticipate what you will build on it. Introspection and research will get you far. See past market offerings, and map it to present solutions, considering all the changes guiding a path to the future. While there are benefits and pitfalls to each path, gains are always made trying to understand the meaning behind the decision.