What we learn on the job. Written from engagements, not from a content calendar.
Notes on modernization, custom software and AI in production. Including the parts that went wrong, because those are the ones worth reading.
Everything published so far
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Article 9 min readModernize or renegotiate: price the exit before you decide
Everyone advising you earns from the answer being yes. The four inputs that settle it, and why a costed migration is worth having even when you decide to stay.
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Article 8 min readFractional CTO, interim CTO, or consultant: what you are actually buying
Three arrangements that look alike on a résumé and differ on one thing: who holds the decision. How to tell which one your situation needs, and the drift to watch for.
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Article 9 min readBuild or buy: the calculation almost nobody actually runs
Off-the-shelf always looks cheaper on day one. The five criteria that genuinely decide it, the three-year arithmetic no vendor shows you, and the trap of the 80 percent fit.
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Article 8 min readYour backups run. Do they restore? That is not the same question
A backup that has never been restored is not a backup, it is an assumption. The six ways it fails silently, the ransomware angle, and the one-hour quarterly test.
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Article 9 min readLeaving VMware: the real alternatives, and how to migrate without breaking production
Since the Broadcom acquisition, plenty of teams are looking for an exit. The four credible alternatives, what each actually costs, and the sequence that avoids an incident.
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Article 9 min readWho owns the code your contractor writes? Probably not you, and paying does not change it
Under US copyright law, software written by a contractor is not work made for hire by default. Without a signed assignment, the developer keeps it. The four clauses to check.
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