Business
What your software really costs: the subscription bill
Nobody has ever added up all the active subscriptions. When you do, the number surprises — and part of it pays for tools nobody uses any more.
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01BusinessWhat your software really costs: the subscription billNobody has ever added up all the active subscriptions. When you do, the number surprises — and part of it pays for tools nobody uses any more.02TechCloud or your own servers: the right question isn't which costs lessThe comparison is nearly always made on the monthly fee, and that is the fastest way to get it wrong. The variables that matter are three, and none appears in a quote.03TechTechnical debt explained to whoever paysEvery change costs more than the last and nobody can explain why. It isn't your supplier's incompetence: it is a loan someone took out on your behalf, and you are repaying it.04BusinessWhy new software goes unusedYou bought it, installed it, ran the training. Three months later half the company works as before. It isn't resistance to change: it is nearly always a design problem.05BusinessThe portal that stops the phone ringingTen calls a day asking where something stands. A portal can end them — or add one more channel to staff. The difference comes down to two decisions.06BusinessThe numbers you check every MondayA dashboard full of charts nobody uses is the most expensive way of not deciding. The useful numbers are few, they arrive by themselves, and they follow one rule: each one has an action attached.07SecurityThe attack that comes through email: how to actually prepareIt isn't a badly written message with a suspicious attachment. It is a credible email continuing a real conversation, asking for something normal. Here is what actually stops it.08SecurityWhere your tax documents end upInvoices, contracts, payslips: they sit in a service someone chose years ago. Could you say which one, who can access it, and what happens if it closes tomorrow?09BusinessNine questions to ask an IT supplier before signingYou don't need technical skills to understand who you are dealing with. You need nine precise questions and a willingness to get the answers in writing.10BusinessThe ERP nobody uses: why business system projects failThe sign that a project went wrong is not an error on screen: it is the spreadsheet someone keeps updating next to the brand-new system.11BusinessYour ERP and your shop don't talk: what it really costsOrders re-keyed by hand, stock that never matches, customers buying what isn't there. Two systems ignoring each other cost you every single day.12BusinessWhere the work done on site ends upHours written on a sheet, delivery notes in the van's dashboard, materials remembered at the end of the week. Then someone in the office reconstructs it all, and margin per job becomes a guess.13TechAI in business after the hype: the three things that actually workOnce the impressive demos are over, only a few uses survive daily work. They are less spectacular and worth far more.14SecurityHow long until you are back up? The question nobody tries to answerEveryone takes backups. Almost nobody has ever restored one. That is the difference between having copies and having a plan, and you find out at the worst moment.15SecurityNIS2 without panic: what changes for a small companyIt doesn't only concern large enterprises, and it isn't solved by buying a product. Who is in scope, what is actually required, and why those outside will notice anyway.16BusinessWhat the work you redo every day really costsRepetitive work appears in no balance sheet, yet you pay for it every month in salaries, mistakes and missed opportunities. How to measure it before buying any software.17BusinessCustom software: when it wins, and when it is a wasteBuying an off-the-shelf system costs less and covers nearly everything. But there is a part of your work no standard product can do: that is where custom software becomes a competitive advantage.18TechDevOps explained to the people who sign, not the ones who codeIt is not a role to hire nor a tool to buy: it is how software travels from the machine of whoever writes it into the hands of your customers. And it is measured with four numbers.19SecurityOutsourcing security: what stays yours anywayDelegating information security to people who do it for a living is almost always right. But half the work cannot be delegated, and nearly all breaches start in that half.20SecurityGDPR on a shared platform: the choices that actually matterIt isn't the privacy notice that protects your customers' data: it is five technical decisions taken while the platform is being built. Told through a real case.
Tech
Cloud or your own servers: the right question isn't which costs less
The comparison is nearly always made on the monthly fee, and that is the fastest way to get it wrong. The variables that matter are three, and none appears in a quote.
Read →Tech
Technical debt explained to whoever pays
Every change costs more than the last and nobody can explain why. It isn't your supplier's incompetence: it is a loan someone took out on your behalf, and you are repaying it.
Read →Business
Why new software goes unused
You bought it, installed it, ran the training. Three months later half the company works as before. It isn't resistance to change: it is nearly always a design problem.
Read →Business
The portal that stops the phone ringing
Ten calls a day asking where something stands. A portal can end them — or add one more channel to staff. The difference comes down to two decisions.
Read →Business
The numbers you check every Monday
A dashboard full of charts nobody uses is the most expensive way of not deciding. The useful numbers are few, they arrive by themselves, and they follow one rule: each one has an action attached.
Read →Security
The attack that comes through email: how to actually prepare
It isn't a badly written message with a suspicious attachment. It is a credible email continuing a real conversation, asking for something normal. Here is what actually stops it.
Read →Security
Where your tax documents end up
Invoices, contracts, payslips: they sit in a service someone chose years ago. Could you say which one, who can access it, and what happens if it closes tomorrow?
Read →Business
Nine questions to ask an IT supplier before signing
You don't need technical skills to understand who you are dealing with. You need nine precise questions and a willingness to get the answers in writing.
Read →Business
The ERP nobody uses: why business system projects fail
The sign that a project went wrong is not an error on screen: it is the spreadsheet someone keeps updating next to the brand-new system.
Read →Business
Your ERP and your shop don't talk: what it really costs
Orders re-keyed by hand, stock that never matches, customers buying what isn't there. Two systems ignoring each other cost you every single day.
Read →Business
Where the work done on site ends up
Hours written on a sheet, delivery notes in the van's dashboard, materials remembered at the end of the week. Then someone in the office reconstructs it all, and margin per job becomes a guess.
Read →Tech
AI in business after the hype: the three things that actually work
Once the impressive demos are over, only a few uses survive daily work. They are less spectacular and worth far more.
Read →Security
How long until you are back up? The question nobody tries to answer
Everyone takes backups. Almost nobody has ever restored one. That is the difference between having copies and having a plan, and you find out at the worst moment.
Read →Security
NIS2 without panic: what changes for a small company
It doesn't only concern large enterprises, and it isn't solved by buying a product. Who is in scope, what is actually required, and why those outside will notice anyway.
Read →Business
What the work you redo every day really costs
Repetitive work appears in no balance sheet, yet you pay for it every month in salaries, mistakes and missed opportunities. How to measure it before buying any software.
Read →Business
Custom software: when it wins, and when it is a waste
Buying an off-the-shelf system costs less and covers nearly everything. But there is a part of your work no standard product can do: that is where custom software becomes a competitive advantage.
Read →Tech
DevOps explained to the people who sign, not the ones who code
It is not a role to hire nor a tool to buy: it is how software travels from the machine of whoever writes it into the hands of your customers. And it is measured with four numbers.
Read →Security
Outsourcing security: what stays yours anyway
Delegating information security to people who do it for a living is almost always right. But half the work cannot be delegated, and nearly all breaches start in that half.
Read →Security
GDPR on a shared platform: the choices that actually matter
It isn't the privacy notice that protects your customers' data: it is five technical decisions taken while the platform is being built. Told through a real case.
Read →