5 ms·

One thing that vendors have that internal teams don’t is million dollar marketing budgets. Selling the sizzle of successful internal projects is its own kind if

One thing that vendors have that internal teams don’t is million dollar marketing budgets. Selling the sizzle of successful internal projects is its own kind if work, but if neglected even the greatest of projects will succumb to the onslaught of vendors. Good technical leaders recognize this inherently and celebrate their teams creations, non-technical leaders don’t and take pride in buying from big brands and the fancy luncheons that come along with them.

netcan 5y ago
Underrated comment. If you break down what most vendors and consultants do, in terms of either dollars or hours, you'll usually find that they mostly do sales, PR, client relationship, etc. Projects are designed and managed to make the right people look good to the right people, manage expectations, etc. They'll spend massive time giving non-tech executive buyers easy, fun choices.. let them feel strategic, visionary and empowered. They'll communicate the hell out of every piece of progress. Whoever hired them also has a massive incentive to buy into and sell onwards, that the project is a massive success. IE... if your job is to make a clients' Salesforce instance do a thing, 80% you your job is stuff other than making a clients' Salesforce instance do the thing. Internal dev teams will rarely have this pageantry. Meanwhile, no one outside that team knows what they do, how well they do it or such.
ed_elliott_asc 5y ago
This is one of the most insightful things I have ever read on HN.
- jollybean 5y ago
  If you want the 'aha' moment have a look at most software vendors incomes statements. They spend 2x more on selling than they do on R&D. So when that Oracle Sales Guy is giving you the pretty talk, and taking you to lunch remember that all that money your sending to Oracle is literally mostly going to him! The product makers just get 'a cut'. Now consider how much of high tech is just that, sales and marketing, conferences and luncheons. That's a staggering waste for a developed economy. We are very inefficient with these things, we need better approach to IT.
ta988 5y ago
To which you can add the evil leaders that take pride and benefits from what the devs do but keep them "hidden".

netcan 5y ago

Underrated comment. If you break down what most vendors and consultants do, in terms of either dollars or hours, you'll usually find that they mostly do sales, PR, client relationship, etc. Projects are designed and managed to make the right people look good to the right people, manage expectations, etc. They'll spend massive time giving non-tech executive buyers easy, fun choices.. let them feel strategic, visionary and empowered. They'll communicate the hell out of every piece of progress. Whoever hired them also has a massive incentive to buy into and sell onwards, that the project is a massive success. IE... if your job is to make a clients' Salesforce instance do a thing, 80% you your job is stuff other than making a clients' Salesforce instance do the thing. Internal dev teams will rarely have this pageantry. Meanwhile, no one outside that team knows what they do, how well they do it or such.

ed_elliott_asc 5y ago

This is one of the most insightful things I have ever read on HN.

jollybean 5y ago
If you want the 'aha' moment have a look at most software vendors incomes statements. They spend 2x more on selling than they do on R&D. So when that Oracle Sales Guy is giving you the pretty talk, and taking you to lunch remember that all that money your sending to Oracle is literally mostly going to him! The product makers just get 'a cut'. Now consider how much of high tech is just that, sales and marketing, conferences and luncheons. That's a staggering waste for a developed economy. We are very inefficient with these things, we need better approach to IT.

ta988 5y ago

To which you can add the evil leaders that take pride and benefits from what the devs do but keep them "hidden".