Yes, $20 for the memory, and $200 in time spent getting approval, another $200 to physically install it, because you 'obviously' can't just open up that server

Yes, $20 for the memory, and $200 in time spent getting approval, another $200 to physically install it, because you 'obviously' can't just open up that server as there are procedures fr that kind of stuff, and then $2000 in time wasted by the users while they spent 6 months waiting for that one ram stick to get installed. It's easy to think everyone has their acts together like facebook or google, but most companies i've dealt with have hardware upgrade processes measured in months or years, not hours or days. You absolutely have to take responsibility for your work as a programmer and make stuff run fast instead of labeling it somebody else's problem.