Insights
How we think about the work.
Research on where enterprise technology is going, playbooks from engagements we have run, and notes on how specific systems were built.
RSS feed- Insight
A point of view on a decision buyers face.
- Research
Sector landscapes and cross-industry analysis.
- Playbook
Step-by-step, from engagements we have run.
- Engineering Note
How a specific system was built.
How to choose a software development company, and what to ask before you do
Most selection processes compare price, portfolio and headcount, which are the three things every vendor can present well. What actually predicts whether a build succeeds is who you get, how change is handled, and what happens if you leave. The questions that separate them, and the answers worth worrying about.
All insights
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Playbook Product EngineeringWhat custom software costs, and the five things that actually move the number
Operational software is rarely expensive because of how much of it there is. It is expensive because of what it has to connect to, who is allowed to see what, and how much of the old data has to come along. What each driver does to effort, and how to get an estimate that survives contact with the build.
September 30, 2026 · 5 min read -
Engineering Note Web & MobileLaravel vs React: the comparison that is really a stack decision
Laravel and React are not alternatives. One is a PHP back end, the other a JavaScript user interface library, and plenty of applications run both. What people are usually deciding when they search this, and how to make that decision on something other than preference.
September 28, 2026 · 4 min read -
Playbook ModernizationMagento 2 benefits, and when migrating is the wrong call
Magento 2 is faster, safer and far easier to extend than Magento 1. It is also a rebuild rather than an upgrade, and for a good share of mid-market retailers a different platform is the better answer. What the benefits actually are, what the migration really costs, and how to tell which side of the line you sit on.
September 28, 2026 · 4 min read -
Playbook Product EngineeringFixed price vs time and materials: which software contract fits
The choice between a fixed-price and a time and materials contract is really a choice about who carries estimating risk. How to tell which fits, how fixed scope is kept intact, and the hybrid we propose most often.
September 14, 2026 · 9 min read -
Insight TalentIn-house vs outsourced software development: a decision framework
Whether to build an engineering team or buy one is rarely all or nothing. A framework for deciding, the hybrid models that sit between the two, the costs neither side mentions, and the cases where you should keep the work in-house.
September 14, 2026 · 8 min read -
Insight TalentOffshore vs nearshore software development for US and EU buyers
India, Eastern Europe or Latin America. A practical comparison of time-zone overlap, communication, talent depth, data protection, IP and attrition, written by an offshore firm that will tell you when nearshore is the better call.
September 14, 2026 · 9 min read -
Playbook Product EngineeringWhat drives MVP development cost, and what to cut first
Screens are not what makes an MVP expensive. Integrations, permissions, compliance, platforms, design depth and data migration are. How each one moves effort, what to cut, and how to get an estimate you can plan against.
September 14, 2026 · 8 min read -
Playbook Product EngineeringAn AI-assisted MVP in four to six weeks: what agents draft, and what we never cut
The week-by-week breakdown behind an AI-assisted first release in four to six weeks: what coding agents draft, what engineers review and decide, what still waits on users and sponsors, and the things that stay in scope no matter what.
September 1, 2026 · 8 min read -
Research AIWhere AI is working in enterprise operations, and where it is not
The AI in production inside operations teams is mostly reading things. The AI that was asked to decide has mostly been switched off. Where the line sits today, the governance patterns that hold, and how to pick a first workflow.
August 27, 2026 · 5 min read -
Playbook ModernizationModernizing an ERP without freezing the business
Slicing a replacement so every phase ships something usable and reversible. The order we choose slices in, how shadow mode works, and the parts we still find hard.
August 24, 2026 · 4 min read -
Insight TalentThe blended delivery team, and what breaks when you build one
Enterprise delivery teams are now permanently part permanent, part contingent. The machinery for running them was built for a few contractors. What fails first, and what a governed workforce platform has to do about it.
August 18, 2026 · 5 min read -
Insight DataOne definition per metric, and how to actually get there
KPI governance is an organizational problem wearing a technical costume. What worked, what did not, and why the hard part is getting three teams into one room.
August 13, 2026 · 4 min read -
Research IndustriesTechnology and SaaS in 2026: retention, KPIs and AI features
More user data than any other kind of business, and customers still leave unseen. What is changing in retention analytics, metric governance, the AI roadmap line, and the way engineering teams are staffed.
August 4, 2026 · 5 min read -
Insight AIWhat breaks when you put an LLM in an approval workflow
Audit trails, determinism, and the failure modes nobody demos. Notes from putting a language model inside a regulated process without losing the ability to explain what it did.
August 4, 2026 · 4 min read -
Engineering Note Product EngineeringDesigning role-based access for a two thousand partner network
Why most RBAC models break at the second tier of hierarchy, and how we ended up treating roles, scopes and delegation as three separate things.
July 23, 2026 · 4 min read -
Research IndustriesFinancial services in 2026: compliance that lives in the workflow
The customer-facing side has been modernized. The employee-facing side runs on an aging ERP, email and a person reading a form against a policy. What is changing, and why the AI conversation in this sector is really a governance conversation.
July 21, 2026 · 5 min read -
Engineering Note AIHow we cut KYC verification from days to hours with a document agent
Confidence thresholds, exception routing, and what still needs a human. What we learned building document verification for a partner network of thousands.
July 14, 2026 · 4 min read -
Research IndustriesConstruction in 2026: the supplier network problem
Thousands of vendors, a compliance record per project, and margins priced eighteen months ago. Where centralized vendor management and procurement governance are taking hold, and where automation stops.
July 7, 2026 · 5 min read -
Research IndustriesRetail and FMCG in 2026: channels multiply, margins do not
Six channels, four versions of the same customer, and a reseller network paid from a spreadsheet. What is changing in commerce platforms, affiliate structures and personalization, judged by whether the customer came back.
June 30, 2026 · 5 min read -
Research IndustriesPharma and healthcare in 2026: channels, approvals and patients
The important interactions happen at the pharmacy counter and the front desk, and the systems sit at head office. What is changing in pharmacy engagement, regulated approvals and cross-channel scheduling, and where AI fits.
June 16, 2026 · 5 min read -
Research IndustriesEnergy and utilities in 2026: the network is the system
Energy companies run on dealers, distributors and contractors they do not employ. The operational data is excellent and the commercial systems are email. Where that gap is closing, and where it is not.
June 2, 2026 · 5 min read
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