Vendor-neutral takes on IT buying decisions. What we've learned across 967 providers. Opinions are free. Regret isn't.
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The reason your vendor gave you for the price increase may not be what actually drove it.
Here's the question that changes the renewal conversation. vist.ly/5qqfg
ALT Text asking 'What's the real reason your vendor raised prices?' with Bitcoin symbol.
Most AI efficiency claims fall apart when you ask one follow-up question. vist.ly/5qnqk
ALT Text questioning if 'AI is driving this' is true or just a convenient explanation.
When a company mandates RTO, some percentage of the workforce will quit instead of comply.
No severance. No advance notice. No apology post. Just attrition.
Companies have run this playbook for over a decade.
The real question is whether the attrition was the side effect or the objective. vist.ly/5qjeq
The most expensive changes arrive as "policy updates." vist.ly/5qhqr
ALT Text asking how to evaluate if vendor policy changes benefit you or them.
The most important sentence in a layoff announcement is usually the one that's missing.
"Who benefits from this explanation?"
The same question applies to every vendor proposal. vist.ly/5qeam
Two versions of the same layoff announcement.
"We overhired and now we're correcting it."
"We're restructuring around AI."
Same financial pressure. Same outcome.
One is an admission. One is a strategy.
Vendors make the same choice every time they write a proposal.
The question is whether you know which version you're reading. vist.ly/5qccs
If the price went up, don't ask for a discount yet. vist.ly/5q8mc
ALT Text reads: Microsoft Copilot: worth it — or did it just get bundled into your renewal without asking?
The platform you just consolidated everything onto probably doesn't cover insider threat.
One compromised AI agent. Your entire customer database. Your IP. Gone in minutes.
Most buyers find out at renewal. Or after the breach. vist.ly/5q6ub
Salesforce just reported that Agentforce is now running 1 billion AI transactions a week. Microsoft Copilot is in every renewal conversation. The pitch is everywhere: replace your agents, cut your headcount, automate the contact center.
Heritage Federal Credit Union heard that pitch — and went the other direction.
When a merger doubled their call volume with no new budget and no new headcount, they didn't automate to replace people. They built a system that made every agent better before a customer ever reached them.
90% of interactions AI-touched. 34% fully automated. Industry baseline at launch? 25%.
The difference between AI that works and AI that gets announced isn't the vendor. It's the architecture.
Before you approve the next AI pitch, watch what a real deployment actually looks like.
Full episode in the comments ↓
Anthropic couldn't stop their own tool from leaking. Most companies haven't even checked. vist.ly/5pzhy
ALT Text reads: Do you actually know what your developer's coding tool can already see inside your network?
Build the vendor shortlist after you’ve listed what the new system has to work with and what the business needs next. Not before.
How to do it: vist.ly/5pqb2 vist.ly/5pqb2
ALT Text 'Are You Choosing IT Infrastructure Backwards?' on a dark blue background.
That new phone system might not support the desk phones and conference room equipment you already own.
Your existing setup should narrow the vendor shortlist before the demos start. vist.ly/5pnn5
Will that platform still work for your business in three years?
A new requirement could mean turning on a license or replacing a system you depend on. That's worth knowing before you buy. vist.ly/5ph6i
Your three-year business plan is also an infrastructure planning document.
New locations, compliance requirements, and integrations can change what your systems need to support.
Check those plans before choosing a platform. vist.ly/5pbxq
Sending notice on time won't end an IT contract if a newer service order already reset the term. One client found out with 2.5 years left.
How to spot it: vist.ly/5p8gn
Starting from scratch sounds easier. No legacy systems to work around.
But nothing narrows your options either. You're making infrastructure decisions the business could live with for the next five to seven years. vist.ly/5p6ke
Claude Code runs inside your network using your employee's access. Anthropic built it. Even they couldn't stop their own source code from leaking into a competitor's product through it.
You never checked what it can reach. It may already have your data.
Tom Cooper, AI Product Lead at @expedient names what to check before you trust that tool with anything sensitive. vist.ly/5nzp5
The most important question in your vendor evaluation you probably never asked. vist.ly/5nr6v
ALT Text reading 'What does my vendor actually owe me if their security fails?'
You can give an AI agent its own login and limit what it can touch. It can still be tricked into doing something nobody approved.
A cybersecurity executive set one up that way. A fake email that looked like it came from him got his assistant to bundle up source code and log files for a meeting with an outsider. Access controls don't tell you whether anyone would notice when an agent uses its permissions in a way it shouldn't.
What to check before approving an AI agent or buying another tool: vist.ly/5nr5r
ALT Text saying 'What can your AI agents do without you knowing?'