Another thought too is that the CEO might still keep a significant engineering workforce around even after switching. You still need people to configure things, and no system is feature complete for everyone. I bet you will need to build things, but maybe this new CMS hits most of what you need, and your current engineering workforce can simply change their focus instead of being laid off. I'm not trying to put lipstick on a pig, here, but I also don't want you to think this is just doom and gloom for your job.

This is a classic build versus buy conundrum. Remember that the CEO is looking at a higher level than engineers are typically accustomed to. This helps us, as engineers, to understand their perspective.

Many people in leadership assume that a generalized solution aimed at their particular industry will be more cost effective. They are not completely crazy, here. Economies of scale are powerful drivers of cost. The more customers you have paying for software, the less you need to charge each customer to turn a profit. Logic dictates that a company supplying 100s to thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of customers can spread development and operational costs out over all the customers.

The devil is in the details, though. The CEO hears a sales pitch. The sales person they talk to assures them Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ is the panacea for all their problems. The trouble is, it might be, or it might not. Most times it falls somewhere in between. Our challenge as engineers is to do an assessment.

You respond by building a matrix of requirements that your current system satisfies, and map it to what Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ offers. You also need to be honest about what Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ offers, and include those items in your matrix. In the very least, you need to understand what the company needs that is not currently being met with your existing system.

Honestly, this starts skyrocketing over an engineer's pay grade, but it is good experience. Next step is to do a best effort estimate of what it would take to build the missing pieces into your current system, and include a timeline. Round up at every opportunity, and know that it will still be underestimated.

Next, provide an estimate and timeline assuming you use Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ and you need to build the pieces it is missing. Again, round up. Be pessimistic. Know that this is wrong and represents a minimum budget and timeline. Be sure to include ongoing operational costs as part of your assessment.

In my experience, it is much more costly in time and money to switch, but after you switch, what do you gain? For some CEOs, saving money isn't the end goal. They want faster deployment of new features. If this represents the core of their business, then the company is probably willing to spend whatever is necessary to stay competitive. If Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ is actively maintained and enhanced, the company might get new features quicker than building it in-house, even if they are not saving on costs. Heck, they might trade faster upgrades for increased costs.

Our job in engineering is to come up with some costs and timelines to make the switch. Give them options and an honest assessment of the benefits and drawbacks either way. This can be hard, because it might mean the software development department gets be downsized, but that is life in the private sector.

Before you hang your head and polish your resume, put together the numbers. The CEO might have heard a sales pitch and been given a ballpark cost that does not account for those missing pieces. The CEO might change their minds if they see Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ misses enough of the critical aspects of their business. It might solidify their decision to ditch the in-house solution to purchase something, or it might reassure them that building this thing in-house is the best way forward.

But you need to show them the numbers.

That's how you convince non-technical folks. Numbers.

This is a classic build versus buy conundrum. Remember that the CEO is looking at a higher level than engineers are typically accustomed to. This helps us, as engineers, to understand their perspective.

Many people in leadership assume that a generalized solution aimed at their particular industry will be more cost effective. They are not completely crazy, here. Economies of scale are powerful drivers of cost. The more customers you have paying for software, the less you need to charge each customer to turn a profit. Logic dictates that a company supplying 100s to thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of customers can spread development and operational costs out over all the customers.

The devil is in the details, though. The CEO hears a sales pitch. The sales person they talk to assures them Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ is the panacea for all their problems. The trouble is, it might be, or it might not. Most times it falls somewhere in between. Our challenge as engineers is to do an assessment.

You respond by building a matrix of requirements that your current system satisfies, and map it to what Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ offers. You also need to be honest about what Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ offers, and include those items in your matrix. In the very least, you need to understand what the company needs that is not currently being met with your existing system.

Honestly, this starts skyrocketing over an engineer's pay grade, but it is good experience. Next step is to do a best effort estimate of what it would take to build the missing pieces into your current system, and include a timeline. Round up at every opportunity, and know that it will still be underestimated.

Next, provide an estimate and timeline assuming you use Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ and you need to build the pieces it is missing. Again, round up. Be pessimistic. Know that this is wrong and represents a minimum budget and timeline. Be sure to include ongoing operational costs as part of your assessment.

In my experience, it is much more costly in time and money to switch, but after you switch, what do you gain? For some CEOs, saving money isn't the end goal. They want faster deployment of new features. If this represents the core of their business, then the company is probably willing to spend whatever is necessary to stay competitive. If Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ is actively maintained and enhanced, the company might get new features quicker than building it in-house, even if they are not saving on costs. Heck, they might trade faster upgrades for increased costs.

Our job in engineering is to come up with some costs and timelines to make the switch. Give them options and an honest assessment of the benefits and drawbacks either way. This can be hard, because it might mean the software development department gets downsized, but that is life in the private sector.

Before you hang your head and polish your resume, put together the numbers. The CEO might have heard a sales pitch and been given a ballpark cost that does not account for those missing pieces. The CEO might change their minds if they see Wiz-bang E-commerce CMS Solution™ misses enough of the critical aspects of their business. It might solidify their decision to ditch the in-house solution to purchase something, or it might reassure them that building this thing in-house is the best way forward.

But you need to show them the numbers.

That's how you convince non-technical folks. Numbers.