Vendors are necessary. They bring tools, expertise and pace. But their incentives are not the same as the client operating model. The vendor wants a successful sale, implementation or renewal. The organisation needs a capability it can live with.
The hard questions often appear after the vendor has gone: who owns the configuration, who understands the failure modes, who can explain the dependencies, who knows whether the product is still the right answer?
Good engineering advice respects vendor knowledge but does not become vendor-led. The environment decides.
Engineering lessons
- Vendor input is evidence, not architecture.
- Ownership must outlive the project.
- The environment decides what is appropriate.