Insights

What we learned by building it.

We publish what transfers: a method, a trade-off, a common mistake and what it costs. Nothing that requires buying anything to be useful.

Critical infrastructure and substation in night operation — editorial context image.
  1. Power5 min read

    The load test almost nobody runs

    A generator started off-load every month proves that it starts. It does not prove that it will carry the site's load, nor that the transfer will happen without anything stopping.

    Technical direction — power

  2. Security5 min read

    Access control is worth what the review of its rights is worth

    Badges are issued in minutes and withdrawn rarely. After three years the list of authorised people no longer describes the organisation it is meant to protect.

    Technical direction — security

  3. Software6 min read

    Interoperability is not obtained by writing it into the specification

    Two systems exchange only if someone holds the mandate to settle the format, the cadence and the responsibility for the data. That mandate is assigned before development starts.

    Technical direction — software

  4. Software6 min read

    Migrating the data costs more than the software that will receive it

    The most underestimated line in an application replacement project is not development. It is the real condition of the existing data, which nobody measured before committing.

    Technical direction — software

  5. Networks6 min read

    What a 99.9% availability commitment does not say

    The figure is comparable from one offer to the next. What it covers is not: the measurement window, the excluded scope and the remedy alone determine its real reach.

    Technical direction — networks

  6. Networks6 min read

    A backup link sharing the same duct backs up nothing

    The redundancy of an access circuit is judged on the physical route of the cable and on the identity of the carrier, not on the number of contracts signed.

    Technical direction — networks

  7. Governance6 min read

    Write the exit plan before the first delivery

    Reversibility is not negotiated at the point of departure. It is settled during framing, while the balance of power is still even and the clause costs nothing.

    Executive direction

  8. Security5 min read

    The number of cameras measures nothing

    A video surveillance installation is judged on the chain that runs from detection to decision. The number of viewpoints is only one parameter, and rarely the binding one.

    Technical direction — security

  9. Governance7 min read

    Five requirements a procurement team should place on an integrator

    Most tenders check technical capability and financial standing. They almost always omit the five points that determine what the contract actually costs.

    Executive direction

  10. Power6 min read

    Sizing backup power without being wrong by a factor of two

    A measured load balance costs four weeks. Estimated from nameplates, it almost always leads to oversizing — and oversizing is paid for twice.

    Technical direction — power

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