“Sure, those pants may look big on you now, son, but you’ll grow into them.” “There is too much space in our (ware)house, but we plan to expand the family or business.” “The cloud infrastructure may seem over-engineered, but we’re expecting press coverage and massive load on our servers anytime soon.”
All of these statements are based on one foundation; we’ll grow into it.
There is no use in running before you can walk. However, the ability to plan meticulously, anticipating what will be, surely is a craft.
One crucial parameter to enable the decision-maker should be: when we reach the point where the pants, (ware)house, cloud infrastructure is no longer sufficient, what’s will be the switching cost? Expressed in both money and time.
For pants, there is virtually no switching cost.
For a (ware)house on the other hand, it could be cumbersome. Depending on where you are, finding another suitable location is tough, and moving into it, takes much effort.
For cloud infrastructure, migrating an entire application definitely isn’t something that happens overnight.
Another important parameter should be, for the time being, what’s the price to pay?
Wearing pants that are too big may feel uncomfortable, but it doesn’t cost money in principle.
A (ware)house, on the other hand, that’s too big, costs tons of money. Before all the available space is being used, it’s just money down the drain.
Cloud infrastructure that’s over-engineered is also a costly affair. Especially if the press release never comes, and there aren’t any customers to serve.
The lower the switching cost, the more interesting it becomes not to plan ahead.
With a high switching cost, the current price to pay should be kept as low as possible.