Boring Systems Build Badass Businesses
I can easily see how this post could be mis interpreted, so i'll add my personnal experience :<p>I had the occasion of building the same system in two different companies : one was a start up, the other a huge company.<p>For the start up i could choose the tech i wanted, and decided to go for python + app engine + backbone ( new at that time ). Those tech were "hype" yet not absolutely brand new. I took some risks by choosing them but thought it could be worth it.<p>For the big company i had to go with java spring mvc + sencha, they didn't want to hear of any new tech that would be different from what they were used to. They deployed it in their own infra.<p>Now, the start up project took 3 man month, the big company took more than 7, and a year total before being deployed.
The startup only paid an intern to maintain the software,and almost nothing in infrastructure fees. The big company outsourced maintenance to a software service company that proved unable to do even the most basic troubleshooting.<p>I designed and coded the two systems, and i wasn't a guru of any specific tech, so it's not an issue with the people. Sometimes, under the right circumstance new technologies <i>are</i> way better.