Your company certainly doesn’t need another Microsoft Certified Professional who only knows how to click “Next.” You need IT experts who understand your industry, evaluate all available options, and build solutions that will still be an investment—rather than a burden—five years from now.
Because the only thing worse than an expensive vendor is an IT “expert” who doesn’t know that alternatives exist.
When an “Expert” Becomes a Salesperson: The State of IT Consulting in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Do you remember the saying, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”? In today’s IT community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the problem is even more serious: many “experts” have only one hammer—and don’t even know how to use it. They just know where the “Next” button is.
The Next–Next–Finish Culture: A Diploma Without Understanding
The decades when an IT expert meant someone who truly understood technology, architecture, and business are long gone. Today, we have a certification boom but a knowledge deficit. Microsoft certification? Just pass five mock tests. AWS? Watch three YouTube tutorials. Linux administrator? “That’s complicated—better stick with Windows Server.”
The problem isn’t the tools—it’s the people choosing them.
When your IT “expert” proposes a solution, ask yourself:
- Has he considered the alternatives?
- Has a 3–5 year cost comparison been conducted?
- Does he really understand your business—or is he merely pushing what he’s familiar with?
- Has he considered the “what if we want to switch vendors” scenario?
In 90% of cases, the answer is No. Because it’s easier to copy the configuration from the previous project than to actually think.
Vendor lock-in isn’t an accident—it’s a business model.
Let’s be clear: big IT companies want you to be dependent on them. This isn’t a conspiracy theory—it’s their growth strategy. And local “experts” play right into their hands, because:
- They don’t know anything else — they’ve only learned one ecosystem and now solve every problem with the same tool.
- It’s easier for them — the vendor provides documentation, support, and ready-made “out-of-the-box” solutions.
- They don’t care about your budget — they charge for implementation, while you pay for licenses for years.
- They have no accountability — when license costs jump 200% in three years, they won’t be around to explain it to you.
Real-World Examples: When the “Best Solution” Becomes the Most Expensive
Case 1: Small Company, 15 Employees
- IT expert recommends: Microsoft 365 E3 licenses for everyone + Azure hosting
- Annual cost: €6,000–€8,000
- Actual needs: email, documents, collaboration
- Alternative: Open-source mail server + Nextcloud + LibreOffice
- Savings: 80% + full control over data
Case 2: Development Firm, 30 Developers
- Proposal: GitHub Enterprise + Microsoft DevOps + Azure Pipelines
- Annual cost: €15,000+
- Alternative: GitLab self-hosted + Jenkins + Nexus
- Savings: 90% + flexibility in scaling
Case 3: Manufacturing Company
- Proposal: “Only Oracle can handle this” (not true)
- Cost: €50,000+ for licenses + 20% annual support
- Result: Vendor lock-in for 10 years
- Alternative: PostgreSQL with custom extensions
- It was possible—but the “expert” didn’t know PostgreSQL
“But open source has no support!” – a myth used to sell licenses
This is the favorite mantra of IT vendors. The truth is different:
- Red Hat: Commercial support for Linux—you pay only for what you use
- PostgreSQL: Companies worldwide offer support, with no vendor lock-in
- Nextcloud: Enterprise version with SLA agreements
- GitLab: Professional support teams
The difference? With open source, you pay for the service, not the cage. You can switch your support provider without changing the entire system.
IT Experts vs IT Sellers: How to Spot the Difference
IT Seller says:
- “This is the industry standard” (read: this is what I learned in a course)
- “All companies use this” (read: I don’t know any alternatives)
- “It’s complicated” (read: I don’t know how to do it)
- “You’ll get 24/7 support” (read: call a support center in India)
A true IT expert says:
- “Let’s consider a few options and compare them”
- “Here’s a 5-year cost analysis”
- “These are the risks, these are the benefits”
- “Let’s create a hybrid solution that takes the best of both worlds”
Hybrid Approach: Pragmatism Over Fanaticism
A quality IT company won’t push either open source or proprietary solutions. Decisions will be based on:
Real cost analysis:
- Licenses
- Implementation
- Training
- Maintenance
- Scaling
- Exit strategy (cost of switching to another solution)
Business needs:
- Do you need specific functionality that exists only with one vendor?
- Do you have resources for in-house maintenance?
- How critical is system availability?
Example of a smart approach:
- Email and collaboration: Open source (Nextcloud, Roundcube)
- Advanced analytics: Possibly Power BI or Tableau (if alternatives don’t meet requirements)
- Hosting: A mix of dedicated servers and cloud depending on workload
- Database: PostgreSQL for most cases, possibly a specific vendor for niche scenarios
How to Protect Yourself from Vendor Lock-In
1. Demand an alternatives analysis – Don’t accept “We only work with X” as an answer. If the consultant can’t explain why they isn’t choose another option, they haven’t thought it through.
2. Request a TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) analysis – Look at five years, not just one, with realistically projected growth.
3. Insist on standard data formats– Your data must be portable. If the solution doesn’t support exporting to standard formats, consider it a red flag.
4. Ask for an exit strategy– “What if we want to switch solutions in two years?” If the consultant can’t answer, that’s a bad sign.
5. Check references… for real– Not the ones in the PowerPoint. Call companies using the proposed solution and ask about hidden costs.
The Harsh Reality: IT Culture in BiH Needs Change
The problem isn’t technical—it’s cultural. We have a community that:
- Glorifies certifications instead of understanding
- Values speed over quality
- Sells solutions instead of solving problems
- Copies from StackOverflow instead of designing architecture
- Cares about their CV instead of the client
Young IT professionals learn “how to pass an interview” rather than how to build sustainable systems. Senior developers keep the “secret sauce” to themselves instead of educating the team. IT managers choose technology based on what’s “in demand” in the market, not what the problem actually requires.
A Call for Change
IT consulting isn’t a service for installing vendor software. It is:
- Deep understanding of business processes
- Objective analysis of available solutions
- Long-term sustainability strategy
- Knowledge transfer to the client
- Caring for the client’s budget as if it were your own
If your IT partner can’t explain why they didn’t choose a cheaper alternative, they’re not a partner—they’re a reseller.
Conclusion: Invest in knowledge, not laziness
The Next–Next–Finish approach is a symptom of a bigger problem: industry laziness. It’s easier to sell Microsoft 365 than to design a custom solution. It’s easier to say “only AWS can do this” than to learn Kubernetes.
But you don’t pay IT experts to take the easiest path for themselves—you pay them to choose the best path for you..
Ask questions. Be skeptical. Demand evidence.
And remember: Vendor lock-in isn’t a technological inevitability—it’s the result of poor IT decisions.
