> This is so true, and it's crazy how simple some of these solutions could be.
Maybe. I worked for a water startup that was the very first company, globally, to make a fully automated and digital water meter to solve the worlds water problems that most people don't even know they had. I worked there as a junior and then came back ten years later to be a Director. I learned a few things:
- Most people don't know they have water scarcity, water delivery, or water cleanliness problems. In fact, many people in big cities think their water is the best and are shocked when I tell them about how we deal with lead-based service lines. I have a picture somewhere of one of our meters, which were entirely plastic, looking like it was powder coated from the inside in a pure auburn color.
- Big money is often not attracted to municipal projects because the competition is fierce and the audience is limited to a few reviewers. As a Director I was constantly having to produce white papers to counteract misinformation. One that comes top of mind is one of our competitors kept referring to RC4 as a "modern and robust cipher", which was perplexing to me. I found out it's because they used it in their devices and did not have a cryptoengine to be able to make use of modern ciphers.
- Many cities didn't want out of the SCADA game. They were unable to accept that new systems, built on the same principals, using modern technologies could replace the millions they had sunk into these solutions. Sunk cost, although a fallacy, is a factor. Interestingly, our most innovative solutions occurred in rural parts of the country, due to a lack of prior investment, which net us bigger wins but smaller publicity.
I'll try to add some more if I think of them.