Have you ever remodeled your house? Normally this includes the top two changes; that of a new kitchen and bathroom, but there is more. Especially when you have got an old house and your urge to make changes in the living room is limited by the number of available wall plugs, or the restriction of changing the location of the washing machine because there is no water available in other rooms.
Old houses that haven’t been maintained for a long time will offer this scenario; you would like to keep the change as simple as possible, but when planning the renovation of a kitchen you will come across an infrastructure that doesn’t fit with new demands. There is a lack of electricity plugs and not only in the kitchen, there are still some old traditional plumber water pipes, there is only one television connection, one cable, no internet-network. OK this last is solved by a mobile connection these days, but the rest you have to do first before finishing the nice stuff.
When planning for a business change, it is also likely that you will come across old infrastructures you have to renew before you can implement new features.
Infrastructure is what enables your business. The problem with infra is that no matter how much effort and money you put in it, you retrieve only that what you use. Each investment in infra is only retrieved by the business you generate from it. That’s’ why infra is normally undersized when designed.
Back to the house.
Providers of equipment and appliances have also anticipated in making their equipment more flexible;
There are wireless phones, wireless internet , television and condensed drying machines that you can place anywhere in the house. Same as air conditioners. But not all appliances have these flexibility options.
Bottom line. The more infra, the more flexible. But it requires an investment higher than the bare minimum of a single connection for tv, internet and cable. Only when you want to change you will experience that your infra is not flexible enough.
Flexibility is a productive investment you have to plan. And you have to make this investment before you will be able to reap the benefits in a possible future.
© 2007 Hans Bool
