At one healthcare organization, a group of physicians requested the most expensive alerting system on the market. A colleague and I found a way to accomplish the same requirement (automated overhead paging) using a platform the GSOC already owned. $10,000 per year versus $100,000 upfront plus recurring licensing.
Guess which one they went with?
Hint: It involved spending $90,000 when they didn’t have to.
This isn't a story about poor spending, but about how redundant tools accumulate through independent procurement.
Security buys an access control platform with visitor management; Facilities buys a separate visitor system for the loading dock; HR buys time management software that also tracks visitors. Each department has legitimate requirements and each vendor delivers a solid product, but nobody asks if existing systems already handle the function until 3 invoices land on the CFO's desk.
The real cost goes beyond license fees. It creates operational debt: multiple training programs, different workflows, and vendor relationships to manage. When an incident happens, operators should not have to guess which system is the "source of truth".
In the healthcare example, the expensive system won because it was best-in-class. It was a top-tier product, but we paid a $90,000 premium for features they would never use such as 47-language support and integrations for software they didn't own simply because the tool they already owned didn’t look as sleek.
The Swiss Army Knife Problem
This is what I call the Swiss Army Knife Problem: buying a new, specialized tool for a single blade when you already have a multi-tool in your pocket that performs the exact same function.
Tool overlap isn't always about simple redundancy. Two platforms might both handle visitor management, but one might offer facial recognition while the other integrates with HR. The question isn’t just "do they overlap?" but "which overlapping features actually matter for your operation?"
Inventory Before Investment
Vendors sell features, but they don't necessarily map your internal capabilities. Before your next technology purchase, inventory what you already own. Map every peripheral feature of your current platforms. You might find that the "new" capability you need is already sitting in a system you've been paying for since 2019.