ht it was "cool," it didn't have a real business purpose. Sadly, I still use that rule for myself to this day. Usually, when I ask engineers why they need the new things they've asked for, the answer is either emotional or technical. Upper management won't care if a new $400,000 pair of routers makes you happy, no matter what problems they solve. How to Sell Your Ideas to Management However, if you can explain how the $400,000 investment will make the network more resilient, and thus save the company from paying any more penalties, you'll have a captive audience. So, what is it that your boss wants to hear? Consider these questions: How will your idea save money? Examples include: Capital expenditure (Capex) It will replace multiple other pieces that need to be replaced anyway. Operating expenditure (Opex) It will reduce circuit costs or personnel costs. Return on Investment (ROI) Spending the money now will produce a return on investment over the next X months. How will your idea increase revenues? How will your idea increase profits? How will your idea make the department (and thus your boss) look good? If you can answer several of these questions effectively, your presentation will build momentum quickly. When to Upgrade and Why Upgrading your routers and switches is not a fun job, but it's got to be done at some point. Some people like to be on the bleeding edge of technology, and run the latest versions of software and operating systems. For networking equipment, that's not such a good idea, for a variety of reasons that I'll cover here. It may seem obvious to you that if a new feature is announced, you should upgrade immediately to get that new feature. But this is rarely how things work in the real world. The only time that happens is in small networks without change control, and with no restrictions or penalties relating to downtime. Upgrading should not be done lightly. The code that runs your switch or router is just software, and software can have bugs, including security vulnerabilities. While the maj