hat has caused problems in the past, it should be replaced. These sorts of changes are valid, and will increase the network's stability. Maxim #3 There are a finite number of reasons why a company will fund changes to an exist- ing network. The reasons are surprisingly simple and fairly obvious: Lower costs Increase performance or capacity Increase reliability Unless you can prove that your idea will meet one of these goals, chances are, you will be denied the funds you need. GAD's Maxim #3: Companies only spend money on IT projects that lower costs, increase performance or capacity, or increase reliability. Maxim #3 Let's explore the three goals: Lower costs I once worked for a large telecom company that had DS3s crisscrossing the globe. The network was perfection in terms of design. Every node had multiple network entry points, latency was acceptable, resiliency was excellent, and down- time was extremely rare. The network was as close to perfect as we could make it, and my team and I were very proud of the work we had done to make it SO. One day, word got to me that the network needed to be changed. More specifi- cally, I was told we needed to cut $1 million from the budget. The choices were telecom or personnel. Welcome to the world of business-I was told to either destroy my perfect network, or choose who should be let go. My team and I went to work, and we managed to redesign a network with a $12 million annual cost into one that was almost as good, but cost only $10 million annually. We were never as proud of this network because it involved a lot of compromises that we didn't believe in, but the company saw this as a victory. The point of this story is that the changes we made did not benefit the company in terms of resiliency or performance. Instead, the changes were approved because they saved the company money. In the eyes of the company, good enough was better than perfect because it saved $2 million a year. If you have an idea for a network change, one of the best ways to get it approved is to show h