In enterprise software platforms, the largest cost is rarely the initial build. It is the cost of change — the continuous cycle of enhancement, integration, compliance adjustments, operational corrections, and modernization that unfolds over years.

If your Chief Architect (IT/Software) exits tomorrow: How many programs slow down? How many require reverse engineering? How many begin asking, Why was this designed that way?

When coding is mistaken for architecture, the cost of change increases — not gradually, but multiplicatively. Every change has a surface.