Thinking on technology strategy, platform decisions, AI adoption, and the realities of digital transformation.https://vasko.com.au/en-AUhttps://vasko.com.au/lab-notes/operation-last-drinks/https://vasko.com.au/lab-notes/operation-last-drinks/I shipped a video game about my local pub without writing a line of code. My mates are NPCs now. Notes from four autonomous milestones, a soft launch that humbled me in ten minutes, and a manifest doctrine that earned its keep three times in a day.Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/meet-productmatch/https://vasko.com.au/insights/meet-productmatch/Most companies treat AI as a feature to bolt onto something they already have. I treated it as the product itself — shipped a complete, multi-tenant pricing intelligence SaaS in two weeks, then iterated. Here's the discipline that makes that pace real, not theatre.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/lab-notes/three-streams/https://vasko.com.au/lab-notes/three-streams/More AI capability isn't fixing what's actually broken — the bottleneck has moved upstream, to the question itself. A personal AI ops stack in three parts: Vasko OS, FortyTwo, Hermes. Why each one exists, what shortcoming it addresses, and what they are reaching for together.Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/lab-notes/patches-welcome/https://vasko.com.au/lab-notes/patches-welcome/I installed gstack in last month's Lab Note. This month I shipped a patch back to it. A note on why open source is having a moment again, why AI coding tools are the reason solo consultants can finally participate, and why we should.Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/lab-notes/bubble-wrap-to-merged-pr/https://vasko.com.au/lab-notes/bubble-wrap-to-merged-pr/A mini PC, an open-source Claude Code skill pack, and a Tuesday afternoon spent watching an autonomous AI engineering team catch the bugs I would have shipped.Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/data-foundation-enterprise-ai/https://vasko.com.au/insights/data-foundation-enterprise-ai/Why data governance isn't optional. How to avoid the 80% of AI projects that fail before reaching production.Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/crm-implementation-failure/https://vasko.com.au/insights/crm-implementation-failure/CRM implementations in retail fail at an alarming rate. This article diagnoses the common failure patterns and provides a practical remediation framework, including when to fix what you have and when to start again.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/pe-portfolio-technology-standardisation/https://vasko.com.au/insights/pe-portfolio-technology-standardisation/Portfolio technology standardisation promises cost savings and operational leverage. This article separates the genuine opportunities from the common pitfalls and provides a phased approach to getting it right.Fri, 15 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/vendor-selection-without-theatre/https://vasko.com.au/insights/vendor-selection-without-theatre/RFPs, beauty parades, and feature comparisons waste time and lead to poor decisions. Here is a structured, practical approach to evaluating technology vendors that actually works.Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/retail-operating-model/https://vasko.com.au/insights/retail-operating-model/Most retail businesses treat technology as a cost centre. This article makes the case for embedding technology as a product function, and provides a practical blueprint for what a modern retail tech operating model looks like.Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/integration-strategy/https://vasko.com.au/insights/integration-strategy/Integrations are where most retail technology programmes fail. A practical guide to architecture patterns, middleware decisions, vendor management, and the human side of keeping systems connected.Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/headless-vs-monolith/https://vasko.com.au/insights/headless-vs-monolith/Cut through the hype. A structured framework for deciding whether headless commerce, monolithic platforms, or a composable middle ground is the right architecture for your retail business.Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/post-acquisition-technology-playbook/https://vasko.com.au/insights/post-acquisition-technology-playbook/You have closed the deal. Now what? A practical guide to the technology decisions that matter most in the first 100 days after acquiring a retail or commerce business.Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/ai-in-retail-operations/https://vasko.com.au/insights/ai-in-retail-operations/Separating genuine operational value from vendor hype. A practical guide to where AI delivers measurable results in retail, and where it is still mostly theatre.Tue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/tech-due-diligence-for-investors/https://vasko.com.au/insights/tech-due-diligence-for-investors/Most tech due diligence reports tell investors what the stack looks like. They rarely tell you whether it will support the investment thesis. Here is what to actually look for.Sat, 10 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/what-goes-wrong-in-retail-transformation/https://vasko.com.au/insights/what-goes-wrong-in-retail-transformation/After 18 years and dozens of transformation programmes, these are the patterns I see repeatedly. Most failures are not technical. They are organisational.Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/do-you-need-a-cdp/https://vasko.com.au/insights/do-you-need-a-cdp/The CDP market is crowded and confusing. Before you sign a six-figure contract, here is how to work out whether a customer data platform will solve your actual problem.Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/meet-sally/https://vasko.com.au/insights/meet-sally/Most people use AI as a smarter search engine. I built an AI agent called Sally that operates as infrastructure — managing projects, surfacing priorities, and scaffolding work before the first coffee. Here's what happens when you stop using AI and start building with it.Sat, 12 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/when-to-replatform/https://vasko.com.au/insights/when-to-replatform/Most replatforming decisions are made too early, too late, or for the wrong reasons. Here is how to tell when the pain is real and the business case stacks up.Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/fractional-cto-what-it-actually-means/https://vasko.com.au/insights/fractional-cto-what-it-actually-means/The fractional CTO model is growing in popularity, but the role is often misunderstood. Here's what it actually involves, when it works, and when it doesn't.Sat, 15 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/ai-in-retail-what-actually-works/https://vasko.com.au/insights/ai-in-retail-what-actually-works/After advising several retailers on AI adoption, here's what I've seen actually deliver results , and what tends to be expensive distraction.Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vasko.com.au/insights/how-to-choose-an-ecommerce-platform/https://vasko.com.au/insights/how-to-choose-an-ecommerce-platform/Platform selection is one of the highest-stakes technology decisions a retail business makes. Here's a framework for making it well.Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT