Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

Guardrails can be helpful!

By Wes Trochlil | October 7, 2026

Guardrails can be helpful! When selecting a new AMS, I find my clients are often very tempted by custom software or “platform” systems (e.g., built on Salesforce or MS Dynamics) because these systems are infinitely configurable. After all, if I can make the system do anything I want, that’s a good thing, right? Well, maybe. In […]

“If you knew this information, what might you do differently?”

By Wes Trochlil | September 30, 2026

“If you knew this information, what might you do differently?” I had a conversation with a client recently about developing KPIs, reports, and queries from their forthcoming data warehouse. My client said: “We have a ton of requests for KPIs and reports. How do we determine which to focus on first?” My response: “When someone requests a dashboard […]

Showing is not teaching

By Wes Trochlil | September 23, 2026

Showing is not teaching In my experience, when new staff members are taught how to use their AMS (or LMS, CMS, FMS, etc.) they aren’t really taught how to use the system, they are shown how to use it. So what’s the difference? In a nutshell, showing only covers the “how” and “what.” But teaching […]

Data management is improvisation

By Wes Trochlil | September 16, 2026

Data management is improvisation I was listening to a podcast recently featuring TV writer Rob Long. During the podcast he said (I’m paraphrasing) that, in order to be successful, one needs to learn to improvise, because nothing in life ever goes as planned. One of my favorite sayings is, “If you want to make God […]

Who own the AMS company is like the weather…

By Wes Trochlil | September 9, 2026

Who own the AMS company is like the weather… When I work with clients to find a new AMS, one of the most common questions I get is: “Is the software company owned by private equity or is it privately owned?” While I think this is a legitimate question to ask and have answered, it […]

Older Posts

Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful

March 4, 2026

Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful “Your data doesn’t have to be perfect to be useful.” – (Borrowed […]

Don’t just clean data, clean reports and queries

February 25, 2026

Don’t just clean data, clean reports and queries One of the reasons I exhort my clients to keep their data […]

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs…

February 18, 2026

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs… The vast majority of my work is finite project work (e.g., system selection […]

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap!

February 11, 2026

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap! One of the downsides of technology is that automation can be so […]

Hindsight is 20/20

February 4, 2026

Hindsight is 20/20 I’m currently working with a client that is moving from their legacy AMS to a new system. […]

Cheaper now; costlier later.

January 28, 2026

Cheaper now; costlier later. Most of my clients are very cost-conscious, understandably. After all, who among us has an unlimited […]

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality

January 21, 2026

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality One of the more common requests I hear from my clients is “We […]

Don’t forget to celebrate!

January 14, 2026

Don’t forget to celebrate! Truth be told, I’m not a big celebrator. (Maybe it’s because I grew up with eight […]

Three thoughts on duplicate records

January 7, 2026

Three thoughts on duplicate records Duplicate records are a reality in any database of any size, so as database managers, we always […]

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