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If your C suite is personally approving a $5/month charge, your organization is likely no where near the size where a change like this from Docker impacts you.


> If your C suite is personally approving a $5/month charge, your organization is likely no where near the size where a change like this from Docker impacts you.

Or has toxic micromanaged structure. I've had friends who have worked places that would barf over ongoing $60/year software charges, where anything like that would have to go up to C levels and require justification. Luckily never worked at one myself, dodged that particular bullet.


My purchase-approval flow is the same for $1 purchases as it is for $1k purchases. If we hadn't finagled a minor workaround, it would be the same as that required for $5k purchases.

Handling each purchase and documenting it in case we are ever audited requires easily $25-50 of people's time.


If your C suite requires approving a $5/month charge the company has serious issues. This always bugs me about the HN attitude about spending money, but it's really a extremely frugal developer complex. It's $5 a month, you get insane value out of Docker Hub, just pay it. I come from an entrepreneur attitude, my time is my most precious commodity. I don't optimize minor expenses, I optimize the big picture, my time, outcomes, and revenue coming in.


Yeah, when it's $5/mo blocking good utilisation of multiple $150k people, someone doesn't understand priorities.


Or maybe your organization is a public institution, where each penny spent needs to be authorized/accounted for.


> It was revealed on January 22, 2009 that Thain spent $1.22 million of corporate funds in early 2008 to renovate two conference rooms, a reception area, and his office, spending $131,000 for area rugs, $68,000 for an antique credenza, $87,000 for guest chairs, $35,115 for a gold-plated commode on legs, and $1,100 for a wastebasket. Thain subsequently apologized for his lapse in judgment, and reimbursed the company in full for the costs.

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thain

"Sorry I got caught. I will work harder to hide next time."


Even in a public institution that has never failed an audit, I have trouble believing $5/mo is a hard thing to get. Technically, its $60/year fee because its one of those annual plans. We pay for vultr with no drama.


$5 a month also means consideration is given as part of a contract, and legal will need to review to make sure you aren't granting them patent immunity, etc.


Worked at a place where everything went through the VP finance and they were making $15M/yr profit. At one point we brought ion a desktop off of the curb to use as our build server. Sure, we got in trouble with ops later but those above us didn't care since it didn't cost us anything.


It took 3 months at my old client (fortune 100) to get a signature for an Addendum that would deliver us a service for free in addition to the paid stuff that was already signed.


For me it’s not the c-suite, it’s the admins who make purchases. Or the hassle of maintaining a corporate card.

The headaches to spend $5 cost way more than $5.




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