Why not both?

In a recent SogetiLabs meeting, we were presented with a challenge. We would have to solve real-time connectivity issues in a very remote location spanning long areas. At the same time, we would have to transfer large amounts of data from several sites/locations in that area during the day. This large data, however, was required to be transferred only once per day so it was not time-critical.

As we looked through different technological aspects we quickly understood that there is actually no ready-made technology or silver bullet that would solve our problem right here and right now. There would be a possibility for a high-speed wi-fi but its range was lacking. There was a possibility to set up a long-range wide area network but its transfer speed was more apt for very small data packets.

So which should we pick? How would we go around this? Then we realized that in order to actually do all that is required we would need both protocols. The real-time connectivity would be done with small data packets but the high-speed data would be transferred only when a portable wi-fi network device was near the sites. The small data packets could guide the portable wi-fi network to where it would pick up the data and then deliver it, kind of like an electronic busboy.

Similar things happen all the time with technology, especially with test automation. There are many different test tools that do about 90% of everything properly but stumble on one thing. Usually, that one thing is different with all the tools. So in order to bridge that gap, one must integrate two or more tools together so that they can perform the full end-to-end requirement.

So the next time you’re presented with a difficult choice on which technology to go further with, ask yourself this question:

Why not both?