Why I Choose Boring Technology
The most impressive systems are the ones that don’t wake you up at 3 AM. Here’s why I prefer boring, proven tools over shiny new frameworks.
Who this is for
This post is for founders and engineers choosing a tech stack for a real product — not a demo, not a side project, but something people will actually rely on.
Every few months, a new framework promises to change how we build software.
The syntax is cleaner.
The benchmarks are faster.
The demo looks amazing.
And yet, when I’m building something that needs to survive production, I usually reach for the same boring tools.
Not because I’m afraid of new tech — but because I value predictability.
The 3 AM Test
I use a simple rule when choosing technology:
Will this wake me up at 3 AM?
If production goes down, I don’t want to be debugging:
- a brand-new library
- undocumented edge cases
- breaking changes hidden behind a minor version bump
At 3 AM, I want tools that are:
- well-documented
- widely used
- already broken (and fixed) by others
What “Boring” Actually Means
Boring doesn’t mean outdated.
It means:
-
Predictable behavior
The system behaves the same way today and tomorrow. -
Known failure modes
I know how it breaks and how to recover. -
Stable APIs
Upgrades don’t feel like rewrites. -
Proven in production
Someone bigger than me has already stress-tested it.
Boring technology reduces surprise — and surprise is expensive.
The Stack I Usually Reach For
For most products, I default to:
- PostgreSQL for data
- Redis for caching and queues
- Next.js for frontend
- TypeScript for safety and clarity
None of these are exciting.
All of them are reliable.
That’s a trade I’ll take every time.
When I Do Try Something New
I’m not against new tools. I just have a high bar.
I’ll consider adopting something new when:
- it solves a real problem my current stack can’t
- other teams have used it in production
- the migration path is clear and reversible
- the team has time to support it
New technology should earn its place — not sneak in through hype.
The Real Competitive Advantage
Your competitive advantage is rarely your tech stack.
It’s:
- how fast you can ship
- how reliably your system runs
- how quickly you can debug and recover
Boring technology frees up time and energy to focus on what actually matters: building something useful for users.
Related Reading
If you're making technology decisions for your project:
- How I Build MVPs That Don't Need a Rewrite — building for change, not scale
- Building Reliable Systems in an Unreliable World — handling failure calmly
- My Services — if you need help choosing the right stack
Final Thought
The best systems don’t feel impressive.
They feel:
- calm
- stable
- boring
And when production is quiet and nobody’s panicking, that’s when you know you made the right choices.
Choose boring.
Ship faster.
Sleep better.