Start at Zero: Leading High Stakes Modernization In the Age of AI

Every year, government agencies spend billions on enterprise technology modernization projects that fail. Not because the technology is wrong, but because the approach is broken from the start.

The pattern is painfully familiar: a large systems integrator wins a massive contract, staffs the project with junior consultants, and spends years building something that looks nothing like what was promised. Budgets balloon. Timelines collapse. And when things go sideways, the agency is locked in with no leverage, no alternatives, and no independent voice in the room telling them the truth.

The Birmingham City Council lost $216 million on an ERP implementation that never delivered. They are not alone. From Cook County to school districts across the country, the wreckage of vendor-led failures stretches across every level of government.

It does not have to be this way.

Start at Zero is a practitioner's guide to reclaiming control of high-stakes technology projects before the first dollar is spent. Written by Abhijit Verekar , a government technology consultant with two decades of experience and more than 120 public-sector engagements, this book introduces Phase Zero, the critical preparation work that most agencies skip and most vendors hope they never do.

Inside, you will learn how to conduct pre-RFP assessments that clarify what you actually need before vendors start telling you what to buy. You will discover how AI is reshaping procurement, requirements gathering, and vendor evaluation, and how agencies can use these tools today without waiting for a vendor's three-year roadmap. You will find frameworks for governance that survives go-live, stakeholder alignment that breaks through turf wars, and vendor selection based on fit rather than sales presentations.

This is not a technical manual. It is a leadership playbook for CIOs, city managers, county administrators, and agency directors who are tired of being passengers in their own modernization projects. Whether you are planning your first ERP replacement, recovering from a failed implementation, or figuring out where AI fits into your technology strategy, Start at Zero gives you the independent framework to lead from a position of strength rather than dependence.

The vendors have their playbook. This is yours.