[anitil]

I've had to do this due to tech not getting a say in vendor choice. We were given an SSH tunnel, a DB user and a query to run by the vendor and sent on our way. Of course, periodically that query stops working because 'woops we changed our schema', and we have to wait for a new query for us to run.

In terms of Pros: - It was quick to set up and _seems_ to work, mostly

For Cons: - We have no guarantees that this query will continue to work - We have no understanding of the model behind this data (why are these records in this state, and these in another? No idea, and the vendor doesn't seem to understand the question) - We need to poll this data source. How often? No idea!

Culturally I think it suggests an immature tech organisation in general, so while not a red flag I'd suggest it is an orange flag.