Enterprise Software Upgrades: Less Pain, More Gain
The stakes have risen for enterprise upgrades. These projects need to add value, and value is no longer defined by squeaking through an upgrade before the desupport date for an older version. A good planning process, along with regular meetings with fellow users at other companies who can help you organize to get what you want from vendors, is critical.
But old habits die hard. Amazingly, 21 percent of the AMR survey respondents sold their enterprise software upgrades to their business based on vendors’ announcing desupport dates for the software. That’s not planning. That’s desperation.
As CEOs and CFOs tighten the reins on IT spending, Brother International’s Upton pities the fool that tries to get away with such a sales pitch in the future. "If you’ve got a multimillion-dollar ERP system, there better be a better reason for upgrading than the fact that the vendor won’t support it anymore," he says.
