The summary.
THE SHARED RECORD IS THE POINT
Without one, departments hold conflicting versions and spend their time reconciling rather than deciding.
BUYING A SYSTEM BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE ONE PRODUCES EXPENSIVE SHELFWARE
Start from the processes that actually consume effort or cause errors, not from a category name — and quantify the time and cost before deciding.
THE LICENCE IS FREQUENTLY A MINORITY OF THE TOTAL COST
Implementation typically costs a multiple of the first year's licence, and internal staff time is the cost nobody counts.
Most substantial systems are priced in foreign currency, so costs rise with the exchange rate regardless of usage.
HEAVY CUSTOMISATION IS THE CENTRAL TRAP
It makes upgrades difficult, then impossible, and the system is eventually frozen on an old version. Ask of every request: why can we not work the way the software expects?
CLOUD SYSTEMS STOP WORKING WHEN THE CONNECTION DOES
Establish whether the business can operate without it, and for how long.
FREE SOFTWARE IS NOT A FREE SYSTEM
Verify that local partners exist, and that statutory requirements here are actually handled.
