Start here · Essential guide
How to Choose Business Software: A Neutral Evaluation Process
A step-by-step software evaluation process, from defining the problem to a documented decision, designed so that polished demos do not drive the outcome.
Change and Migration
Choosing Tools and Vendors
Neutral criteria for evaluating software and service providers.
Avoiding Vendor Lock-In
Learn what makes switching software providers difficult later, and how data portability, open formats and sensible contract terms can reduce the risk.
Build, Buy or Configure: Weighing the Options
Compare custom development, packaged software and configuring tools you already own, with the trade-offs, hidden costs and questions that help you decide.
Integration and Interoperability Questions
How to assess whether a new tool will exchange data with your existing systems, including the questions to ask, what to test, and common integration pitfalls.
Questions to Ask a Software Vendor
A neutral list of questions to ask a software vendor about support, data access, security, pricing and exit terms, plus how to judge the answers you get.
Running a Fair Software Trial or Pilot
How to design a software trial or pilot with real tasks, real users and success criteria agreed in advance, so the result reflects daily work and not a demo.
Scoring Matrices for Comparing Options
How to build a weighted scoring matrix for comparing software options, with a worked example, and why its results should guide discussion rather than decide.
Total Cost of Ownership Explained
Understand total cost of ownership for business software: the cost categories beyond the licence, a simple hypothetical example, and common estimating mistakes.
Writing Requirements Before Talking to Vendors
How to write software requirements before contacting vendors: separating must-haves from nice-to-haves and phrasing each requirement so it can be tested.
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