Acquiring Enterprise Software: Beating the Vendors at Their Own Game

Very little is known, and even less has been written, about what companies need to do to successfully acquire enterprise software: despite the fact that enterprise software often costs tens of millions of dollars. This book is for the company that is in the market for ERP, CRM, financials, or other enterprise software. Based on leading-edge research on enterprise software acquisition, this book presents a start-to-finish methodology for defining the needs, writing the RFP, evaluating vendors and consultants, negotiating contracts -- and maximizing payback. Whether it is a large-scale enterprise deploying CRM for the first time, or a mid-sized company automating its supply chain, IT and business managers face a make-or-break business decision, a decision-if wrongly made-that can sink a company. Acquiring Enterprise Software provides the world-class experience and methodology needed to dramatically lower the risks associated with this decision. The authors begin with an overview of the enterprise software acquisition process. They identify the key influences on the acquisition process. Then, through detailed case studies, they present today's "best practices".