01
Identify commodity and strategic capability
Payroll processing may be commodity while scheduling, eligibility or customer service creates the organisation's advantage. Different domains can justify different choices.
Build versus buy answer
Should your organisation build or buy software?
Buy when the requirement is standard, speed matters and the product fits with limited compromise. Build when the workflow is strategically important, integration is deep, rules are distinctive or ownership matters. Combine both when a bespoke operational platform can use specialist services behind stable interfaces.
02
Test fit with real exceptions
Product demonstrations usually show the ideal journey. Evaluate the edge cases, permissions, reporting and recovery paths that dominate daily operations.
03
Compare five-year control
Include roadmap dependence, price changes, exportability, integration limits, maintenance responsibility and switching cost.
Start with the operation