Top 10 mistakes when choosing business software

Choosing the right software for your business can be challenging. Although there are best practice guidelines for effective software selection, sometimes it helps to be aware of the pitfalls – the things that can and do go wrong most often.

So, to help compile a useful list of mistakes to avoid, we recently reached out to our LinkedIn community with the question: “What are the top 10 mistakes people make when choosing business software?”. Thanks to everyone who contributed their practical insights and experience.

Here is our editor’s view on the top 10 mistakes people make:

1. Not defining your objectives and requirements clearly
2. Confusing systems with behaviour
3. Buying into the hype
4. Failing to invest adequately in internal change management efforts
5. Underestimating the setup and customisation efforts needed
6. Not enough consideration of support & maintenance issues
7. Ignoring the hidden end-of-life costs of software
8. Excessive dependence on a single vendor
9. Letting vendors drive the selection process
10. Ruling out some software options too early without good cause

If this list piques your interest, go to LinkedIn to check out the full discussion. Many people who contributed gave valuable detail that will help you explore the issues further.  You might even like to join in the discussion.

What do you think? Are there others that should be here? Disagree with any of the above? Have your say by commenting below…

POLL: How important is independent information in choosing software?

It’s time for a quick user poll: we’d like to hear the extent to which independent information plays an important role in your decision process when choosing software.

For the sake of clarity, by independent information we mean that it is not from the vendor or reseller (e.g. whitepapers, website, etc) but instead from a relatively unbiased source such as a trusted blog, review site, magazine, etc.

Take a few seconds, think back to the last time you bought software (or thought about buying some) for your business, and then answer the following quick poll.

Congratulations to our March 2010 survey winners

Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete our March 2010 survey on email marketing software. We realize it was a big survey, so we’ll be taking on board the feedback from many of you and streamlining our future efforts.

After reviewing the completed entries, our judges have awarded the prizes to J.Sutton and P.Rountree. Congratulations to you both! You should already have received an email from us with your complimentary copies of the Email Marketing Review Packs (valued at US$149).

For those of you who missed out on winning this time, keep an eye out for our future survey contests or simply go buy yourself a copy of the review pack. You won’t regret it!