Even if a company chooses to buy software instead of building it, it is important for that company to have its own model of the business to be addressed. Only if this exists is it possible to evaluate whether or not a particular package meets the company's needs.
If a software product is large and complex it is often difficult to see exactly how good it is. It may perform exactly the functions desired today, but it may not be able at all to accommodate changes which may come in the next months or years. Indeed, it may be missing a desireable function, but this can be easily added. Examination of the list of functions performed is not adequate to understand the suitability of a package.
What is needed is examination of the structure of the package, as revealed in the package's data model. The package's data model should be compared with the enterprise's corporate model. If the structure is sound, changes can be made to it readily. Even if it doesn't have something you need initially, this can be added. If the structure is not sound, than it will be hopeless if something new comes along.
Essential Strategies, Inc. can evaluate software by looking at a package's data model. Based on ESI's experience in building standard model patterns, it can tell if the package has taken a clean, standard approach or if it has convoluted the problem to the point where it will be unable to respond to any changes.
Often, software vendors will not provide the data model for its software. In these cases, questions can be devised from the enterprise's model to determine what kinds of structures are available. "Can you retrieve the following: . . . " If their model is sound, they will be able to. If not, not.