Enterprise Software Rivals

The biggest competition for enterprise systems are likely the simplest tools that get the job done.

Big Solution	Example Smaller Rival
Content Management	Microsoft Word offline or a blog online
Web Page or Site	PDF
Project Management software Workforce (Call Center) Management/Optimization Electornic or paper forms	Excel
The latest programming IDE	Notepad, Notepad++, Gedit, or Vi

There are plenty of good (and bad) reasons to purchase the more expensive alternative. Sometimes you are better off starting with the manual, "this-is-how-we-did-it-in-my-day" tool/process to really appreciate what the bigger solution offers.

As my Tang Soo Do instructor used to say, "What would day be if it were not for night?" I'm pretty sure he meant it as a metaphor for choosing between software solutions.