To Upgrade, or Not To Upgrade: That Is Not The Question—But How To Upgrade Is
P.J. Jakovljevic and Joseph J. Strub - November 21, 2006

A company acquires software to solve a business problem or gain a competitive advantage. A package solution is most often considered, in order to avoid the "reinventing the wheel" syndrome, and to leverage the experience and expertise of others. A package solution presupposes that the software vendor will keep current with the latest technology improvements in hardware and operating systems, and ensure that current trends in the industry are reflected and supported by the package. However, a company does not obtain these benefits through osmosis, mental telepathy, or the laying on of hands. These benefits are in the form of software releases, service packs, and patches. A company electing not to deploy these vendor offerings may find itself on an island of software isolation, or in an unsupported wasteland. This research note looks into the thought process that typically goes into the decision to upgrade, not to upgrade, or to skip over new releases...