Futurum: Customer and Vendor Friction Points Impair Software Acquisition

Austin, Texas, USA, January 27, 2025

Futurum Intelligence’s Survey of 895 IT Decision Makers Finds That Software Purchasing Is Hindered by a Lack of Internal Consensus on Outcomes and an Inability of Vendors to Demonstrate Effectiveness of Their Platforms and Applications

The biggest hurdles in acquiring enterprise software include a lack of consensus on desired outcomes (23%), an inability by the vendor to instill confidence it can meet customer needs (20%), and challenges around pricing and terms negotiations (18%), according to a survey of 895 IT decision makers conducted in the fall of 2024 by Futurum Intelligence. The findings underscore the need for internal stakeholder alignment, more trusted validation of a vendor’s claims around software performance and ROI, and the need for mutually acceptable licensing term agreements.

The study’s author, Futurum Research Director Keith Kirkpatrick, said that the enterprise software purchasing process is fraught with challenges. As features, capabilities, and pricing models are evolving at a breakneck pace, it is incumbent upon both customers and vendors to conduct the necessary due diligence and research prior to engaging, in order to maximize the efficiency of the purchase process.

“Vendors are adding new capabilities to their software applications on an accelerated cycle, including generative AI-based functions, advanced automations, and new integrations with third-party applications and data sources,” said Keith Kirkpatrick, Research Director, Enterprise Applications at The Futurum Group, who authored the study. “Through our research with the enterprise buying community, there are friction points that are creating hurdles to a smooth purchasing process that can be addressed by both vendors and customers.”

Indeed, no single factor is responsible for this friction, according to Futurum Intelligence’s Enterprise Applications Decision Makers survey (see Figure 1), and as a result, organizations of all types must take a multifaceted approach to addressing the following challenges:

Fig. 1: Hurdles in Acquiring Enterprise Software

At the top of the list is an inability to get internal consensus around the desired outcomes from enterprise software. To address this challenge, CIOs must ensure there is alignment among senior leadership on the key strategic goals and objectives that the software will be used to achieve, and then solicit input from stakeholders such as managers and end users. By taking this approach, stakeholders will have a paradigm through which they can provide input or suggestions around their choice of applications, features, and capabilities.

There is a distinct need for performance and ROI validation. Customers simply may not trust the marketing pitch provided by vendors, and likely will require third-party validation of performance, value, and implementation claims in order to instill more confidence in a vendor’s solution.

Finally, alignment around pricing and licensing terms remains a sticking point for many decision makers. This will require creativity and flexibility by vendors, particularly as they seek to drive customers to alternative pricing models, including add-on SKUs, consumption-based plans, and outcomes-based pricing for enterprise software.

Futurum clients can read more in the report “Enterprise Applications – Decision Maker Survey, 2H 2024.”

About Futurum Intelligence for Enterprise Applications

Futurum Intelligence’s Enterprise Applications service provides actionable insight from analysts, reports, and interactive visualization datasets, helping leaders drive their organizations through transformation and business growth. Additional information is available at https://app.futurumgroup.com/.

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