In my opinion too many decisions are made in the mindset of current state. To truly understand what is important and is required, one needs to separate themselves from emotionally driven decisions and evaluate the true desired outcome. ROI isn't always financial. It can be employee engagement, customer satisfaction and even building and strengthen relationships with your partner chain. When thinking about change, be the change pioneer and really make change for the why and not the because. Think and act with purpose and respect and the gains will come in return. You can only make positive change if you know where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow. Change management is a skill. Use it wisely.

Most common mistakes organisations make in system upgrades is in no evaluating it as per need? - If it is for compliance /security - No choice - Go for it . Ensure there is proper risk assessment - If it for enhanced usage - Do an ROI , if ROI is directly impacting revenue - prioritize - If upgrade is essential but not adding value - then it is certainly adding cost - Lastly - what is the shelf life of the s/ware in question for upgrade. If low consider the impact and only then decide. - A lot also depends on the system and data architecture of the organisation. Not all upgrades are always required.

I believe that having a clear outcome in mind allows me to choose between the options available. For example, a new feature which would allow staff to better perform a common task vs a pretty UI. Work with business stakeholders to prioritise needs vs wants. Also consider how any new features will impact system performance or requirements ahead of time.

When choosing system upgrades, I’d prioritize those that: Impact Key Operations: Focus on upgrades that enhance core business functions or customer-facing systems. Improve Security: Prioritize upgrades that protect against risks and ensure compliance. Boost Performance: Choose upgrades that make systems faster and more reliable for users. Support Future Growth: Opt for scalable solutions that prepare us for future needs. Deliver High ROI: Focus on upgrades that offer the best balance of cost and benefit. These upgrades will provide the biggest business impact.

Perform a Return on Investment analysis to ensure that you are selecting the option that provides you the best impact for your organization. Security and Compliance upgrades should be the first priority in any company upgrade. Second in priority should be upgrades that bring the biggest impact on users and improves their productivity - such as upgrading endpoints and/or adding SaaS Applications for user convenience (password managers) or Single Sign-On Systems such as Okta.