> A semi-informed decision is better than just believing the salespeople. I think the siblings post (Gartner exists to gobble up money from incompetence) is cl

> A semi-informed decision is better than just believing the salespeople. I think the siblings post (Gartner exists to gobble up money from incompetence) is closer to home. A semi-informed decision really isn't better. I'm not saying that making your decisions based on marketing hype is a good idea, by any stretch (which is what salespeople and marketing people will base their decision on usually). But outside consultants are really dangerous because they are targets (if not willing participants) in orchestrated attacks against your company. At best they will be trying to extract hundreds of thousands of dollars from you. At worst they will be trying to sink you deliberately. If you go with your salespeople's recommendation, the worst you will get is a bad ERP, WMS, or HR management system. A management consultant can cripple your operations if you follow their advice blindly. You may think that hard to believe, but I've lived through it enough times to be doubly cautious.