Here's the truth: the enterprise is feudal. Government is the exception. The process must be followed to the letter of the law/regulation, but the process is fi

Here's the truth: the enterprise is feudal. Government is the exception. The process must be followed to the letter of the law/regulation, but the process is filled with places that officials have discretion. Private sector procurement processes can be bypassed given your deal falls in one of these three buckets: a) The purchase is trivial. This is the "hack" the article is talking about, and for most SaaS is the best way to go. Over time, as more of the enterprise uses the product it starts to matter, and the next exception will apply. b) If your solution is something that really matters and an officer of the company signs off on it, you have a legal contract, no matter the internal process that was supposed to be followed. Additionally, the officer of the company that signed off has signaled to the other officers that they can, if they wish, skip legal, IT and procurement vetting. In many cases vetting will be "adjusted" rather than have an internal fight between Sales and IT. c) The purchase is from a company where the enterprise has an investment. I.e. the venture arm is into the vendor for $LOTS. The best two ways to sell to the enterprise: price under the approval limit and grow wallet share, or have something so incredible that the enterprise will buy on your terms.