Choosing Enterprise Software in 2026: 5 Ways Experts Help Buyers Reduce Risk

The enterprise software market is projected to reach nearly $827 billion by 2034, according to a report by Emergen Research.

Buyers aren't after just any old solution.

Enterprises now expect platforms that can adapt to their specific operational needs while remaining stable and scalable.

Anthony Ferrari is the Product Marketing Director at Axelor, an AI-powered, low-code ERP platform.

He says enterprise buying decisions usually come down to a handful of non-negotiables.

And this means vendors must be able to demonstrate value early and concretely.

“For enterprise clients, choosing a system usually comes down to a few key criteria: performance, scalability, seamless integration with the existing IT landscape, security, and total cost of ownership,” Ferrari says.

So, how do you turn those priorities into a real-world buying decision? That’s where Axelor offers major insight.

Who is Anthony Ferrari?

Anthony Ferrari is a marketing leader based in Paris and currently the Directeur Marketing Produit at Axelor. He has over a decade of experience in marketing, sales, and pre-sales, having worked with companies like Axelor, Generix Group, and Infor.

How Axelor Helps Buyers Make Smarter Platform Calls

What sets Axelor apart?

Its approach to helping buyers make informed platform decisions before deployment, and supporting them as they scale.

Keep reading to learn five ways the company empowers teams to test real use cases, align deployment to business needs, and maintain platform stability over time.

1. Prototype Real Use Cases Before Deployment

Enterprise buyers are increasingly skeptical of abstract promises. What they want to see is how a platform performs within their real operational context.

Ferrari explains that evaluation is built around hands-on exploration rather than theoretical roadmaps.

“At Axelor, we help clients assess these priorities in a very practical and objective way,” he says.

The platform’s modular design, combined with low-code and no-code capabilities, allows enterprises to test, adapt, and visualize outcomes early in the decision process.

Instead of limiting demonstrations to static presentations, Axelor involves clients directly in the process.

“We run scoping workshops, tailored demonstrations, and low-code prototypes built directly on Axelor,” Ferrari says.

This approach helps enterprise stakeholders understand not only current use cases, but how the system can evolve alongside their organization.

2. Tailor Deployment Models to Buyer Needs

As enterprise needs diverge, platform vendors face increasing pressure to serve very different buyer profiles, often within the same market.

Ferrari says Axelor recently made a deliberate product decision to address this challenge directly.

“One of our recent product decisions was to clearly differentiate between Axelor Business Suite and Axelor Open Suite,” he explains.

The two offerings are designed for fundamentally different expectations around deployment and control.

“The Business Suite is a more verticalized, stable, and ready-to-use offering, designed for organizations working with project-based management that are looking for controlled deployment and enhanced support,” Ferrari says.

By contrast, the Open Suite prioritizes flexibility and technical autonomy. This segmentation reflects what Ferrari describes as a clear market reality.

“Some clients expect a secure, packaged solution, while others prioritize openness and flexibility,” he says.

Structuring the platform this way allows Axelor to align expectations upfront, reducing risk for both the vendor and the enterprise customer.

3. Use Product Governance to Guide Innovation

Feature-level decisions can easily fragment an enterprise platform if they are not anchored to a long-term vision.

Ferrari says Axelor avoids this through disciplined product governance shared across teams.

“We ensure strong alignment with our long-term vision through a structured and disciplined product governance,” he explains.

At Axelor, product roadmap decisions are tied to broader strategic goals and long-term platform health.

“Every functional or UX evolution is systematically assessed across three dimensions: alignment with product strategy, measurable value for customers, and impact on quality, maintainability, and platform performance,” Ferrari says.

This process allows Axelor to innovate while preserving consistency across its ecosystem: a critical requirement for enterprises managing complex, multi-year deployments.

4. Make Support Central to Enterprise Success

When it comes to enterprise implementation, technology is only half the battle.

What really counts is ensuring clear scoping, hands-on guidance, and a strong partnership.

In other words, good coding can only take you so far.

“I’ve learned that project success doesn’t rely only on the quality of the technology, but largely on the quality of the support,” he explains.

Clear scoping, transparency, and anticipation of challenges play a decisive role in adoption.

“These lessons have pushed us to strengthen our role as a partner rather than just a software vendor,” Ferrari says.

Axelor refines how it supports customers throughout the lifecycle, focusing on analysis, prevention, and usage-oriented guidance.

If you chase features instead of focusing on a narrow, proven use case, you risk creating a legacy system before you even launch.

5. Prioritize Configuration to Preserve Platform Stability

The more flexible a system is, the more risk it carries, unless the vendor sets clear boundaries.

That’s exactly what Axelor does.

“Our approach to openness and configurability is based on a key balance: offering the flexibility our customers expect while preserving the platform’s consistency, robustness, and industrial quality,” Ferrari says.

In practice, this means starting with what the platform already has to offer.

Think of it this way:

Instead of reaching for custom development, Alexor clients are encouraged to explore configuration tools to shape processes to their needs.

“We always favor configuration first, as it ensures scalability and maintainability," Ferrari says.

This keeps things manageable over time. Customizations are only added when there’s, in Ferrari’s words, “a clear and lasting business value.”

“This discipline allows us to deliver a platform that is both adaptable and structured, where customer freedom never compromises system stability or our ability to evolve the solution in a coherent way," he adds.

It’s a highly intentional, measurable approach.

At DesignRush, we like it because it gives clients a system they can grow into, without getting stuck, overwhelmed, or forced into starting over just to keep up.

Agency and Brand Takeaways 

• For Agencies:
  
  Use low-code prototypes to visualize value early. This reduces the skepticism gap with enterprise clients.

• For Brands:
  
  Choose platforms that let you adapt settings and workflows without rewriting code, so your system can grow without breaking when and if you update it.

• Support Over Tech:
  
  Look for partners that offer usage-oriented documentation rather than just a software license.

Apply These Enterprise Platform Lessons to Your Organization

While Axelor builds for enterprise environments, the challenges Ferrari describes are not limited to large organizations.

Many growing companies struggle with platforms that promise flexibility but fail to scale cleanly or systems that offer control at the cost of agility.

Enterprise buyers are increasingly demanding platforms that balance adaptability with long-term reliability.

If your organization is evaluating how to scale systems without introducing future risk, it may be time to reassess how flexibility, governance, and support are built into your technology stack.

Looking for enterprise platforms built for scalable, controlled growth?

Explore DesignRush’s Top Software Providers to find partners focused on long-term performance and adoption.