Why Enterprise Platforms Often Cost Less Than Stovepipe Systems

When agencies first evaluate enterprise platforms such as Salesforce, the license fees can feel like a shock. Leaders may quickly conclude that building a custom solution in-house — or extending a legacy application — is more affordable. But that conclusion often overlooks the full picture.

The real measure of affordability isn’t the upfront license cost. It’s the total cost of ownership over five to 10 years. When agencies run a comprehensive TCO analysis, platform solutions usually prove to be less expensive — and far less risky — than custom stovepipe systems.

That’s where experienced partners like Datawiz come in. With deep expertise in enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management platforms, including Oracle, SAP and Siebel, Datawiz helps agencies assess their existing infrastructure, define requirements and build integrated data architectures that support long-term scalability.

Custom-built systems bring hidden costs: ongoing developer labor, specialized infrastructure, fragmented integrations, compliance upgrades and security patches. Each enhancement or new requirement compounds complexity, making the system harder to maintain. Over time, agencies end up with fragile, siloed applications that limit agility and drive up operations budgets.

Enterprise platforms, by contrast, spread costs across thousands of customers and provide built-in capabilities that agencies would otherwise have to develop themselves — identity and access management, audit trails, accessibility compliance, mobile interfaces and robust security. These capabilities aren’t just nice-to-haves; they are mandatory for federal systems, and recreating them is both costly and time-consuming.

A TCO analysis also highlights risk exposure. Stovepipe systems often rely on small development teams or even single points of expertise. If those staff leave, agencies face significant continuity risk. Platforms mitigate this by providing large, well-trained talent pools and regular vendor-driven updates.

Datawiz also supports ERP and CRM implementation project management, ensuring that agencies not only deploy the right tools but also maintain alignment with mission-critical objectives. Our team develops dimensional data models and comprehensive frameworks that reduce long-term maintenance burdens and improve operational efficiency.

Before dismissing enterprise licensing as “too expensive,” agencies should model the full life cycle of ownership. In nearly every case, enterprise platforms deliver greater value, lower operational costs and reduced risk — while allowing agencies to focus on their core mission rather than custom IT upkeep.