Understanding the Dynamics of Software Compatibilities

Software compatibility is a persistent headache facing IT departments, one that routinely makes change painful. Your work’s cut out for you whether your organization switches to a different vendor’s software or simply upgrades to a new version of existing software. How often have you wrestled with converting existing files and data to formats the new software can handle? In a perfect world, all software would be compatible and you could move files freely from any application or platform to any other. Many factors work against this utopia, however. Understanding the market dynamics that drive software producers to increase or diminish compatibility among different software packages can help you purchase wisely—and give you advance warning when a troublesome conversion looms.