Defenders of Enterprise Capital
Plateau Strategy
Mid-Market:
Where Strategy Meets Scale
$100M-$1B Revenue | 200-2,000 Employees | Can't Afford Enterprise Complexity
2. You Can't Absorb Unlimited Change
Enterprise clients have dedicated transformation teams. Your people are running the business AND implementing new systems. Change capacity is your limiting factor, not technology.
1. You Need Pragmatists, Not Perfectionists
Fortune 500 can afford 18-month requirement gathering and full process reengineering. You need to go live in 8-12 months with 80% of the value and iterate from there.
Why Mid-Market Is Different
3. One Bet Can't Fail
Enterprise clients have dedicated transformation teams. Your people are running the business AND implementing new systems. Change capacity is your limiting factor, not technology.
4. Speed Is Competitive Advantage
While competitors are in year 2 of their 3-year transformation, you've launched, learned, and iterated. Mid-market wins by being faster and more adaptable than bigger rivals.
Mid-Market Results
$350M Manufacturer
Challenge: ERP replacement quoted at $35M over 30 months
Our Work: Rescoped to phased approach, prioritized production scheduling
Outcome: Phase 1 delivered in 10 months for $8M, full business value achieved
$80M Distributor
Challenge: 12 months into ERP, value unclear, distracting sales and ops.
Our Work: Program review revealed weak business case
Outcome: Refocused and updated existing ERP, 2 months, significant savings
$420M Services
Challenge: Multiple IT initiatives, unclear which to fund
Our Work: Portfolio analysis using our framework
Outcome: Reallocated 25% of IT budget, freed $4M for growth
$280M Healthcare
Challenge: Cloud migration quoted at $15M, 24 months
Our Work: Identified workloads that didn't need migration
Outcome: Reduced scope by 40%, delivered in 14 months
Three Ways to Start
Pre-Investment Reality Check
3-4 weeks | Fixed fee
Before you sign that major IT contract. Independent assessment of vendor promises vs. reality, scoped for your scale.
Deliverable: Board-ready briefing showing real cost, real timeline, real risk
Transformation Roadmap
4-6 weeks | Fixed scope
When you know you need to modernize but don't know the right path. Phased implementation plan built for mid-market execution.
Deliverable: Implementation roadmap, vendor criteria, risk mitigation strategy
Executive Checkpoint
2-3 weeks | Confidential
When you're mid-transformation and need straight answers. Clear view of current state, realistic path forward.
Deliverable: Stay/pivot/exit recommendation with evidence
Five Principles for Mid-Market Success
1
Scope to Your Scale, Not Their Catalog
Big vendors will sell you everything. You need just the 20% that drives 80% of your value. We help you identify and defend that scope.
2
Prove Value Fast, Then Expand
Phase 1 should deliver measurable business results in 6-9 months. Use those results to fund Phase 2. Never bet the farm upfront.
3
Staff for Your Reality
You can't dedicate 15 people full-time for 2 years. Design around the change capacity you actually have, not what the vendor assumes.
Measure Business Outcomes, Not Milestones
4
"System went live" doesn't matter. "Sales cycle shortened by 30%" does. Define success in business terms before you start.
5
Build Exit Ramps Into Every Phase
If Phase 1 doesn't deliver, you should be able to stop without being trapped by sunk costs. We structure engagements to preserve optionality.