Thanks, I appreciate your explanation of the other side again. Maybe I shouldn't have been so general in my original post. I think the issue is how critical is the system, and how commoditized it is. In some businesses the computer systems are in many ways the business. They can't be ripped out and replaced without huge investment. In such a situation the ability to change the software can be critical. Relying on a single vendor for all changes in such a situation means that you are essentially ransoming your company to that vendor. Which just doesnt seem to be good business sense.