As organisations across South Africa and the rest of Africa strive to achieve their strategic goals, many are falling into a critical trap: prioritising price over long-term value when selecting project portfolio management (PPM) tools – especially in environments where the project management office (PMO) is still in its early stages of maturity.
According to Bruce Moepye, Managing Director of Gen2 Enterprise Services, early maturity PMOs are especially vulnerable to this short-sighted approach.
“Organisations with early maturity PMOs often don’t see the forest for the trees,” says Moepye. “They fixate on immediate needs and cost, overlooking the broader strategic requirements that emerge as the PMO evolves. This can lead to choosing tools that quickly become inadequate, forcing expensive replacements or workarounds.”
Understanding the early maturity PMO challenge
Early-stage PMOs typically focus on establishing governance frameworks, standardising reporting and building foundational processes. While cost-conscious procurement may seem prudent at this stage, it can result in selecting tools that lack the functionality or scalability needed as the PMO matures.
Moepye explains: “In the maturity roadmap, a PMO starts by handling individual projects, then progresses to managing programmes, and eventually oversees a portfolio of initiatives that deliver enterprise-wide value. If tool selection doesn’t anticipate this evolution, organisations risk stalling their PMO growth.”
The risks of price-focused procurement include:
- Limited functionality: Basic tools may meet immediate needs but lack capabilities like resource optimisation, risk tracking and strategic portfolio planning.
- Scalability constraints: Cost-driven tools often fail to support the complexity of managing larger, cross-functional initiatives.
- Strategic misalignment: Tools selected without a view of the PMO maturity roadmap may not integrate with broader business strategy or enterprise systems.
- Higher total cost of ownership: While cheaper upfront, low-cost tools often incur higher long-term costs due to frequent upgrades, replacements or parallel systems.
Strategic procurement is a long-term enabler
“Early-stage PMOs must be supported with tools that not only address current needs but also enable future capability growth,” says Moepye. “This is why it is important for early maturing PMOs to consider their maturity roadmap and partner with organisations that will assist in that journey.”
He cautions that budget constraints – while real – should not drive organisations to make procurement decisions in isolation from their strategic objectives. “The right PPM tool is not just a line item – it’s a cornerstone of long-term value delivery.”
Look beyond price
Gen2 Enterprise Services urges procurement and PMO leaders to take a balanced approach. Involve PMO stakeholders in the selection process, assess the long-term scalability of potential tools and factor in total cost of ownership across a multi-year horizon.
“At Gen2, we’ve worked with clients at various stages of PMO maturity. Those who take a long-term view on tool selection consistently experience better portfolio outcomes and greater business alignment,” Moepye concludes. “Let’s look beyond the price tag and invest in solutions that truly support our organisations’ futures.”
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