Framework for the Search, Evaluation, and Selection of Enterprise IT Applications in SMEs in Ecuador Through a Field Study

Nowadays, the success of an SME is given thanks to the management of good business software. Still, unfortunately, the companies do not know what the process is to acquire business software, buying software that does not suit their needs, generating losses in the company. This research aims to describe enterprise software's search, evaluation, and selection process through a field study to understand how this action is carried out. Within the literature are methodologies or strategies for searching, evaluating, and selecting enterprise software; however, they are unknown and are not applied; most are designed for large companies. That is why this work consisted of collecting information through interviews with experts in the area and personnel of SMEs that participated in the respective selection process of the software for their enterprise; all this information collected was codified and analyzed using the MAXQDA tool. The result of this work is a descriptive framework that allows SMEs to make better decisions when choosing an ideal software, in addition to reducing failure and economic losses in the company. The described process consists of 4 blocks: motivations, phases of the process, team in charge, and factors to consider.