# Why Midsize Businesses Have the Most Software Regret | Capterra > Capterra’s 2024 Tech Trends survey reveals the highest rate of software purchase regret comes from midsize businesses. Let’s understand why and how to avoid it. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/midsize-business-software-purchase-regret --- Software Implementation # Stuck in the Middle: Why Midsize Businesses Have the Most Software Regret Written by: Lisa Morris Lisa MorrisAuthor Associate Principal Analyst Experience I’ve been writing for Capterra since June 2017. I initially covered supply chain and enterprise resource planning tech... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/lmorris/) Published December 1, 2023 6 min read ## Our research reveals the highest rate of software purchase regret comes from midsize businesses. Let’s understand why and how to avoid it. According to our latest [2024 Tech Trends](https://www.capterra.com/resources/tech-trends-software-purchase-regret/) survey data, most businesses—regardless of size or market—have something in common: They [regret](https://www.capterra.com/resources/us-tech-trends/) a recent software purchase.  While choosing the wrong software after a lengthy selection process can be costly or frustrating for any size business, midsize businesses bear the brunt of this problem. Their rate of regret for purchases made in the last 18 months is 68%, compared to only 60% for businesses overall. The reasons for regretting software purchases vary according to size of business. In this report, we’ll take a closer look at our survey data[\*](#methodology) in order to understand why midsize businesses experience more regret, what market factors and trends drive their software purchases in the first place, and how they can emulate small and large businesses in order to make better B2B software purchasing decisions. ## Borrowing trouble: Midsize businesses share challenges with both small and large businesses One of the downsides of being a midsize business is that these organizations have a lot in common with both small and large enterprises. These organizations are well and truly caught in the middle, which means triple the competition—as they often battle against small, large, and other midsize businesses. ###    Small and midsize businesses Our survey shows that small and midsize businesses identified some of the same major challenges for 2024:  - Finding qualified talent - Training and upskilling employees - Delivering quality customer service The reasons for these challenges are likely similar between each size of business, as well. While most employers are struggling to hire right now, it’s especially difficult for smaller organizations that aren’t able to offer the same competitive compensation and benefits packages as larger enterprises.  Midsize businesses face the additional challenge of operating under higher demands as most tend to be in a growth stage, which means their requirements tend to be in flux. This has many different implications for employees, including shifting KPIs and frequent tech training as the companies adopt different software platforms. ###    Midsize and large businesses On the other side of the spectrum, our survey finds that midsize businesses and large enterprises share the following challenges for 2024: - Identifying the right technologies to adopt - Implementing technology effectively - Managing and preventing cybersecurity threats As you can see, the overlap here all has to do with the selection, implementation, and management of the right technologies. Again, the reasons for these common challenges are probably similar: The larger a company grows, the more complex its technology needs become. And once again, midsize businesses have it harder as they are less likely to have the same IT resources available. This means that making a poor decision when purchasing software can have an outsized effect on the overall performance of the company. ## Most midsize businesses are in a growth mindset, so there’s little room for error Our survey data shows that midsize businesses, more than small or large businesses, identify themselves as being in a growth phase. While smaller and larger companies are better able to take their time in making decisions, midsize companies are under more pressure to get things done quickly. For midsize businesses that regret software purchases, one of the biggest impacts was that it made them less competitive—something that is especially detrimental to businesses in the process of attempting to accomplish accelerated growth. While midsize businesses and large enterprises share the high stakes pressure of making decisions quickly, midsize businesses also suffer more in terms of finances and lost efficiency for any mistakes they make. ## Midsize businesses use different tools for their software selection process It’s helpful to know how midsize businesses are making [software selection decisions](https://www.capterra.com/resources/midsize-business-services/) in order to understand what they can do better to avoid regret in the future. When asked about the initial stages of software research, 97% of midsize businesses say they begin with a list of vendors in mind—similar to 98% of large enterprises that said the same. Additionally, midsize businesses were more likely to almost always end up going with a vendor on their initial list, which is where we start to see some divergence between midsize businesses and their small and large counterparts. When it comes to researching vendors on their list, midsize businesses are less likely to use product trials to identify vendors that might be good fits for their business. The top sources for these businesses when putting together vendors lists were: - Customer reviews (34%) and  - Product demonstrations (32%). While these are great sources of information, neither equal product trials as hands-on tools for seeing how the product actually works. Through product trials, buyers are able to spend time on their own looking through the software, using the features, and assessing for themselves things like ease of use, efficiency, effectiveness, etc. ## How midsize businesses can avoid regret in the future Given the information in our survey, there are two key takeaways to help midsize businesses avoid software purchase regret in the future.  ### 1\. Turn weaknesses into advantages It’s true that midsize businesses do share some of the disadvantages of both small and large companies, but they are also uniquely positioned in the market to combat those weaknesses to an extent. For example, while both midsize and large businesses must find solutions for complex structural organizations, midsize businesses are typically much more agile that large corporations. This gives them an edge when it comes to moving quickly. If a mistake in software selection is made, midsize businesses are better able to pivot to a different choice before everything is finalized. ### 2\. Emulate others when selecting software Specifically, use product trials to come up with better vendor lists. Google and word of mouth are great tools for the first day of research, but businesses of all sizes will have to cull their initial lists quickly in order to move the selection process along. With each round of cuts, researchers should use more detailed and product-specific tools to get a clearer picture of how a product will actually perform once it’s fully deployed. ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * **Survey methodology** \*Capterra’s 2024 Tech Trends Survey was designed to understand the timeline, organizational challenges, adoption & budget, vendor research behaviors, ROI expectations, satisfaction levels for software buyers, and how they relate to buyer’s remorse. The survey was conducted online in July 2023 among 3,484 respondents from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, India, Germany, Brazil, and Japan, with businesses across multiple industries and company sizes (5 or more employees). Respondents were screened to ensure their involvement in software purchasing decisions. For the purpose of this report, business sizes were defined by number of employees, where small businesses had 5 - 249 employees; midsize businesses had 250 - 999 employees; and large businesses had 1,000 or more employees. * * * ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Lisa Morris](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/lmorris/) Lisa Morris is an associate principal analyst at Capterra, covering the healthcare and medical industry, with a focus on technologies impacting independent practices and mental healthcare, such as electronic medical records and practice management tools. ### RELATED READING - [Bookkeeper vs. Accounts Payable Software: Which One Should You Choose?](https://www.capterra.com/resources/category-compare-bookkeeper-vs-accounts-payable-software/) - [How to Unlock Real AI Benefits in Sales and Marketing](https://www.capterra.com/resources/ai-benefits-sales-marketing-software/) - [5 Key Help Desk Software Features With Top Products That Offer Them](https://www.capterra.com/resources/help-desk-software-key-features/) - [How To Build the Right Project Management Tech Stack for Your Business](https://www.capterra.com/resources/project-management-tech-stack/) - [Why You Need Project Management Software With ADP Integration](https://www.capterra.com/resources/project-management-software-with-adp-integration/) - [Help Desk Software for IT Support: Features and Benefits 1,300+ Users Value](https://www.capterra.com/resources/it-help-desk-software-features-benefits/) - [AI in Talent Management Software: The Bridge Between Recruiting and Retention](https://www.capterra.com/resources/ai-talent-management-software/) - [Switching Accounting Software: Common Risks to Avoid in 2026](https://www.capterra.com/resources/switching-accounting-software-problems-risks/) - [Why Projects Fail, and What Actually Helps Teams Fix Them](https://www.capterra.com/resources/4-steps-to-completely-recover-from-project-failure/)