[gt_grc]

"Beasts of expert domain knowledge hidden in shitty codebases" is a great way to describe most of the enterprise software I've spent my career configuring and administering. And it highlights what most users of enterprise software don't fully grasp: You don't buy it because it's user-friendly or because it's the most modern technology; you buy it for the battle-tested built-in domain knowledge.

[tomnipotent]

> you buy it for the battle-tested built-in domain knowledge.

This was my hardest lesson to learn. Code is only as good as the domain knowledge going into it. I love games because the domain is more often than not in the realm of fellow programmers and erudites like mathematicians and 3D animators that capture their domain knowledge in physics, sound effects, motion capture, fluid dynamics, FSM AI, or combining geometric and linear algebra to improve gimbal lock.

An ERP on the other hand captures the domain of accounting, finance, procurement, manufacturing (bills of material), order management, taxes, product lifecycle management, and other considerably less sexy but equally important subjects.

[buonzz]

captured a bunch of "domain knowledge" of which only 20-30% is relevant to your business.

let me guess, they did not captured/predicted the domain knowledge required to run the following business huh: - search engine (google) - marketplace for arranging or offering lodging ( airbnb ) - ride sharing ( uber ) - social networks (twitter/facebook)

if all businesses does everything the same way (because some german company thinks it is), all end-products will look all the same. The same way if all chefs is following the same recipe.

IMHO the tools/choices to send invoice, manage orders, product lifecycle can also be a differentiator for your business.

[tomnipotent]

> The same way if all chefs is following the same recipe.

It's more like chefs using the same kitchen appliances, pots, pans and equipment as everyone else. And they do. You use a Salamander Broiler because it does the job.