[oooyay]

A startup that I worked at that worked on municipal water infrastructure often had to sell to rural areas first because they didn't have a rollout of complex existing systems to decouple and migrate. I suspect that's analogous to what OP is describing; a situation where the entrenched system is difficult to replace because the operations of it are now engrained and well-understood.

For what it's worth, I think you're both right to some degree.