I’m not sure what’s more exhausting—running the financials of this company or managing the army of software vendors we rely on to keep things moving. It feels like every single department has its own preferred platform or system, and I’m left juggling contracts, invoices, and endless negotiations for software I didn’t even know we needed. Procurement tells me one thing, IT says another, and then Legal swoops in with a hundred redlines to contracts I barely have time to read. Keeping track of it all is like herding cats—except the cats charge you licensing fees and send three emails a day about upgrades you don’t want.

What frustrates me the most is the sheer complexity of it all. These vendors know they’ve got us over a barrel with their lock-in tactics. Sure, their tools are "indispensable"—until you realize you’re spending more time managing software renewals and compliance than you are on actual strategic planning. Half the time, I feel like a software librarian instead of a CFO, just organizing licenses, chasing down overdue deliverables, and explaining to department heads why we can’t just add 50 more users on a whim without tripling our costs. And don’t even get me started on the hidden fees—they’re buried so deep in some of these contracts I’m convinced they’re written in invisible ink.

All I saw was chaos—until Mostafa stepped in. He promised to help us with the procurement of some of our software vendors, eliminate redundancies, and identify where our software tools overlapped. Not only did he deliver on that promise, but he also took a huge workload off my plate when it came to dealing with software vendors. Now, instead of getting bogged down in contracts and negotiations, I can focus on driving the company forward, knowing this critical aspect of our operations is in capable hands.