Comparisons and advocacy

I read the document and it wasn't that bad. Sure, it could have had a more markedly neutral point-of-view, but for a paper coming out from a organizational service provider to their own organization members some preference for their own solution is understandable.

The paper is about centralized solution versus decentralized or "DIY" solution. It doesn't even explicitly say that the schools must not DIY, but correctly points out some basic pros and cons of doing so (with emphasis on cons). I don't mind people saying things like "you have to think about TCO" because it's true that all solutions should be justifiable in broadly economic terms (although maybe TCO isn't the most relevant one).

I would find it hard to call anyone short-sighted based on that paper. I think it correctly notes the relative importance of organizational issues when compared to strictly technical issues in education. On the centralized/decentralized issue it comes fairly strongly on the centralized side and tries to discourage DIY mentality. I think that is a much more debatable issue, in theory at least.(*) However, given that they already seem to have a centralized solution set up, I would find it hard to argue that it would be a bad idea to actually use it. As a "centralized solution provider" myself (although for much smaller and tighter organization), I know I'm pretty miffed people who try to DIY.

(*) I think both can be made to work. It is an important strategic decision and once the decision has been made you really shouldn't try to go against it.