Consider alternatives when:
1. The deployment is a net-new implementation and there are no Rational dependencies; platforms such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or ServiceNow often provide faster time-to-value.
2. Strong, current compliance documentation (for example, SOC 2 reports, ISO certification scope, or DPA language) is required and cannot be clearly obtained for Rational Change.
3. The organization expects modern integrations (for example, cloud CI/CD and native Git workflows) without significant custom integration work.
4. The organization is consolidating enterprise tooling onto platforms such as Jira or ServiceNow and does not want to introduce an additional, legacy tool.
5. Administrative resources are limited and the operational burden of license servers and on-prem maintenance is not acceptable.