My current employer has a Foxpro Unix enterprise system that I maintain. There are conversations now about upgrading vs. purchasing an off-the-shelf system vs. maintaining the status quo. Of course I want to advocation upgrading to an OOPS and writing it ourselves. I need to write a paper on why I think the company should do this.

Any suggestions you all might give me on
1) why a company should upgrade a procedural system to an OOPS and
What is the advantage of OOP versus procedural - inheritance, userdefined types, polymorfizm and encapsulating. You will gane from nice grafic interface. If you decide to use WinXP you as administrator will can gain from remote control of every system in enterprise. Fro your office you will be able to do everything.
2) why a company should build their own vs. purchase off-the-shelf would be greatly appreciated.
I've never seen that kind off-the-shelf system, which fully responce to requirements of the enterprise. Custom developed one let enterprise to put and orther the things in way which will be most suitable for corporate using. Most of times, when we get outsorcing projects that is the reason that company programmers have not enough time supporting previous version to develop faster new one. Most of companies spend more money in new investment, but after that save much more money of optimized for their needs system. 5 years TCO for custom develop systems are less than for off-the-shelf. I have customer, who after custom development of system explain me a few years later that they repay difference in systems after first year.