• Real costs: $1.05M year 1, $900K+ ongoing—requires 7-15 FTEs, not the 1-2 most teams budget • Why adoption stalls at 10%: data quality death spiral, technical complexity barrier, plugin maze overwhelm • Backstage success criteria: 500+ engineers minimum, strong React/TypeScript skills, 3-5 year commitment, existing service catalog discipline • Alternatives comparison: Port.io (4x faster, $50K-$200K, 40-60% adoption), Cortex ($40K-$150K, 30-50% adoption), custom portals (full control) • Success pattern: 500-person company, 5 FTE team, 18 months, managed Backstage (Roadie) → 50% adoption • Failure pattern: 150-person company, 2 FTE team, 12 months, self-hosted → 8% adoption, abandoned for Port • Framework vs product distinction: Backstage requires building the product; Port/Cortex work out of the box • Decision framework: If ＜500 engineers, limited frontend skills, need ROI ＜12 months, or can’t dedicate 7+ FTE → choose alternatives