This paper discusses not only the nature and causes of barriers arising from cultural differences when developing and implementing information systems. It also discusses the ways to cross these barriers when introducing information technology (IT). It is based on the experiences of the authors in crossing such barriers when doing systems development work for the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) and for other international and domestic enterprises. The paper deals with both the theoretical research which proved useful in this work, as well as some of the practical aspects of bridging the gap between that theory and its application.