To buy or not to buy? That is the question. The market
offers thousands of software solutions for diverse industries and users,
however, for sophisticated ones they may seem nothing more than “acceptable” in
comparison with the opportunity to develop custom software. Being often
confronted with “build or buy” dilemma, companies often overlook some
considerations before implementing a new solution into their ecosystem. Let’s
take a look at them.
Requirements
Once you start thinking about the software you need, create
a use case where you can accurately state your requirements. Try to cover three
core questions inside this document. Who is the user of the solution? What
actions are expected from this software? How often will you need to update your
solution over time? After that, analyze which features are critical, and which
ones are “nice to have.” Note that if you’re developing a native app, every
additional feature will be reflected in the price, but when buying a ready
solution, all those extras could be included at no additional cost. On the
other hand, if your organization is growing, the expenses for add-ons and
further maintenance are inevitable.
Time & budget
limits
Probably, the main consideration for custom software
development is its cost. We have interviewed one of the business analysists of
Elinext software development firm, Hleb Malyshau about it.
“The final price is usually known only after the solution is
released, as the most popular (and the most flexible) payment model is “time
and material” where you pay for the exact hours spent on the project.” – says
the expert.
Proceeding with the budget considerations, look at buying
vs. building paradigm as from the cost and benefit perspective. Custom
software development vendors offer industry-specific expertise, and their
time-to-value performance for already existing solutions is far more beneficial
than custom development. It makes sound financial sense to buy a ready solution
and saves you minimum 3x of the sum spent on tailor-made solutions.
Implementation of the out-of-the-box software will take you
no more than a couple of days, if not hours, while coding routines can last for
weeks.
Resources
When thinking to involve your tech team into custom
software development, you should be led by common sense. Take your time and
analyze what should go into your solution and whether the talents of your team
are a better fit. You should understand that deciding to build a solution means
relying on your development team to develop the solution from scratch, with all
the pitfalls following from this, such as crashing after the new release
critical changes. As a comparison, ISVs have probably spent a lot of time
rolling out their products on a global market to make them smooth, control
their quality, and support them.
Security
The development of native software is always followed by
meticulous security review process before it can be implemented. You should
stick to the security model leveraged by other data in your software. In their
turn, ready-made apps security is proven over time, as they’ve already been
installed in multiple environments.
Simply put, it’s always cheaper and faster to buy, and
there’s no need to reinvent the wheel if you can find a product that satisfies
your business needs. However, if you have a great development team in house,
your needs are too specific to find a good match among the existing offerings,
if you want to create something unique or branded, go with custom software
development. In any case, remember: time is better spent working on what you do
best.
Source: Praguepost
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