When the need for new software programs arises, companies face a difficult choice between opting for “out of the box” options or starting a custom software development project.
When a company recognizes the need for software to solve a specific problem, one of the choices it must face is whether to purchase the software off-the-shelf or venture into the world of custom software development. However, the choice between the 2 options largely depends on what the intended goals of the software are and several other factors involved in this important business decision.
Fortunately, the companies that begin to explore these options are neither the first nor the last to do so. There are many common situations where it makes more sense for companies to invest in building their software rather than purchasing a standardized version.
What really requires customization?
If the company realizes that all the software currently available on the market does not have the type of features or services that it would like to have in its application, it is a more logical choice to build a customized application, either in-house or with a custom application. software development outsourcing team. Most commercially available applications take a “one size fits all” approach, which can limit what an organization can do with the application.
With custom software, developers have the space needed to integrate all the features and customizations needed for a specific company. For example, if the company performs some specialized tasks (such as production processes) that are unique from the rest of the industry, it will always be difficult to find the right software to optimize these specialized tasks. The way to go in such situations is the custom application or software route.
When is the cost of ownership lowest?
Most of the time, commercially available tools require organizations to pay an upfront fee or a monthly/annual subscription. If they do the math and determine that building their own is cheaper than subscription or upfront fees in the long run, then they should take the time to create their own version.
For example, some professional applications cost more than $50,000 per license per year. If a company plans to use these apps for years and building them in-house costs $100,000, it makes more sense to build the app yourself than to buy a ready-made one. These cases are not that common, but they do exist in specific sectors.
Are integrations necessary with the company's current systems?
Another reason companies often consider building custom software is when off-the-shelf options do not integrate with systems already in use within the company. For example, if they're looking for accounting software that integrates with other custom applications (like inventory and human resources platforms) they already use, building your own is always the obvious choice.
Integrations are some of the most important factors businesses should consider when choosing which software to use. Software that does not properly integrate with the other tools used will always harm workers' user experience and overall workflow. If a company already uses custom applications, it may need to constantly build its software if integration is an attribute it really cares about.
What are the company and software security needs?
If a company has security concerns with readily available commercial software, it is always best to build something custom to the exact specifications required. For those running an organization with high security risks, building their software in-house gives them the control they need for important factors like access control.
For a government entity, NGO, or niche highly targeted by hackers and other cybercriminals, it is not advisable to use commercially available tools. This mainly applies to web applications that involve storing data on the application developer's servers. Using commercially available tools can expose organizations, as malicious actors often target widely used platforms because they can gather more information about their potential vulnerabilities.
Before choosing between commercially available software or custom software, companies should always evaluate their organization's security risks. This may mean that the company will have to incur relatively higher costs building its tools in-house, but the peace of mind, money and time that would have been wasted dealing with the side effects of data breaches that have become an everyday thing are very important. higher cost.
Is brand identity a concern?
Having software developed and tailored to a company's exact needs makes it easier to integrate brand identity into the UI. Most commercially available tools do not offer users the freedom to change user interface colors, icons, and other graphical features. This means that all users have essentially the same interface as everyone else using the same software.
If brand identity is important to a company (and it should be), then it may have to build the software in-house to have the flexibility to integrate all aspects of its brand into the software. This becomes even more important if the software is customer-facing, as differentiating your brand from others is a crucial aspect for companies looking to stand out in the market.
Is the software developer a competitor?
If the organization in question is a software development company, it will likely choose to build its own custom software, especially in cases where the programs required profit or were developed by a company with which it competes. For example, if the company exists in the same industry as a company that makes accounting software, using a competitor's application to handle accounting tasks will put the company at risk of losing competitive advantage.
For this reason, most large technology companies end up custom-building the tools they use for their daily tasks, because they cannot trust those created by their competitors. If Facebook (or Meta) wants a remote collaboration tool, it probably won't use Google Meet because Google is one of its main competitors. In this scenario, they will opt for other companies they don't compete with or build their own tool that will serve their purpose.
Choose wisely
Building custom software in-house has several advantages over using commercially available tools. However, every company should take the time to weigh the pros and cons of choosing any option for their specific cases. For some, out-of-the-box solutions will meet or even exceed any current needs, while others will require fully customizable options.
