The question on whether you should get custom-made software or off-the-shelf for your business is one of the central questions most business owners deal with. In today’s business climate, where technology and business management are inseparable, and you need to use advanced technology techniques to stay ahead in the business world, you have to adopt some kind of central software to help you run your business. Here are the upsides of the two major approaches to technology:
Off-The-Shelf Software is the Fastest to Get Up and Running
If you are in a bind and have suddenly realized you are in dire need of management software or you might want to adopt a new business strategy quickly and want to be fast about it, off-the-shelf software is for you.
It is usually ready and needs little to no customization to work in your business – it comes with a lot of general applications that you can use for most business settings. The amount of time it takes to implement off-the-shelf software is the amount of time you need to install the software and train your employees to use it. After that, you can start hiring a competent SEO firm, such as Neadoo Digital SEO agency, and start marketing your business right away.
Custom-made software, on the other hand, requires substantially more time. You first need to come up with a detailed document specifying what the software needs to do, you have to sit down with a software development company and reach some agreement, and then you have to wait for them to develop the software. All in all, this operation can take anywhere from two weeks to a few months, and this timespan might be something you’re not comfortable with.
Bespoke Software Offers the Most Flexibility
Ready-made enterprise software is easy to set up precisely because it is very inflexible – medium to big software companies spend a lot of money, time, and human resources on creating software that applies to as many situations as possible, and they do this by cramming as many features as possible into the software package and making it as general-purpose as possible.
This results in software that does normal everyday functions quite well while being too bloated to be extended to your company’s unorthodox needs and growing structure. It is hard to update and maintain due to its big size and all the unnecessary functions added to it to sell the software to other businesses.
This is where flexible bespoke software comes in to save the day. When you prepare the SRS (software requirement specification), the company will help you state all of your needs clearly: What you want the software to do, how you want to organize your company, and what are your long-term goals and growth expectations. This way, you’ll be able to construct a program that has all the functionality that you need right now, and it was created with specific consideration for your particular business, your growth routes, and the extra functionalities you might need in the future. It will be much easier to extend your custom-made software compared with ready-made enterprise software.
