The “build vs buy” decision is more critical today than ever. New technologies, the cloud and better processes are enabling rapid innovation of solutions that promise full end-to-end control of your business.
As IT software decision makers, we frequently find ourselves at a crossroad of deciding whether to evaluate existing software solutions or build a custom solution from the ground up. It can be like comparing apples to oranges – time consuming and frustrating.
So, how do you know whether to build or buy?
Here are six key questions to help you make the right decision:
1. Are there well established solutions that meet at least 90% of your needs?
When evaluating software, make sure the solution meets at least 90% of your businesses needs.
Many buyers underestimate how much time, money, and resources are needed to fill service gaps within a new software solution.
The result?
The gap is never filled and the organization is left with something that meets most, but not all of their needs. The result is an expensive piece of software that doesn’t get internal adoption or reach expected ROI goals.
2. Does the existing solution go beyond what you are looking for?
More features equals greater value, right?
Not exactly.
Having a solution that provides functionality way beyond what your business needs can actually be a problem.
A simple solution designed to solve a specific business need will outperform complex platforms trying to meet the needs of the masses.
In this case, less is more.
3. What are the implementation and training costs?
A big hidden cost of new software rests in implementation and training. Although sales personnel will promise a high level of support, implementation and training for a large new system can be very expensive and problematic. Especially when applications are being used across different departments and business units.
Pay close attention to the number of resources needed for implementation and training.
4. Does the solution require any customizations?
Will the new solution grow with your business? Will it need customizations to work in your organization? Will it need ongoing customizations as the business launches new products and services?
Customizing old software can be difficult. A business needs to find the right expertise trained on the existing platform. Resources need to understand how the business works and be able to build customizations around it.
Keep in mind, customizations will often affect the core product and create upgrade problems down the road.
5. Is the solution being actively improved?
Is it possible to build on and improve the new software? Does the vendor update the core software with new technology and feature upgrades? Will the solution be viable three years from now?
Hopefully the answer is yes, yes and yes.
6. Was the solution built for the industry?
Consider the differing needs of your business vs. a business in a completely different vertical market. The nomenclature and approach to doing business can be vastly different.
Software solutions not built for a specific industry often behave like robots – it understands the basics, but doesn’t do exactly what is needed. This is a problem when customers are hesitant to adopt software that doesn’t interact and behave as expected.
Steer clear of the “one-size-fits-all” solution.
Conclusion:
Custom software built on well supported technologies and frameworks can be delivered in less time, at a significant cost saving. However, the biggest advantage is having a solution tailored to your specific business needs.
Many savvy IT decision makers are now choosing to build.
Not sure if you should build or buy? Get in touch with our Solution Architects and make the right decision today.