New Software Project: Build or Buy?

You need a new piece of software to help redesign your website and fulfill your needs. But you don’t know exactly where to turn. You don’t know whether to buy a completely new piece of software or to have it built according to your needs. This article is going to discuss some of the pros and cons to building your own piece of software so you can come to your own conclusions.

Pro – Meet Your Needs

The reason why you would build your own software is so you can meet the needs of your organization. It’s that simple. The nature of software development is that you can easily meet your needs through making it compatible with other software options and ensuring that it gives you everything you need and nothing else.

It doesn’t have to deal with the limitations of other people’s software.

Con – It’s Expensive

The main reason why you may not want to build your own piece of software is that it can cost thousands of dollars to do so. You need to hire the right people and you need to perform extensive testing. It can take months to build a complex piece of software from scratch.

Pro – Flexibility to Rival Nothing Else

Know what happens if you want a new feature with a piece of software? You have to wait until the next version and hope that the developer agrees to implement your idea.

With your own piece of software, you can make changes as and when you need to. If you need a new feature right now, you can make it yourself. This can make it easier for your business to pivot when needed, particularly if you happen to be operating in an ever-changing niche.

Con – Your Software is Your Responsibility

With great flexibility comes great responsibility, and sometimes that can be part of the problem. One of the biggest trends in computer security is an increasing number of cyber-attacks, for example. You no longer have a huge corporation to lean on when you build your own piece of software.

It’s your job to handle security. If you aren’t able to confront the latest threats, your entire business could be open to attack.

Pro – Canned Solutions Are Too Rigid

The sad fact is that canned solutions are rarely able to completely match up with your business. And most software providers will only give you a limited number of options. The only way to actually change the functionality is to break the terms and conditions and to somehow jailbreak that piece of software.

But to make it into something usable you have to essentially build it up from scratch all over again.

Con – The Constant Changes

Building your own piece of software is a process that never truly ends. It’s a sea of constant changes. Six months after it is finished you will have to alter and modify that software all over again. To keep your software updated is a constant commitment, which is why software providers have entire departments dedicated to it.

Will you take advantage of software build principles or will you opt for a canned solution for your business?