subject: Bespoke Software Gives You The Edge [print this page] It directors or business owners are sometimes faced with a choice of whether to go for a bespoke software solution or to buy a package solution. Although in an ideal world everyone would go for the bespoke solution as it is tailored to your business needs, more often than not companies will go for the package solution. So why is this and is a bespoke solution right for your business?
Companies may not go for a bespoke solution for financial reasons. Bespoke software development is usually far more costly than buying a package solution as with a package solution development costs are spread between all the users. If cost is a major factor in the decision then it would not be surprising if a company went for an 'off the shelf' solution.
Some companies may also go for a package solution as they tend to have a higher number of features compared to the bespoke developed alternative. This is because the higher number of users generates more revenue for the company who have developed the solution and therefore they have more available resources to put into software updates and improvements.
Package solutions suffer from some major drawbacks however. For example, off the shelf solutions are nearly always a compromise between functionality and cost - they don't do everything you want them to do but they are cheaper. Also sometimes package solutions have too many features and take longer to master than a bespoke solution. In addition if you need software support, dealing with the technical support departments of the large company that has manufactured the software is a time consuming and frustrating process at times.
If your financial resources allow, it is still always the better option to go for a bespoke solution. This is because it is built for your specific business needs, it is flexible and can be modified as the business changes and it will always give you that slight advantage over your competition. For these reasons it would always be advisable to go down the bespoke route if you can.
