subject: The Dangers Of Developing Your Own Technology [print this page] Developing your own technology can seem like a great idea, but it can eat up your time, budget and is at risk of quickly becoming obsolete. In contrast, an already-developed system (like our award-winning reviews technology) can quickly, easily and seamlessly be implemented into your site, allowing you to benefit immediately.
At Digital Visitor weve seen potential clients choose the in-house development route only to come unstuck as the project progresses. Here are some of the most common risks:
Other projects always take priority
Weve seen this scenario happen time and time again. Client A decides to develop their own technology to enable website visitors to submit reviews, and six months or more down the track, they are still without a solution.
A robust reviews solution requires a massive amount of development time, testing and project management something that most organisations in todays climate simply do not have.
Costs and timings spiral out of control
Anyone who has worked on a complex project will agree that no matter how well you plan, there are always unexpected hiccups that set you back from small tasks which take much longer than expected, to third party changes (e.g. on a web browser or social network) which require you to adapt your solution even staff holidays/sickness can set you back by several weeks.
Developing a completely new system is a very steep learning curve, which will undoubtedly cost you more and take you much longer than initially expected.
Frequent updates are required
Even if you do end up getting your technology developed, your journey certainly doesnt stop there. Today, technology develops at a rapid pace, particularly when it comes to solutions and applications that involve social media. Facebook has undergone countless changes over the past few years, and Twitter has just announced changes to restrict third party applications with any new Twitter apps which serve more than 100,000 users having to seek their permission before launch.
An up-to-date solution requires on-going development, usability and multiple browser testing and if you want an application that users enjoy interacting with, continued development of new features and services. All this involves time and money.
Its difficult to keep up with the experts
Developing a reviews system or piece of content-gathering technology may be one of many projects your IT or development team have to deliver, and they may find their expertise does not run towards this niche area or if it does they may not have the level of knowledge needed to deliver a best-in-class system.
An off-the-shelf system will have been developed by experts in the field, who are solely focused on the development of their platform, enabling them to deliver a superior product that is also constantly evolving with both business and consumer needs.
The Software as a Service (SaaS) solution
While the investment of a pre-packaged solution might seem more than developing something bespoke in-house, the cost involved in both the initial development and on-going improvement and management of an in-house tool will actually far exceed it.
This year at Digital Visitor, we launched the 4th generation of our award-winning Reviews and Ratings solution, after investing the significant time and budget required to develop an innovative reviews solution.
At the same time, we understand that marketing budgets are getting tighter and tighter, which is why we have developed a range of social commerce packages to suit businesses with varying levels of budget.
By using our technology, you will gain all the benefits of being a SaaS customer while we continue to do all the hard work for you. Plus you get the added bonus of knowing your solution has been developed by a group of experts who understand what it takes to develop and maintain a successful reviews solution.
