Software & AI
When custom software pays off, and when an off-the-shelf tool is enough
Four questions that let you decide with numbers instead of a gut feeling.
The most honest advice sometimes says buy the off-the-shelf tool, or leave it entirely. Custom software pays off in one place, and that place can be named.
Four questions before you decide
- Is the process your own, or does every firm in your industry do it much the same way? Standard you buy.
- How many hours a week does today’s way cost, counted honestly?
- What does an off-the-shelf tool cost over three years, with onboarding and integration?
- What happens if you change nothing? Sometimes that is the right answer.
The place where building pays
Custom software earns its keep where the process is genuinely yours and no finished product fits it. For everything else there are good tools on the market, often cheaper and available faster than anything I would write for you.
Build the one thing that is yours. Buy the rest.
From practice
The right answer is often mixed. A finished tool, plus a small connection to what you already run. Full custom builds are the exception. In one case a finished product was too complex for a non-technical manager, and a very simple purpose-built application was the right fit. The question is always what you can run yourself in the end.
Sources
- From my own project work and consulting
This is what I sort out every day.
Which applications, which provider, where the data lives. This is exactly what I work out for small and mid-sized businesses. If that is on your plate, let us talk.