Build vs. Buy: 9 Questions to Ask
The quest for digital solutions to modern business problems inevitably leads to a fundamental choice: Do you build a solution from the ground up or buy a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system?
The choice is rarely, if ever, straightforward. The first step is to gather some facts. To that end, we present a set of 9 crucial questions that your organization should ask itself before choosing an implementation path.
General Questions
What is the scope of the problem you are trying to address with this software and how complex does your solution need to fit your business’s size and needs?
You need to understand and draw a box around the problem you’re trying to solve. Otherwise, scope creep will turn your proposed solution into a bloated mess.
Does your organization currently have (or can you hire) experts capable of building, maintaining, and supporting the solution?
Custom software requires expert resources to build the solution and maintain and support it over its lifecycle. You must budget for external resources if you don’t have in-house resources for these tasks.
Is using the software critical to your business operations, or can you afford to wait while the solution is developed?
For custom software development, even a simple solution with a narrow scope and limited capabilities takes time to develop, test, and deploy. If you’re in a hurry to address a critical capability gap, it might be better to look for a COTS solution that can be deployed quickly, even if it doesn’t address all your needs.
Cost Questions
How much will it cost you (in time and money) to build your ideal software from the ground up?
Even if you engage the services of an external development team, you will need internal resources to spend time on the project. Their expertise is required to define the system requirements, and they will need to test and provide feedback throughout the project. Don’t forget to account for these costs for a custom solution.
How much will buying software that fits most of your needs (i.e., a workable solution) cost?
The initial cost of a COTS solution, in general, is easier to quantify: You get a quote from the vendor. Make sure you comparison shop among a small number of options.
How much will it cost to maintain either option over the next five years?
Both custom and COTS software involve ongoing costs for support and upgrades. The up-front and ongoing costs comprise the total cost of ownership (TCO). Often, the option with the cheaper up-front cost has a higher TCO.
Capabilities Questions
What do you need the software to do?
This is related to the first general question but is more detailed. What specific business functions do you need to support or automate?
Is a product already available on the market that can fulfill those needs?
Chances are good that no COTS solution will address your needs, but if you can get 80 or 90% of what you need from one, you might be able to build something to cover the rest.
If not, can your team develop software that can fulfill those needs?
And even if you have an internal software development team with the needed expertise, do they have the bandwidth for this project, given their existing workload?
Final Thoughts
Armed with the answers to these questions, you can examine the pros and cons of each approach.
How Solution Machine Can Help
For over 10 years, Solution Machine teams have been developing and delivering software solutions for businesses that operate across various industries, including manufacturing, retail, distribution, non-profits, media and entertainment, plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractors, and many others.
Contant us to see how Solution Machine allows your business to optimize business operations, increase employee and customer engagement, improve reporting and analytics for better decision-making, and give you a competitive advantage.