Custom software vs. standard software
Best practices for deciding for or against individual software
Sometimes in organizations, software creates more obstacles than it removes. This article addresses this challenge and provides you with best practices to prevent this from happening in your company. Choosing the right software is crucial. And at the beginning of the software selection process is the question: "Is standard software enough or do we need something of our own, i.e. custom software?"
Although standard software may initially appear attractive for central business areas, many companies are faced with the dilemma that these solutions do not meet their specific requirements. The question is: "Is there an alternative?" And the clear answer is: "Yes." This article provides guidance to help you decide whether custom software – i.e. software developed specifically to meet the needs of a company – makes sense.
The decision for or against custom software
A certain amount of preparatory work is required to decide for or against custom software.
Many factors play a role and influence the decision. Below, we have compiled a structured list of the questions you should ask yourself. This way, you won't be making a gut decision, but can be sure that you have taken all factors into consideration in order to find the right software solution for your individual company workflow. Like so often, it all starts with the users.
Identify the needs of future users of the software
The design of digital solutions requires a user-centered approach. Before a decision is made, it is essential to understand the needs of everyone involved. Take a moment to note down all the people involved, whether they are customers, employees, managers or admins.
In the next step, open interviews and standardized questionnaires with neutral questions will give you a variety of insights into the working methods, challenges and goals of interest groups. Group workshops and moderated discussions allow you to bring together different perspectives and ideas. Observe users in their familiar environment, for example in the workplace, to better understand their needs. Document the insights gained in as-is scenarios that reflect the current situation and challenges and serve as a basis for discussing requirements for a digital solution.
Define your requirements for the software
Once you have found out what the users of your software need, you can use this information to define the requirements for your software - whether standard or custom software. The following principles will help you to formulate the requirements:
Prioritization of requirements with the MoSCoW method
Inclusion of non-technical requirements
To ensure that your application not only meets your technical requirements, but also fits your needs in terms of budget, timeframe and other requirements, you should carefully consider these non-technical aspects. Once you have taken this step, the selection of your software can begin. Now the question arises: custom software or standard software?
The decision between custom software and standard software
In most companies, around 90 percent of all core processes are mapped by standardized systems. These are core business processes that have been tried and tested over many years and are mapped by standardized ERP, CRM and similar software systems. Examples include tasks such as composing e-mails, creating texts or spreadsheets. Even in niche industries, companies rely on common IT standards to work efficiently and compatibly. In this context, the use of standard software makes sense.
However, standard solutions cannot be used successfully and efficiently in every area of application. Some business processes are unique, whether due to their historical development, their unique structure or the company's special data protection requirements. Surprisingly often, processes are individually tailored to a company and are very difficult to map using off-the-shelf software. In these cases, decision-makers are faced with the choice of whether to adapt the processes to the off-the-shelf software or whether it is better to opt for a customized solution.
Off-the-shelf software
Custom software
The fact that company processes can be precisely mapped with customised software is an obvious advantage. But customised software offers more.