Custom vs Off-The-Shelf Software: What’s The Best Type Of Software For Your Business?
All businesses nowadays rely on some kind of software to organize operations and speed up admin tasks. But what type of software should you invest in?
There are two primary types of software solutions to consider: custom software and off-the-shelf software. Custom software can be designed from scratch to meet your specific needs. In contrast, off-the-shelf software is available for download immediately and can be used by many of your competitors.
Both have their advantages and disadvantages. This post examines the key factors to consider when deciding between custom and off-the-shelf software.
Cost
Custom software
Developing custom software can cost tens of thousands of dollars. You may be able to pay for this using finance rather than paying full cost upfront, but even so, it’s still likely to be more expensive than off-the-shelf software. Of course, once you’ve paid off the price of development, you may only have to pay minimal maintenance fees.
Off-the-shelf software
Off-the-shelf software is often available in multiple plans with different prices. The majority of it is subscription-based—you pay a certain fee each month or year for a set period. It is often cheaper than paying for custom software, but in the long run, an enterprise plan may work out more expensive.
Features
Custom software
You can design custom software to include the features that you want and need. This could consist of unique features relevant to your business that off-the-shelf applications don’t possess. This could include ecommerce solutions tailored to your unique products and processes.
Off-the-shelf software
While different plans come with varying features, you have less flexibility in tailoring off-the-shelf software to your specific needs. As a result, certain software plans may lack features that you need or may have excess features that you’re never likely to use. The benefit of this software is that there may be features you didn’t realise you needed.
Integration
Custom software
Custom software can be designed to integrate with specific applications and devices that you already use. You may also be able to adjust this software in the future if you want to use it with other applications.
Off-the-shelf software
When choosing off-the-shelf software, you may be limited as to which other applications you can integrate with. Some software providers may not allow you to transfer data from competitor software and may require you to download their own version of this software. That said, there are still sometimes ways around this.
Deployment
Custom software
Developing custom software could take several weeks or even several months, depending on how many people are working on the software and how complex it is. If you need to adopt software quickly, you may find that custom software is not a viable option.
Off-the-shelf software
Off-the-shelf software is already built and so can be downloaded and used immediately. If you’re launching your business and you want to get things started quickly, choosing an existing off-the-shelf application could be the most convenient solution.
Scalability
Custom software
A big advantage of custom software is that it can be scaled along with your business. If you are starting to outgrow certain features, you can contact the developers to explore adding new features. Alternatively, you can design it with future scalability in mind by not setting yourself any limitations when it comes to users or the number of files that can be uploaded.
Off-the-shelf software
The majority of off-the-shelf software providers allow you to choose between three plans - usually a small business plan, a medium business plan and a large business plan. You can upgrade between the plans at any time, but each one has set features. The cheaper ‘small business’ plan may come with many restrictions. This can frustrate many business owners. Be careful of using small business software that is not scalable - if your business grows, you may have no choice but to migrate to new software.
Reliability
Custom software
Custom software will usually be thoroughly tested before you receive it, however there may still be some bugs that need to be ironed out. If you do not pay the developer to actively maintain the software, you could also notice bugs developing over time, plus it could become vulnerable to new threats. As a result, it is always worth paying for ongoing maintenance.
Off-the-shelf software
Because off-the-shelf software applications already have plenty of users, most bugs will have long been ironed out. Ongoing software maintenance is typically included in the software subscription and you will receive frequent patches to fix any bugs that are discovered by other users - regardless of whether you have noticed them yourself. As a result, off-the-shelf software is typically more reliable.
Support
Custom software
Ongoing support may not be included with custom software. If you have any issues, you may have to contact the developers and see if they can schedule time to talk to you. The advantage of custom software is that you have more flexibility when it comes to making changes to your software if you don’t like certain functions or want to make them more user-friendly.
Off-the-shelf software
The most popular software applications will usually come with 24/7 support for any queries you may have. If you are having trouble using certain features, you can usually get through to someone who will be able to help you. Some off-the-shelf software providers may even go above and beyond offering support, potentially offering free business advice or even additional services (some accounting software providers also offer accounting services that you can pay extra for). The only downside is that when it comes to wanting to make changes to the software, you can only offer suggestions and cannot order changes to be made unless other users also want to see these changes.
Branding
Custom software
Custom software can be an extension of your brand. You can add your own logo and color scheme to it. You can even design it for marketing purposes - for example, if you own a restaurant, you could create an app to be used by customers to order your food through, which could also be used to send notifications to customers to alert them of deals.
Off-the-shelf software
Unlike custom software, off-the-shelf software cannot be personalised with your own branding.
Conclusion
So which type of software should you use? Overall, custom software is better suited to those that want full control over features, integration, scalability and branding. Off-the-shelf software is better for those that want a quick, affordable, reliable option with customer support included.
