The decision to buy or build software has been around ever since people started to sell custom software. As many stated in their comments there are some things we have come to expect whenever we make a buy or build decision. One thing that often eludes people is that the total cost of ownership for either method is pretty much the same. I have a representative graph that is far from accurate (nothing starts at zero), but demonstrates the fact that when you build software you start with a high cost that gradually decreases. When you start with canned software, your cost may be a lot lower. However, the cost continues to rise as you make enhancements, adapt it to work with other software, and perform upgrades over time.
Buy vs, Build
There are a few key things it is important to take into account when it comes to canned software:
Most likely, canned software will not do everything you want, even if you use the customization they provide.
Some Vendors will try and get you to change your business to fit the software they sell. I’ve heard it said by one big software packages that, “if our software doesn’t fit your business practices, you probably have a problem with how you are doing your business.”
Customizations can be more costly over time than rolling your own solution.
Canned packages implementing basic core business functions tend to have a better fit because they are closer to standardized business practices. Accounting software is a good example of this principle.
If the software is complicated enough, and there are enough integration points, the startup difference and time to implementation may not be that much of a savings for a canned package. This is more true when you get out of mainstream practices.
Canned software will probably not be optimized out of the box, and may not be optimizable even at a later time. The more you customize or integrate the software, the more this principle is true.
Is using canned software always the right decision? I’d say no. But, the right question is often, should I buy or build?
Cheers,
Ben