In this highly competitive market, custom software gives companies an upper hand in business and allows staying ahead of others. As custom software involves higher initial cost, many small or mid businesses resort to off the shelf software even though it often fails to meet the need. The reality is, custom software is a cost-effective alternative for businesses that can be realized only in the longer term. A lot of innovative ideas and business logic goes into developing custom software which leads to induced demand and eventually results in high software development costs. Custom software development companies help businesses to increase their brand value by capitalizing on ideation and continuous innovation.
When it is certain that custom software drives business value and helps them achieving competitive advantage through technology – it can also become a cost-effective alternative for your business. IPSTS is a custom software development company in Michigan that can take your IT infrastructure to the next level with tailor-made custom software in today’s rapidly changing tech landscape. If money is the only constraint for not switching to custom software, let’s see how it could be a cost-effective option for your business.
Cost comparison with traditional software applications:
Though off-the-shelf software appears to come with less financial strain, if we compare it with custom software and its long term implications, the later emerges as a profitable option.
There are a lot of hidden costs involved with off-the-shelf software. The initial cost of traditional software includes the price for licensing, which may be per-user or limits. As traditional software is generic in nature, some features and modules will not be relevant to your business but you will still be paying for them. Integration of plug-ins and tools will also cost an additional charge. For custom software, it is a long-term investment keeping your business needs in mind. The initial cost is depended on modules and features that are only relevant to your business which might come at a higher price than the traditional one. However, there will be no licensing cost, upgradation charges or user fees as you will own it outright. Even if there’s a need for upgradation, you need not pay for anything you don’t need.
Sometimes off-the-shelf software might cost implementation and training cost. It might take time for your team to adopt a new tool that your team played no role in developing. This is not a one-time cost as whenever a new feature will be introduced, your team needs some time to learn about it setting aside other important core business initiatives. In other hands, by developing custom software you are building your own solution so you don’t really need additional training. Even when development is outsourced, your team will be involved in the whole process giving feedback. So, they will be familiar to it from the beginning.
For traditional software, some support features come free while a separate fee is payable for availing some priority service. Customization of standard software also needs an extra charge. For custom software, you will not be bound to a provider or additional fees every now and then. Custom software streamlines your business processes by becoming an effective tool for reducing human errors and the costs involved in addressing them. Thus it boosts a company’s capabilities and drives better return on investment.
