Custom software, you must be mad!

Christopher Riordan  26 July 2011 11:41:12

Custom software can be costly, but I'm not so sure it's the "Custom" bit. I suspect, high costs are a combination of poorly defined requirements and being over ambitious .
Caught up in the endless possibilities the business wants it all and looses sight of the key deliverables.

Custom or off the shelf .software aligned to the way a business operates and with all the bells and whistles is not without cost. Of course "Off the shelf" has a head start in out of the box features, but with the plethora of commercially proven open source solutions, that initial advantage is not so wide. And in reality how many out of the box features are required and just how well do they fit the Business need?

Just like a set of custom golf clubs or custom surf board, Custom is about a product that plays to your strengths, as opposed to playing to the products strengths.
I'd argue it's not about cost or one being better than the other, but about different sorts of business philosophy...  

 






 
Comments Disabled

Master or Servant

Christopher Riordan  16 August 2010 12:46:10

Maybe it's me, but I get the impression from some, Information Technology (IT) is Master and the Business is its servant. It's as if by deploying IT, the benefits will flow and Business problems will melt away. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a return to the dark ages, but I do think the emphasis should be on Business not IT. In fact, I think IT should be transparent, in the background!

Say (hypothetical and simple as it is) a Business, with little or no IT, identifies a need to interact and respond faster to its Clients.

Technology like word processing, email, the web, would certainly have an impact. But it may not necessarily deliver the anticipated benefit. Thinking business first, creates a different perspective and set of responses. Improve working practices, encourage greater interaction between staff and Client, more site visits etc, all of which may or may not need IT.

The point I’m trying to make, is leading with IT first can be misleading; it can hamper future thought and potentially shackle the business to a chosen IT. On the other hand a Business perspective tends to a broader view and a deeper appreciation of the benefits the business is looking to achieve (which is also a measure against which to judge) and it decouples the solution from the IT.  Yes, IT is important, very important but it should be the servant of the Business!
 

• Comments [0]