Can your company benefit from customized software?
Today we have more choices than ever for software to run your business. Why would anyone want custom software to run their business? The answer to that question fits in several categories:
1. You're in a niche of the market and there is no software for what you're doing
2. You do business in a unique way which requires unique software
3. The software that's available does not do exactly what you need it to do
4. Your company has out-grown the software you bought in a box
5. Your company is growing so fast that you will outgrow anything out there
6. You have added a new service or type of product; therefore you need changes to your software
7. You lost your current programmer; therefore you need to replace him/her
8. You can't afford to pay $295 an hour for a large software development company
9. You want to develop something that you want to later on sell to your industry
10. The software you currently use is fragmented between 5 or more different apps that are a chore to maintain. You want to simplify it.
The larger companies will customize their own software, or hire an outside company to do it. Generally the larger companies will buy & customize software that can run most functions of their companies. They can pay $1 billion or more to customize and implement it within 3 or more years. There is no such thing as buying ready to use software for the larger companies. Some companies will develop their own software, and hire consultants only for strategizing and planning each new implementation. But most mid-size company will use the outside services of a software company that starts out with something that they already have. Then they customize as necessary.
The average small company will benefit from something out of the box. When you're deciding what to get, ask these basic questions: 1) Are users of this software satisfied? 2) Is it customizable? This is important if your company is expected grow. 3) Do I have someone to maintain this software? You may use the services of the software company, or a consultant. If you anticipate your company to grow, then questions 2 and 3 are important. Since software is important to run your company, you want to plan for it from the beginning. You want to avoid having half a dozen or more apps trying to communicate with each other in order to run your business.
Bottom line, if you're starting out in business with less than 10 employees, more than likely you will find something out of the box to help you run your business. But the bigger you grow, the more you need to buy software that needs customization; or if you've grown or are in a niche market then you need to have something made from scratch. Customizing or creating new software isn't a crazy idea for the right company.
Valencio Robinson is a computer programmer with his own business since 1991: Robinson Software. Robinson Software has been creating and maintaining software using industry standard tools. Our clients are small and mid-size, and even large companies that need software customization. See http://www.rsoft.net/, or call 951-898-4999.
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