When is custom software worth the money?
Custom software is not always the right choice. It is when standard software costs you more in workarounds than development costs in kroner.
Custom development is sometimes framed as the more ambitious choice, while standard software is the cautious solution. Reality is more sober: both are tools, and the question is which fits the concrete task best. This article covers when custom development can actually pay off.
Standard software is built to cover the needs as many companies as possible share. That makes it cheap and fast to get started with, but it also means the system is a compromise for any company whose workflows deviate from the average.
The first sign that custom development may be relevant is when a company spends significant time on manual workarounds around a standard system: export to spreadsheets, double entry in multiple systems, or rules handled in people's heads instead of in the system.
The second sign is when the standard system cannot be adapted without becoming unreasonably expensive through add-ons, third-party plugins, and consultant hours. At some point the sum of adaptations to a standard system can exceed what it would cost to build a solution that fits from the start.
The third sign is when the workflow is part of what makes the company competitive. If a process is part of how the company differentiates from competitors, it rarely makes sense to let it be governed by a system every competitor can also buy access to.
Conversely, custom development is rarely the right choice if the need is standardised and mature solutions exist on the market that solve it without major compromise. Custom-building something that already exists as good standard software is rarely a good investment of time or budget.
The most common mistake is not choosing custom development too early, but waiting too long to clarify whether the manual work around a standard system has actually become more expensive than the alternative. BEZT often sees companies make contact only when the manual workarounds have become a fixed part of everyday work, instead of a temporary solution.
Questions we often hear
- How do we know if our needs are special enough for custom development?
- A good starting point is to map how much time is actually spent on manual workarounds around the current system, and compare that with what a solution to the problem would cost to build. If the workarounds have become a fixed part of everyday work, it is worth looking into further.
- Can you combine standard software and custom development?
- Yes, that is often the most sensible model. Many companies use standard software for what is common to most, such as finance or payroll, and only custom-build the parts that are unique to their own business.
- Is custom software a risk if only one vendor knows the code?
- It can be a risk if the code is not documented and ownership is not clearly agreed. That is why it is important to clarify from the start who owns the code, and that the system is built so it can be handed over or developed further by others if needed.
Recognize the situation?
Describe the challenge, or what you want built. We review every enquiry personally and only continue when we can deliver with certainty.