How Does Bespoke Software Compare to Packaged Solutions

Having a bespoke application developed for you can potentially provide you with major business and commercial benefits and allow you to gain significant competitive advantage. Bespoke applications are generally easier to use and can work around the way you do business, rather than the other way round. However you have to expect to pay more for it than for a packaged solution and it is also essential that you use a reputable developer who is happy to provide you with the source code to your application.

Advantages of Bespoke Software

  • The software will be developed to meet the needs and operational requirements of your unique business.
  • It will be designed to increase and maximise work efficiency by understanding your procedures and adapting the software to suit the user - your staff - thus increasing productivity.
  • Users will find it easier to use and more intuitive than packaged software as there wont be numerous other buttons and functions shrouding the ones they require.
  • The software adapts to the way that your users work rather than them having to waste time learning a whole new piece of software.
  • It can be customised to interface with other software that you operate with the potential to provide you with a fully integrated IT infrastructure across your whole organisation.
  • Your business may have processes which are completely unique to your business and so are not included in any packaged software.
  • Bespoke software is completely flexible. It can grow and change as your business does.
  • If you purchase your software through Meridian Innovations then you will be in direct contact with the developers and will have complete support available to you.
  • If required Meridian can add value to your company by suggesting improvements, alternatives and giving advice and information on all aspects of your IT system.
  • Bespoke software increases productivity which will directly increase your companies profitability and ROI which will give you a significant advantage over your competition.
  • If you own the software that you purchase then you will not have to pay each time you put the software on a new computer. It is your software. You can put it on as many computers as you wish.

Advantages of Packaged Software

  • The software tends to be relatively cheap as the cost of development can be spread over a large number of users.
 

Disadvantages of Bespoke Software

  • The initial investment required for bespoke software is higher than packaged software and so it is essential that a company undertakes a viability exercise to compare the initial cost compared against the projected productivity increases and commercial advantages over time.
  • Ensure that you choose a developer who will give you the source code as without it your company is vulnerable.
  • There are some developers who provide software that is unreliable and unstable and so to avoid this ensure that you choose a developer who is reputable and has a period after software handover where any problems identified by the user must be fixed free of charge.
  • Unfortunately within this business sector there is an unacceptably high level of 'cowboys'. The best way to protect your business is to get references from recent clients and ask as many questions as you can to allay your fears.

Disadvantages of Packaged Software

  • The software can be highly complex and will usually include large sections that you will never use (the average Word user is reputed to only use about 10% of the available facilities).
  • As the software is designed for many different users it rarely does exactly what you require and some form of compromise is often necessary.
  • The software usually takes a long time to learn properly as it does so many things, of which only a few are relevant.
  • There will be operations that you require that the software is not capable of doing.
  • The process of certain operations may be impaired by lengthy ways of doing things as the software does not see this as a priority.
  • If you experience problems with the software you are using then a large organisation with a faceless call centre will not be as ready to help you solve them.
  • There will be no competitive advantage as using this software as it will be readily available to all of your competitors.
 
 

If you have any questions or would like a quote, please contact us for more details.

Mertits of Customised Software