When choosing an IT solution, companies face a choice: to bet on a boxed product or decide to develop a custom solution. At first glance, everything seems simple: in the first case, automation is performed quickly and without extra costs, and in the second case, it creates software which is 100% customized for unique tasks. In fact, however, the choice is a bit more complicated. Read about all the risks, nuances, pros and cons of both variants in this article.
What is boxed software?
A boxed IT product is a software with a basic set of features designed for a wide range of customers. Most often such a solution implies installation by your own efforts. However, if you can’t do it yourself, you can simply turn to an IT integrator – he will set everything up quickly.
Adding new or removing unnecessary functions in the case of “box” is only possible through customization.
Why boxed software is popular
Automation is the defining success factor for growing companies. When you go digital, any interaction with customers or employees is typified, “tailored” to a template. Processes become streamlined, which means the business scales and grows faster and easier. In this context, boxed IT products come in handy because they contain the most popular features which help solve typical tasks.
Another reason why “boxed” products have gained popularity is resource savings. Analyzing the situation and generating your own solutions requires a lot of energy. It is much easier to turn to outside experts who have a ready tool that has been tested many times in practice. The most important selection criterion in this case is a suitable set of functions in an IT product. As a result, managers save financial, time and intellectual resources.
For example, the cost of developing a mobile application from scratch can cost up to 10 million rubles, and the project will take at least six months. Not every company is ready for such expenses. By comparison, an out-of-the-box application can be implemented literally in three months and within a million rubles. The difference in cost and launch speed is really noticeable.
Advantages of boxed software
Startup cost
Out-of-the-box systems are focused on mass sales and implementations. Therefore, their cost is significantly lower than that of custom systems.
Fast startup
“The box saves a lot of time (the difference is several months), which is spent on creating and testing in a local environment. Such solutions are already debugged and tested in a real-world environment. All that remains is to implement and make minimal adjustments.
Training
After the “box” implementation, the company receives all necessary documentation and standard training for users. There’s no need to study the solution by yourself – it’s enough to use ready-to-use training materials.
Lots of reviews
Boxed IT products have a large customer audience. Users often leave feedback, post reviews on forums and social networks about using the system and tell about problems with it. As a rule, developers publish successful cases, anyone can contact these customers and ask questions.
Guaranteed technical support
As a rule, vendors of boxed IT products provide technical support to their customers. They explain technical nuances and answer general questions.
Ease of implementation
No programming skills are needed to implement a “box” – it is enough to use the documentation provided. And the configuration of the system can be done by almost any employee. But there is a nuance – this approach is bad for organizations with unique and complex business processes. Let us tell a little more about this and other disadvantages.
Disadvantages of boxed software
Redundant or insufficient functionality
A boxed solution includes a set of standard features. It contains both useful features that are one hundred percent appropriate to your processes and unnecessary features that are not needed. Excessive functionality can affect the speed of the system as a whole.
Difficulties in scaling
The databases of boxed solutions are not optimized for the needs of a particular customer. Therefore, when scaling, the efficiency of the entire software drops.
Difficulties with integration
Due to the fact that the set of functionality in a “box” is standardized, you may face difficulties with the integration of narrowly focused systems. By the way, such problems are really common in the market, and in this case you need to involve IT specialists (often from outside teams).
When a business grows, new unique processes inevitably emerge. This is not a bad thing, because it provides a kind of “detuning” from competitors, making them stand out in the market. However, such changes require new functionality which is absent in most “out-of-the-box” software.
Of course, this is not a reason to abandon the boxed solution – most often it can be upgraded. In this case, you can contact a contractor to develop and support the system or hire your own IT team. This allows you to improve and “tweak” a little bit of existing functionality and cover some of your needs.
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What is custom software
Custom software development is the process of designing, building, deploying, and maintaining systems that meet the unique needs of a particular company.
For clarity, let’s take Microsoft Office tools as an example. It is a comprehensive application that integrates many features. It meets the common needs of millions of users. However, if you need to automate work between contractors and manage specific unique processes, you need your own applications. This need can only be met by custom software developers.
Who is suitable for software development from scratch
When a business reaches a certain level of maturity, there is a need to formalize processes, stabilize the organizational structure and improve control. For IT tools to correspond to the embedded business logic, you have to choose between two options:
Switching to a more functional version of the platform usually a server version – suitable in cases where minimal modifications are needed;
searching for a partner who creates software to meet individual business needs
– in other words, custom software development.
To determine whether you need special software and whether it is suitable for your business needs, the answers to the following questions will help:
- Are you planning to make any changes to your processes?
- Do you need a lot of software to perform different steps of the same process?
- Are there business processes that require unique functionality?
- Do you expect qualitative benefits to your business from the software?
- Is your current software causing problems for employees, customers or vendors?
If most of the answers are yes, you probably need custom software, big time.
Custom development is right for you if:
- your internal processes are different and need to be digitized;
- you want to expand your lines of business;
- your business plan is unique and needs to be supported by the IT tools you develop;
- you continue to spend time on manual work methods instead of automating them;
- your existing software is insufficient and your IT infrastructure needs updating.
Exceptional processes of large organizations need customized tools. At the same time, box solutions are used to solve standard tasks.
Development from scratch is also relevant for small companies from highly specialized niches. The tricky part is that you can’t put their processes into a box structure without sacrificing profit.
Advantages of custom software development
Individuality and efficiency
Custom software, developed from scratch to meet the needs of a particular business, is unique and has nothing extraneous. It is adapted to existing business processes and allows you to quickly connect new ones. The interface is designed specifically for employees or customers of a particular customer. All this allows you to work in the system as efficiently as possible.
Product rights
After the implementation and testing of IT-tools the customer gets the source code of the software and exclusive rights to its ownership. This allows you to use the development for your own purposes, for example, to sell or rent it out.
Free licensing
In the case of custom development, there is no need to pay for licenses. Any new features or users can easily be enabled at no additional cost.
Easy growth
When a business grows, there is often a need to scale the software. Custom development makes this easy and straightforward.
Easy maintenance and upgrades
Support or modification of a boxed solution is completely up to the developer. With custom software, you won’t have to deal with bugs, system malfunctions or outdated tools, as there will always be a dedicated team ready to help.
Independence from the software provider
The company that pays for custom software development owns all intellectual property rights and source code. It can transfer the work on the product to another contractor at any time.
Disadvantages of custom software development
Cost
Developing from scratch requires a large budget, which varies depending on the specifics of the order and the set of features.
Project timeline
The implementation of a project can take several months. The situation can also be complicated by the long procedure of IT architecture approval and testing, but this ensures that there are no risks.
What to choose for the project
Let’s summarize the main differences between custom software development and off-the-shelf products.
| Out-of-the-box solution | Custom development |
| For small companies | For large businesses |
| Customization is difficult or impossible | Custom software development is designed to meet individual business needs |
| For startups that have just entered the market, build their processes and are not sure what functionality they need | For projects where the functionality of a boxed IT solution is not enough |
| For organizations with typical processes | For companies that want to gain a competitive edge by creating a product for unique processes |
| Has lower initial implementation costs, but higher maintenance costs | More expensive than an off-the-shelf solution because it depends on individual needs, but has lower maintenance costs |
| Only takes time to implement and train, which is much less than for custom software | The development cycle is longer, so it takes longer to implement the project |
| Vendor owns the rights to the source code | Once implemented, all rights to the developed software belong to the customer |
| Support by the vendor, customization and development of functionality by external specialists or hiring an internal IT team | Maintenance and development of the system is provided by an internal or external IT team |
Simply put, selecting the right software option is very similar to ordering from a bar. Buying a boxed solution is a popular cocktail that’s on every menu, with a standard set of ingredients. And custom development is similar to the situation when you come into a place and tell the bartender you want a spicy, not too strong drink with a slight sweetness and fresh flavor. It’s a rare combination of ingredients in a cocktail that will be made just for you.
