4. Comparison of custom v. generic software

The text in bold in the table below highlights an advantage for that type of software

Custom software Generic software
Good fit: It will have exactly the functions needed and nothing else. You have to accept that the off-the-shelf application will have features that you do not need.
Very costly: It takes man-months or even man-years to develop a non-trivial custom application package Lower cost: You do not pay for the development of the software. Natural market competition for similar packages keeps the purchase price competitive.
Expensive and less extensive support. The cost of the custom software is likely to include a maintenance and support contract with the supplier, which is an on-going cost Good, free support. A popular application will have many online forums, written and video tutorials, enthusiast sites as well as the software company's own support site.
Competitive advantage. The application may give the company an edge over its competition - maybe it is faster, cleverer, or more cost-effective in some way Anyone can purchase a generic application and so it does not offer any particular advantage in terms of a competitive edge.
Needs extensive testing. After production release of the software, it will need to be maintained and fixed as bugs arise. This is an on going expense. If a serious flaw in the application arises, it could adversely affect the company. Mature, generic software should be relatively bug-free. The supplier will also release bug-fixes and security patches on a regular basis, usually free.
The application may take months or even years to develop The application is available immediately.
New staff will need to be trained to use the custom software, leading to added costs and time taken up for the training. Lower training costs. You can expect new staff to be able to use a generic package immediately. For instance how to use a popular word processing application.
Custom file formats or having to write new hardware drivers may make upgrading more difficult and certainly more costly than a generic package. Simpler to upgrade. Suppliers continually develop their software and periodically offer the next version
The supplier of the software is often a fairly small company and so if they go bankrupt or get taken over, then your custom software may no longer have any support or upgrade path. This can seriously affect a business. Future proofing. Much of the generic applications are produced by massive corporations that are less likely to fail. And even if they are taken over, then the new company is very likely to support existing customers.
Lower storage requirement. As the software has been developed with only specific features, there is no storage overhead due to unwanted features. A generic package tries to be as comprehensive as possible to attract the maximum number of customers. And so there will be megabytes or even gigabytes of wasted storage space.

 

 

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Click on this link: Compare Bespoke and generic software