When it comes to making a decision about purchasing software, you are faced with a wide array of decisions, such as picking a vendor, a platform, and so on. If the problem you are trying to solve, or business process you are modeling is reasonably complex, then you may be looking at a custom software solution. Or, you may be weighing the option of purchasing a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution and customizing it to fit your company’s needs.
Sadly, an off-the-shelf solution is often too much or too little. Because they are created to fit the basic needs of everyone in the target market, the software you find may lack some features you wish you had, or you may be stuck paying for features you don’t need. Even if it can be made to fit, the costs to customize and configure from off-the-shelf can be high.
Custom software allows you to decide exactly what you need, helps you pay only for the features you want, and gives you the ability to shape the product along the roads on which you want to take your business. Custom software allows you to update and expand functionality as needed, instead of having to wait for a new release or feature set. In addition, you can pull data from multiple internal and external sources to create a dynamic system to enhance your business intelligence.
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