Custom vs Package Software - The missing 3rd option
For years, customers have had to make a choice between a custom software solution and a packaged off-the-shelf products. Both these solutions have their plus and minuses.
Packaged Software
PROS:
- Lower up-front cost
- Quick setup
CONS:
- May require you to change your process to fit the software
- May not service your business needs 100%
Custom Software
PROS:
- You can start with the minimum necessary requirements and add on later
- Can be tailored to your exact business needs and processes
- Changes can be made quickly
CONS:
- Very high initial cost
- All changes and feature requests will be billable
- May incur additional costs ramping up new developers
The 3rd Option
What if there was a third option. One that has the pros of both these option and minimal cons?
The solution is in the software architecture. They way the software has been designed. Instead of using a low level programming language to build the software, we need to use adaptive and malleable tools to build the software. Tools that are delivered to the customer along with the product. This way, the user can easily customize the product as per changing needs.
One early example of this architecture is SAP. It is a packages software that comes with a built-in methodology to manage change. SAP was built in the 1970's, it is robust but has some down sides:
- Too big for small businesses
- Expensive to run and maintain
- Proprietary language - Requires special skills to customize.
With modern software development methodology and open source innovation, it should be easy to come up with a solution that allows users to build and customize solutions easily.
This is why I started working on Axis API. With Axis API, you can build APIs using a graphical tool. Products built using this tool can be easily modified by the customer.
Imagine delivering a software product to your customer which the user can easily customize themselves. Such a built-in self-service feature will not only extend the lifetime of the product but will also reduce the overall cost of ownership.
I believe this is the future of software development.