Pre-packaged vs. Custom Software

(Author: Peter Kuczaj | Article Views: 16 | Word Count: 332 | Published: Jan 13th 2008)

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If you are in the market for new business software, you should know that there are a couple of options to choose from. Generally speaking, you can either purchase a pre-packaged software solution, or you can hire a software developer who can create a custom application. As you can imagine, both solutions offer advantages and disadvantages. As a consumer with specific goals, you need to know the differences between these two options, and then decide which solution will best fit your needs.

Your first option, pre-packaged software, is just what its name indicates. These programs are available to the general public for general use, and are created for commonly performed tasks. They are not tailored to suit a business’ specific needs. One benefit of buying pre-packaged software is that you can assume that it works well for its intended purpose, and that its features are well tested. A second benefit is that pre-packaged software, in most cases, is not going to cost nearly as much as having a custom application developed. On the down side of things, since you are buying only what is pre-packaged and pre-build, you may not have the specific feature set that your business requires.

On the other hand, custom software applications also offer many benefits. The biggest and most obvious one being that you will be able to work with your software developer to build exactly what your business application requires. When you buy into custom software development, the application will be yours alone and will be made to suit your specific needs. But as mentioned above, to have an application that offers exactly what you require, you are going to have to pay a premium price.

Both types of software are valuable for businesses. For common routines performed by many businesses, buying software off the shelf may be the best way to go. But when your business needs specific actions and results, you need to consider a custom software application.

About the Author

Crocus Plains Software Ltd is a leading software development services and enterprise solutions agency. Crocus Plains offers business services for web design and development, Internet marketing and search engine optimization, and customized enterprise software development. http://www.crocusplains.com

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