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Nowadays, businesses have several options of going for off-the-shelf or generic software that’s quite popular with startups. For your business, should you opt for a solution that meets basic needs or build a solution that serves your exact needs? Moreover, should you resize your practices around a ready-made solution or get tailored software?
Generic and Customized Software, which should you choose for your business?
Keep in mind that software development services
are a broad field, thus, it’s important to determine which solution suits you
best. There are a lot of development methodologies to opt from along with
choosing the right technology partner for your upcoming
project.
Here, in this blog we are going to discuss about
two types of approach to software development to help you decide which one is
more suitable for your business.
Let’s dig in to find out.
Generic and Customized Software—Which Should You Choose?
What’s a Generic Software?
As its name implies, it’s a solution that’s
meant for use of the public in general. It’s software that’s not designed for a
particular purpose, company, or person. Generic software is known as a
content-free application as well.
Every person in their work or school has used
generic software, probably for a presentation, project, and so on. Excel,
Firefox, Word, and others are some of the commonly used generic software. The
solution isn’t limited to a specific app and could do various tasks, like a
spreadsheet application for instance.
Moreover, it does tasks that don’t require
modifications. Some of the features to keep in mind when building generic
software include efficiency, functionality, reliability, and portability.
What is
Custom Software?
Custom or tailored solution is uniquely designed
for a particular set of users or companies. A single user or an organization
may go for software development services to design a solution that provides
specific functions and results. The software is not intended for general use
and only caters to the needs of the organization.
Anything that goes into the software, such as the requirements, functionalities, and expense to build the solution is shouldered by the client. Some examples of custom software include bug tracking software, automated invoicing software, CRM solutions, and many more. Choosing between generic and customized software? Consider the following.
Generic and Customized Software—Functionalities, Characteristics, Features, and More
1. Exclusiveness
●
Generic software is intended
for the open market.
●
Custom
software is a unique solution that’s developed for a specific company or
business.
2. Updates and Requirements
●
Updates on generic software
should be done in accordance with a specific plan, which is defined by the
market requirements.
●
Off-the-shelf
software is made based on updates later on.
●
Changes
in custom software are done based upon the customer’s needs. The requirement
could be fulfilled when a customer asks for it. It is furthermore built according to the budget, time, and the needs
of the client.
3. Cost of Development
●
Custom software development
could be expensive since the client gets a unique product. However, a
competitive edge that the customer will get could overweigh the heavy overhead.
●
A generic or off-the-shelf
solution usually is affordable. There could, however, be some hidden costs. For
instance, there could be extra expenses when implementing the software and
setting it up.
4. Control
The major difference between generic and
customized software is the control of the process of development.
●
The
software development services company controls the development of generic
software. Furthermore, the company, being the owner, could do changes and
remove some features that a client may find useful anytime, even if the client
acquires a license to use the solution.
●
The control of the software
development is with the client. Furthermore, the client alone gets to decide
what to do with it.
5. Functionality
●
The functionality of
off-the-shelf software is designed to resolve a certain issue for a lot of
organizations.
●
Tailored
software has functionality built to solve a problem for a particular business
alone.
6. Quality
●
The quality of generic software
is not the main parameter that software or mobile application development services
follow. If the release is delayed to refine some features, this could lead to a
loss in market share. Quality, therefore, is not the top priority for generic
software.
●
A
customized solution, in contrast, has to have the best quality to affect the
progress as well as the client’s revenue. The quality parameters of the
tailored solution would be in proportion to what effect they should have on the
company of the client.
7. Architecture
●
Generic
software must be very scalable. It may also have to pivot during the lifecycle,
depending on the needs of the software development services company.
● The architecture of custom software should have a balance between scalability and the present requirements of the client.
Unique Features of Generic and Customized Software
Since a generic solution is created for a wide
range of users, it has so many features, all of which may not be of use or
needed for a particular company. Furthermore, the features of an off-the-shelf
solution could be simple or complex, depending on their functionality. A range
of the same generic serving use instances, however, would have common features.
A tailored or custom software, on the other hand, have a highly specific and unique feature, limited only t the specific client it’s made for. Every custom software serving a common purpose for various clients would still have distinct design features and functions unique to the business alone.
Generic and Customized Software—Which is Better?
When it comes to choosing generic and customized
software, there really is no better or worse option. The budget and
requirements are the deciding factor. In tailored software, there are lesser
costs after the initial investment, and it pays for itself over time, smoothly
integrating with the current setups of the organization.
If the business involves record-keeping, has a
traditional hierarchical structure, has inter-departmental updates,
personalized communication, and so on, then custom software is the right
solution. It caters exactly to the specifications per workflows and
departments. It furthermore integrates with other software that the company is
already using.
There is, on the other hand, a set of advantages that come with ready-made software. You get to save a lot of initial money and time if you invest in an off-the-shelf solution to meet your needs in general. With a few workarounds, in time, the generic solution could keep you in a kind of momentum, particularly if your business does not really depend on excessive data sharing, or note-keeping, or does not require constant communication with customers.
Conclusion
There is no wrong choice when it comes to
generic and customized software. What to take into account is the nature of
your business. As long as the solution meets your exact requirements, then you
could never go wrong. Whatever solution you decide, generic and customized
software, as long as it serves your purpose well, then that software product is
the best for you.