To Build or Buy Business Software?

To Build or Buy?
Your organization has decided it needs an enterprise resource planning (ERP ) software to maximize efficiencies of business processes – now what?

You face the choice of whether to build or buy the software; weigh the factors and consequences carefully.

The decision of whether to buy or build ERP software will require an honest assessment of the needs of your organization, and what it will take to meet those needs. Sometimes the nature of the software project dictates the necessary direction.

After all, the repercussions of a software choice can be long lasting and affect all your business systems and processes.

Building software may appear at first to be the easier route; for one thing, it’s a solution that’s tailor-made for your organization. Since it is developed and maintained by in-house staff, you have total control over the software.

Be careful what you wish for: total control also means a great deal of front-end time by employees, not to mention ongoing maintenance of the ERP system, unsupported by an external company.

When it comes to costs, you may think that upfront expenses are less when you build, rather than buy; however, that is not always the case.

To help you in making a decision about whether building or buying software is best for your company, let’s take a look at some of the differences between “buy” and “build.”