Existing software systems have their place in the business and can produce acceptable results at a reasonable cost.
Most of these tools can be adapted to the needs of ordinary users, but professional software developers can go deep into the software and make more global changes “from within”. However, buying OTS software is usually seen as the easiest way to solve the problem, reducing costs and saving time. And such an in-depth reprogramming of an off-the-shelf solution can be more expensive than creating a product to meet specific needs. Moreover, sometimes you need to perform a task that does not fit into the existing program parameters at all.
Every experienced specialist using software encounters a situation when it is necessary to turn off the beaten path in order to achieve a goal.
Let’s take the Visual SQL query tool as an example, which gives you the ability to visually “program” instead of programming in terms of code. Its advantages are that the user does not need to know a specific SQL programming language, ready-made solutions for typical and simple tasks, built-in monitoring and reporting capabilities, as well as technical support, maintainability and user friendliness.
Visual SQL query tools are good for users who are not involved in programming themselves, but you will need experienced programmers-developers if you need to overcome some of the limitations of such a program.
Today, many OTS tools set up a process and limit it to a ready-made script to perform the task. But what if you need to do something that is “not on the menu”? Using a standard solution involves reducing a non-standard task to a standard task by shoving it into the “procrustean bed” of an existing template. But what about the long-term perspective? When choosing this approach, you need to assess whether this will be a temporary measure, how long the customizations used can be maintained, and how soon additional fine-tuning will be required.
Creating a more complex scenario is impossible without a certain level of freedom on the part of the third-party programmer-developer. And when redesigning an existing software product, it should be understood that such a specialist will be limited by the capabilities of the OTS solution. It’s like asking a talented artist to fill in a “coloring by the numbers” picture.
An experienced programmer can make changes to the existing OTS code to achieve the desired result. But working with the limited API (Application Programming Interface) structure of an existing software tool to improve functionality will not always be the easy or cheap way to the desired result. An experienced technician knows many different scenarios and can choose the best one for a particular task, but he can’t apply them within the existing constraints.
It should be noted that automating repetitive processes is the main goal of most business software. There is no need to try to create a separate solution for already existing automated pieces of software. Another important point when automating is the need to focus on the right process, the right actions, not just the end goals. The wrong approach would be to try to simply automate a manual process. Look at the big picture: there may be a more effective way to achieve the desired result than purchasing an OTS tool.
Another aspect of off-the-shelf software is that the product may provide too many different features, while your business needs don’t allow for more than 80%, or even less – then a customized solution will be more cost-effective.
You’d be surprised at how affordable custom-built software can be when you consider the “margin” built in there to allow your business to expand without the risk of outgrowing the existing platform. In addition, you will have a much closer relationship with the software developer than with a representative of one of the big OTS tool platforms.