This means that when you take on an off the shelf solution, you could find that the product can do everything you need it to and more. You can have too much of a good thing though, and equally, the software has every chance it might be missing features you want.
This makes it important to do your research and make sure the solution is capable of meeting your needs. When you buy any software solution, be it commercial or bespoke, you should be offered some sort of support. With commercial software, this could be anywhere from online live chat, to email, or telephone communications. Some products may limit support depending on the package you have purchased.
The cost of these additional developments will be paid for by the vendor. It comes with a trade-off, though. The first problem with commercial software is that although it is the cheaper option initially, it can cost you more long-term.
This is due to persistent fees for the use of the product such as licensing, and the cost of additional users. This means that depending on how long you use the product for, and how many people are using it, it can cost you more than bespoke software in the end.
This is why it is important to not only consider the startup costs for software but the lifetime cost. Sometimes you can hybridise a commercial solution, and develop it yourself to include new features or integration. But this is not always possible, and will obviously require hiring an experienced developer to help. This means that if you want to make any changes of your own to the product, it might not be possible.
Because you have not developed the software yourself, you do not own the product or the source code. This means that you have no input or control into any changes made to the product, for better or worse. Ergo, the software could be changed in a way that does not suit you. Features that you like or even rely on may be removed. The best-case scenario is that upgrades and updates to the product benefit you, or make no difference to your experience using it.
Not every commercial software comes with support included. Be sure to investigate what support is available for the package you want. Additionally, just as upgrades can stop after a while, so too can support for the product. Meaning when problems occur, you will need to find a developer who can help you.
I mentioned this disadvantage of commercial software above. With off the shelf software, there may be different versions of the product, each with more features and a higher cost. Additionally, later upgrades to the product may be optional and carry an additional cost.
Furthermore, you might find you need to develop the product yourself. This will obviously carry a monetary and time cost for you. Users do not have control over an off-the-shelf software. Since it is pre-existing, its authority is under the control of the developer. Therefore, even if the users don't like the features included, they cannot make any changes to the off-the-shelf software.
They need to rely on the updates given by the developer. Even though most of the off-the-shelf software comes with community support, in some of the the feature isn't included. The level of support depends on the type of package purchased.
Even some vendors stop providing support once the software becomes outdated. The only option the users are left is with the help of developers. Hence, before making a purchase it is important to investigate in the type of support that the developer is providing. An off-the-shelf software lacks when it comes to scalability. It is a software which is already made and published to the market.
Therefore, if you need to expand your business an off-the-shelf software does not allow it to be scalable. Under this condition, the only option will be by using a bespoke software. Compatibility is another issue faced by an off-the-shelf software. Not all the operating systems and devices will be able to support an off-the-shelf software. Many of them becomes unusable in an incompatible operating system. Despite of this if it used, it might crash the software. An off-the-shelf software is more complicated than others due to the resources it is equipped with.
This software must satisfy the requirement of different users. Thus, even a feature that the user doesn't want to is already included in an off-the-shelf software. This makes the software difficult to use for an average user. Tags tutorials and guides. No comments:. Post a Comment. Newer Post Older Post Home.
Subscribe to: Post Comments Atom. Facebook HitechWhizz. Popular Posts. What is LAN? Local Area Network LAN is a type of network which connects computers of limited geographical range Probably within a bu What is Wifi? The main problem with this is that the chances of these new features being exactly what you need are pretty slim. You can get off-the-shelf tools that can handle key functions of your business but as your business evolves, your software can become outdated.
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Talk to an expert : hello atlascode. Off-the-shelf Software: Advantages and Disadvantages. Posted on: July 3rd, by Simon Swords.
Simon Swords Director Managing Director.
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