It’s always a temptation to build new software and have complete control over something uniquely crafted to solve your specific needs. However, there are several factors to consider when building custom software instead of using something off the shelf. If multiple off-the-shelf solutions command large market shares, then it’s wise to evaluate some of the top offerings to determine what percentage of your needs can be addressed by simply buying or subscribing to an established brand.
The pros and cons of existing solutions vs custom solutions should be weighed carefully before undertaking the long journey of building, implementing, and supporting a new enterprise-level piece of software. To build or not to build is the burning question we shall explore.
The Quick and Easy Off-The-Shelf Solution
A good CMS can serve multiple functions in your enterprise. It’s a place where digital artifacts can be stored for multiple uses and a place where teams can collaborate to create content that will be used in a variety of scenarios. The off-the-shelf CMS landscape is full of players providing robust feature sets. However, most of these features are designed to appeal to as wide an array of customers as possible. Many businesses will find these products are suitable enough to get at least most of the job done. These mainstream software products are appealing to companies with straightforward needs that focus on creating and storing content on a budget.
Do We Need More Than a Pre-Built CMS Can Offer?
But what if your business has more specific needs? For example, you might have constraints imposed by outside entities. Maybe you aren’t as concerned about time frames as you are about customized features that fit your unique business case.
Here are some signs that custom software development might be for you:
- Budget: If money isn’t at the top of the list of concerns when acquiring new software, then maybe it makes sense to get what you want because it could pay for itself over time. Custom software isn’t cheap, but good planning and thrifty project management can lessen the financial burden.
- Flexible Timeline: Building custom software takes time, even if you have already performed diligent analysis and can give the developer detailed specs of what you want.
- Skilled Staff: You have a team of highly technical resources that can handle the implementation, ongoing maintenance, and support of complicated software. Or you don’t mind partnering with and paying for software retainers/partnerships.
- Level of Commitment: You are prepared to keep enhancing and augmenting your custom CMS to fit your changing business needs. Also, you are prepared to have your software rewritten in the future to take advantage of technological advancements.
- Competitive Advantage: Will a custom solution provide a competitive edge that will allow you to do things faster and more efficiently than your competitors?
- Integrations: You need to have your CMS talk to other pieces of software such as databases, document storage systems, reporting tools, or Single Sign On (SS0) technology.
- Security: To protect sensitive information, you need a level of app security that is simply not offered by off-the-shelf CMS products. Government regulatory agencies may require this.
Navigating Common Pitfalls Building a Custom CMS
Here are some potential gotchas to consider when building a custom CMS:
- Realistic Staff Expectations: Wearing rose-colored glasses when it comes to the technical talents of your team. Just because your office manager has built a website for their sister’s bakery doesn’t qualify them to maintain enterprise-level software. However, good software development companies are prepared to provide different levels of training and support to your staff at handoff.
- Future Costs: Underestimating the future costs of adding new features and incorporating new technology can sour your opinion of your custom software over time.
- Finite Scope: Scope creep and the continual addition of new features can bloat your software and significantly delay its initial deployment.
What About a Hybrid Approach?
If you’ve investigated all of the options and you’re still on the fence about whether to just buy an off-the-shelf CMS or to build a custom one, have you thought about a hybrid solution? For some businesses, it might be faster, cheaper, and more advantageous to purchase an existing CMS and then have it customized. If the CMS has a good API, then it might be possible to integrate with other third-party applications or custom-built applications to cover all your bases. This will save time and money but still deliver a complete solution for your business case. To learn more about creating hybrid CMS solutions, you should consult a reputable software consultant.
Where To Go From Here
Whether you’re thinking of building a completely custom CMS or customizing an existing CMS, investing in a new software solution can be intimidating. If all these considerations have you feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry – you don’t have to go it alone! Our software roadmapping service dives into time and budget considerations as well as your business’s unique requirements and goals, what solutions can accomplish these, and which would be the best and most realistic fit for you.
This Solution Roadmap (SRM) takes the guesswork out of planning and ensures you’re making wise and data-informed decisions to serve your business long-term. If you’ve ever finished a long development project and then discovered changes will be needed again the very next year, save your sanity next time through expert planning. If you have any questions or want to know where to start, simply reach out to our expert team for some friendly guidance!
