A client recently asked me to run through the advantages of a bespoke software solution verses a packaged CRM solution so I thought I would write a short post about the differences of each approach.
Bespoke Software |
VS |
Packaged CRM |
| Bespoke software development can be expensive due to the amount of effort required in building and testing software. |
VS |
Packaged software is relatively cheap since it is sold on many times. |
| Higher probability of software containing bugs. |
VS |
Lower probability of software containing bugs. |
| Unlikely to have extra bonus features that you did not especially request and hence pay for. |
VS |
Likely to include lots of extras such as calendar integration and the opportunity to push your data to mobile devices. |
| You can choose exactly the features you want and specify exactly how everything works. |
VS |
There will probably be operations that you require that you simply cannot do with the software. |
| Personal support from someone you can have an ongoing relationship with who has built your software from the ground up and knows every detail of its inner workings. |
VS |
If you have problems you are usually at the mercy of a large and faceless organisation who may not be quite as concerned as you are if you have a major problem that needs to be fixed urgently. |
| It has been specifically designed for your particular requirements and can be tailored to fit in exactly with the way that your business or organisation wishes to operate. |
VS |
You may have to alter the way that you work in order to fit in with the way that the software has been designed. |
| You can specifically specify design and change the User Interface of software you have commissioned making it fit your business process and intuitive to work with. |
VS |
You can add extra fields and design tabs but the basic UI design is fixed and cannot be changed to suit the way you work. |
| Bespoke software offers you the opportunity to capture your company exactly in a software system and make the system revolve around the way you work. |
VS |
Complex workflows can be hard or impossible to implement in an off the shelf solution. Often the system will work but you wish it just did these extra couple of things such as capture that special process specific to your company. |
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