Bespoke or Off The Shelf

Helps With

Helps With
  • Assessing the cost of each option
  • Understanding the benefits
  • Identifying hybrid solutions and their features.

Bespoke software is expensive - this is a common perception that we need to examine

Bespoke Advantages

  • Exactly matches your requirements
  • Can be adapted as business changes
  • COST
    • One off cost, sometimes with support charges 15% per year
    • Bespoke application (eg simple CRM) = £6K-
  • FLEXIBILITY
    • If well designed can adapt to business needs

Off the shelf Advantages

  • May have many (unnecessary) features
  • May have many (useful) features
  • COST - Licence fees sometimes annual, per user e.g.10 users of Act at £100/user = 1K e.g.10users of MS CRM at £850/user = £8.5K
  • FLEXIBILITY -Some reconfiguration may be possible.

Hybrid

If you take something like Act there is little customisation possible. MS CRM is different - although you might pay £8.5K for 10 licences, you probably need to spend a further £8.5K to make it work as you want it to.