Is Off the shelf always the answer?
Paul Ingevaldson questions the conventional wisdom on build vs. buy:
If you have custom software, you can usually accommodate a new requirement at a reasonable cost. With an off-the-shelf package, this is often impossible. If a strategic initiative can't be accomplished because of the shortcomings of the packaged system, then the cost could be incalculable. This is the true cost of off-the-shelf. You must learn to use the software the same way most everyone else uses it.
I wonder if Dell could have developed its logistics system under this type of constraint. I wonder if FedEx and UPS could have revolutionized the shipping industry when faced with this type of scenario. I wonder if Cemex in Mexico could have become a high-tech cement producer using this approach.
If it's a strategic system, and using off the shelf software makes you like everyone else, where's the win? Sure, there are commodity areas where it makes sense to buy (or use commodity OSS) (email systems come to mind), but there are also areas where you want to differentiate yourself from the competition. A point worth considering, anyway.
Comments
[Charles Miller] August 6, 2006 21:37:51.000
Reminds me of an old Joel Spolsky essay: http://joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000007.html
Off the shelf is part of the answer
[Menno Holscher] August 7, 2006 15:15:47.258
I can from my own experience say that there are a lot of unfounded generalizations here.
For example almost every company uses Microsoft Office products. So there is good use of off-the-shelf.
I have been working with an insurance package for over ten years now, for which my then and now companies bought the source and the right to customize. Having a sound basis from the package we have been able to supply better automation to the companies than from a solution built from scratch.
And of course as developers we cannot hear enough that automation is a strategic asset for the company, but the base line is that the company should be successful in its core business. If so, we can be of help by supplying first class support, further setting the company apart from the competition.