Why off-the-shelf software is not ideal for business success

The rapidly changing business environment calls for all the companies to take necessary action to streamline and expedite their operations. This is because operational efficiency is the need of the hour to reap the benefits of profitability. Amidst all this, technology is also changing at a fast pace and it is best for the businesses to leverage technology in order to attain the benefits they seek. Increasing number of firms are making use of applications to do so. Some of them rely upon ready made applications while some tend to make use of custom made ones. 

By means of this article we are going to help you understand why “off-the-shelf” or ready made software is not ideal for your business and there are some other solutions that you need to tap into so that your business can excel at a pace you had never imagined.

1. Standardized production

These applications have been designed in a very sophisticated manner so that a large number of people can make use of it. Due to their typical design, they come with features that may not be required by a business at all; thus, causing redundancy. Also, these attributes have a tendency of confusing the end user – thereby, negating the very purpose for which the application was designed in the first place. Despite the many features that it encompasses, it so happens that these features are sometimes not enough to cater to the unique problems that a firm may be facing. 

2. Training

Many of these applications are not user-friendly and require the personnel to be trained. While the vendors may offer free training, the employees are required to spare extra time so that they can learn how to use the software. This leads to a considerable decrease in the productive hours spent by the workforce on the job. There are also times that these applications will only come equipped with video tutorials which may make it harder to interpret the whole working of the software. On the other hand, if a personalized application is onboarded – it would work in accordance with the requirement of the business and is going to require less time to be spent on training.

3. Development catered to masses

As it happens, businesses tend to think that they can rely on a generalized application which would lead them to save time spent on accessing a custom built application. However, for the end user it becomes extremely frustrating to navigate through the application which is embedded with features that are not useful. Also, in the case of off-the-shelf software when a user makes the request of a feature to be added on to the application – there is a high probability that the request would be turned down because the vendor caters to the requirement of the mass and not an individual.

4. Costing

 The price of an off-the-shelf is immense because of the number of user licenses that are associated with it. The consultancy costs associated with this application are also many because of the integrations that are required.

5. Regular updates

This is definitely a benefit for the end user because they can stay up to date with the features and new features are added on a regular basis. However, one important downstream of this benefit is that there is a very high chance that an important feature of the application may be eliminated. This would cause harm to the end user because their most used feature is no longer available. This is also likely to have an impact on the overall profitability of the firm. While you may not be able to update your custom made application on a regular basis, if need be you can introduce newer features. These features are going to help your business flourish while making sure that only the relevant stuff remains on the table while all the irrelevant stuff is not bothering you. Also, you will not end up losing the important features because the other features which are being introduced to your applications are add ons and are not going to cause any risk to any of the existing features.

6. Zero responsibility

Yet another advantage for the end user. The person who has subscribed to the software has no responsibility associated with the application. The entire liability to develop and maintain the application lies upon the vendor. This also means that if the business who has subscribed to this application wants to make a miniscule change – they cannot do so. In fact, they cannot even resell the application to somebody else. However, the case is exactly opposite when it comes to custom made solutions. You know what is the best thing – you get everything catered in accordance with the business processes. While you are responsible for the maintenance of the application – it is with pride you would want to do it because at the end, it is your business which is going to benefit from this. Thus, with great responsibility – you would have an enormous amount of power and the right kind of power. The power to channelize your business and take it to unimaginable heights.

7. Support

The support system associated with this kind of software may be operating from abroad. Thus, there is a very high chance that you may not be able to resolve your query as soon as you want it to be resolved. Thus, this may mean that your business would be jeopardized for some time because of the reduction in the productive hours that are being put in by your customer base. However, this is never the case when it comes to using a custom made software – you are so well versed with the usage of the applications that there is little scope for you to seek help from somebody.

8. Trials

In order to increase their sales, such applications have a lot of trials available online. They are usually designed in a manner so that they trigger a purchase from you. It is for you to be extra careful while doing so because there is a very high chance that you might end up buying something that is not very fruitful for your business. You might end up being lost in the number of processes that you have to conduct and this application may bring you close to being inefficient – which is not what you want if you wish to venture into a profitable scenario.

Now that you are aware of how far from ideal an off the shelf software/application is for your company – you must come to understand the importance a custom made software holds in the life of a business. It is going to help you streamline the entire process without you having to put in a lot of effort. Thus, ensuring that there are enough productive hours available at the disposal of the company so that operational efficiency can contribute to an increase in the profits that the company can reap. We understand that we have been emphasizing a little too much on the use of the application and we do this rightly so because it is an important driver of profitability of the firm. It is going to work its wonder in so many ways – you might not have previously imagined.