Answered! When an IT manager would like to address a particular set of business requirements, should he build proprietary…

• If the software and associated technology is part of the company’s core and If the business needs to gain a significant competitive advantage through the software
• To maintain the business workflow proprietary and as a source of competitive advantage
• When the Must-have features and the Need for additional features for the software required are high and are not found in available off-the-shelf software. When the business needs many customizations, standard softwares may not offer us the flexibility.
• If the business is looking at high scalability and structural changes in future, then a proprietary software offers better solution
• When the ROI is high especially in long term for proprietary software
• when the business seeks integration with numerous other programs it is already using

Conditions under which use standard software is beneficial

• Small businesses usually benefit from existing software solutions. Proprietary solutions may be too costly for them and may unnecessarily complicate the issues, when the business needs only basic features
• When the existing solutions offer enough scalability for the business When standard solutions are already available that also offer customizations to meet my needs
• When the company lacks the technical proficiency to create and manage a proprietary software
• Budget constraints – When the budget is smaller, off-the-shelf software can offer better-packaged solutions that will meet most of the needs. Today Saas solutions offer better advanced and scalable solutions at a better cost
• When there is significant time constraint for building the product
• The business also needs to consider the switching costs and migration issues in future
• When there is no need to worry about integrations issues with other software used by the business