Custom-written (bespoke) applications
Custom-built software verses off-the-shelf software
When a problem has been identified and a solution is being planned, both the Systems Analyst and the customer need to make an important decision regarding the type of software to use. Will a custom-built piece of software (sometimes called 'bespoke' software) be used or will a generic application be used? For example, if a company needed to create a customer database, do they commission a completely new application in Pascal or Java or Visual Basic or some other programming language, or do they commission a product made using an off-the-shelf generic application such as Access? There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.
A comparison of custom-built software with off-the-shelf software
- You can buy and use off-the-shelf software straight away. Writing a completely new application can take a long time.
- Writing a new piece of software may take hundreds of man-hours. This will add a great deal to the final cost of the product! Off-the-shelf software is generally cheaper.
- Off-the-shelf software has been around a while. Any problems with the software may well have been documented along with solutions and 'patches'. The company who produced the software may have fixed many reported problems and released later versions. Bespoke software will have to go through the process of proving itself.
- There is very often a wide range of sources of help and support on the Internet for off-the-shelf software. Help may come from support groups, user forums and newsgroups, for example. This type of help will not be available for bespoke software.
- Before deciding to go ahead with off-the-shelf software, it should be possible to seek recommendations from other users, perhaps using the Internet. It should be possible to gauge how good the product is, how good the support is, for example.
- If a company writes a new application, then they should support it. This can be both a good point and a bad point. If they wrote it, then they should know all about it and should be able to provide quality support. However, they may well charge a lot of money for support, or the support they give may not be that good. Unfortunately, however, the company that bought the software will be stuck with them - they will not easily be able to find additional help!
- If a product is made using off-the-shelf software, then it should be possible to maintain the product using anyone who knows about the particular package. There should be a big pool of experts to select from. If, however, a bespoke product is produced, it may be harder for anyone except the original company to maintain. And what happens if they go out of business?
- Bespoke applications can be tailor-made for an organisation. It provides exactly what functions the company needs, whatever they are.
- Bespoke applications can be designed to integrate with whatever software and hardware currently exists in the company.
- There may well be situations where an off-the-shelf application doesn't exist that can solve a particular problem. In this case, the only option would be to build a new application from scratch.