Pros & cons to building your own in-house software

Every business, new or old, often faces an impending question of whether to build an in-house software from scratch or to use an existing one off the shelf. While it always depends on the kind of solution your business is trying to provide, here is a list of pros and cons to help you make an informed decision.

Cons to building software in-house:

1. The total lifecycle cost of building an enterprise software solution can be a lot higher than expected. It is important that you account for the costs for the entire life of the initiative, not just for the initial deployment and pilot phases. This includes long-term costs, such as staff turnover, refresher training, support services and software updates and ongoing maintenance.

2. Businesses often want their product to reach the market/target audience through the fastest means. But building software takes time, effort, resources, and intensive research, thereby pushing the creation of software second on the priority list and gathering the prerequisites as the primary task.

3. As a business, you may often feel the need of building an innovative software from scratch but chances are that an iteration of that software already exists. Starting from scratch and investing your blood and sweat in a software only to later find out that it exists can be disheartening.

4. Chances are that this off the shelf software is tried and tested, has gone through multiple stages of iterations, is well-researched, understands the business problem, maximises user experience touch points, and can be customised to suit the needs of your business, without putting in too much time and effort.

5. Picking an already existing software also ensures that you have ready community support and domain expertise that can provide you with all the help that a growing business needs and minimise your errors in your upwards journey. This way you can focus on spearheading the growth of your business while a designated expert takes care of maintaining the software for you.

6. If the software that you pick is already associated with a well-established brand name, chances are that you can get associated with this brand and leverage their footprint to create a name for yourself.

7. An already existing software that is in line with your problem solution helps you cut down on research and execution time and makes it possible for your product to reach the market in the safest and quickest way possible.

8. Running a business means wearing different hats, often at the same time. Using a software off the shelf means that you will have one less thing to worry about.

Benefits to building software in-house:

1. The biggest and only upside of building an in-house software is the complete control and ownership you exert over its functioning and intellectual property rights. This software can keep in mind the dynamic and unique nature of your business needs. Of course, the trade-off is always time and resources.

Why AgriChain?

AgriChain, a seamless software solution for agricultural supply chains, is the only platform that connects all the participants involved in the supply chain – right from the grower to the end consumer, covering the entire gamut of players – manufacturers, brokers, importers and exporters, bulk handlers, and transporters.

With a sizeable footprint, the software is not limited to only a web application but also has a native mobile apps, for both iOS and Android users, fully integrated with real-time location service, pickup and delivery notifications by mapping geographies, and sharing of information for ease of process.

An easy to use software that minimises manual efforts – the software reads a picture and fills the required fields itself, thereby making it user-friendly, especially if you are on the go.

Built on the principle of supply chain management, the platform can potentially support any commodity. The idea and approach don’t stop only at agricultural products or specific geographies. As long as it involves a supply chain, AgriChain will provide the solution!

Related Tags: Grain Storage SolutionsAgri Supply Chain Management