7.9. Build vs. Buy
When an organization decides that a new program needs to be developed, they must determine if it makes more sense to build it themselves or to purchase it from an outside company. This is the “build vs. buy” decision.
There are many advantages to purchasing software from an outside company. First, it is generally less expensive to purchase software than to build it. Second, when software is purchased, it is available much more quickly than if the package is built in-house. Software can take months or years to build. A purchased package can be up and running within a few days. Third, a purchased package has already been tested and many of the bugs have already been worked out. It is the role of a systems integrator to make various purchased systems and the existing systems at the organization work together.
There are also disadvantages to purchasing software. First, the same software you are using can be used by your competitors. If a company is trying to differentiate itself based on a business process incorporated into purchased software, it will have a hard time doing so if its competitors use the same software. Another disadvantage to purchasing software is the process of customization. If you purchase software from a vendor and then customize it, you will have to manage those customizations every time the vendor provides an upgrade. This can become an administrative headache, to say the least.
Even if an organization decides to buy software, it still makes sense to go through the same analysis as if it was going to be developed. This is an important decision that could have a long-term strategic impact on the organization.
Web Services
Chapter 4 discussed how the move to cloud computing has allowed software to be viewed as a service. One option, known as web services, allows companies to license functions provided by other companies instead of writing the code themselves. Web services can greatly simplify the addition of functionality to a website.
Suppose a company wishes to provide a map showing the location of someone who has called their support line. By utilizing Google Maps API web services, the company can build a Google Map directly into their application. Or a shoe company could make it easier for its retailers to sell shoes online by providing a shoe sizing web service that the retailers could embed right into their website.
Web services can blur the lines between “build vs. buy.” Companies can choose to build an application themselves but then purchase functionality from vendors to supplement their system.
“Chapter 5 Systems Thinking and Design” from Information Systems: No Boundaries! by Shane M Schartz is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
