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Uploaded byAmbareesh Kulkarni
Build or Buy ?
The document analyzes the benefits of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) solutions versus custom applications, highlighting that COTS is generally more cost-effective, faster to deploy, and easier to maintain. It discusses various risks and challenges associated with custom development, such as increased time-to-market, higher costs, and performance issues. Scalability and reliability of COTS solutions are emphasized, along with the importance of rapid implementation and the potential for greater business value.
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Build or Buy ?
- 1. Build or Buy? Ambareesh Kulkarni 2014
- 2. Commercial Of theShelf (COTS) Costs Less Compared to Custom apps. , COTS is far more cost-effective Cost less to develop Pre-built features speed implementation Cost less to deploy Scalability enables more economical infrastructure Cost less to maintain React quickly to change and growth Deliver higher business value Robust features & more useful information Maximize business benefits Greater adoption from better performance, reliability and usability
- 3. Build often SeemsLike an Obvious Solution Q No A Not too much, given the requirements What would be the cost of developing the app in-house? IIS servers, MSSQL databases What IT infrastructure do we have in-house? .Net developers What IT skills do we currently have in-house? Is it feasible to develop the application in-house? Yes, the requirements appear fairly simple Is there an existing product that achieves what users need?
- 4. Opportunity Costs inCustom Dev Issues Associated Opportunity Costs Slower time-to-market Lower revenues, higher expenses, poorer customer service, reduced business benefits Lack of functionality Loss of employees, customers and partners Performance and reliability problems Lost revenues, opportunities and productivity Growth demands Unpredictable reliability and costs as system scales to meet increasing user demands
- 5. Risk Management: COTSvs. Custom Custom Coding COTS Time to Deployment As much as 5 times longer development cycles 80% fewer person-days in development means faster deployment Maintainability Cost of maintaining a custom application SUMMARY Easy to add and change when business and technology environments change Scalability – volume Unknown and difficult to predict scaling properties Scalable architecture requires far less systems investment Scalability – application complexity Increasing difficulty and cost to maintain complexity growth No limits to complexity – start simple, grow with needs Reliability Thorough testing requires huge investment of time and capital Tested internally and by thousands of customers every minute of every day Risk High risk inherent in custom development Scalable, reliable server-centric platform with pre-built features that reduce project risk
- 6. COTS Costs LessThan Custom Compared to Custom applications, COTS Solutions are far more cost-effective Cost less to develop Pre-built features speed deployment Cost less to deploy Scalability enables more economical infrastructure Cost less to maintain React quickly to change and growth Deliver higher business value Robust features Maximize business benefits Greater adoption from better performance, reliability and usability SUMMARY
- 7. Development Timeline ForCustom Apps. COTS Focus on gathering requirements Requirements Gathering Gather requirements on core functionality Prototype deployment, not functionality Focus on rapid implementation Prototype only what can be coded Develop core capabilities before focusing on user requirements Prototyping Deployment Requirements Gathering Prototyping Development TIME
- 8. Maintenance Timeline ForApps COTS Development Upgrades/ Enhancements Create new functionality, change existing functionality, and re-test every modification Maint. Maintenance TIME Development
- 9. Opportunity Costs inCustom Apps Issues Associated Opportunity Costs Slower time-to-market Lower revenues, higher expenses, poorer customer service, reduced business benefits Lack of functionality Loss of employees, customers and partners Performance and reliability problems Lost revenues, opportunities and productivity Growth demands Unpredictable reliability and costs as system scales to meet increasing user demands SUMMARY