Top 10 Off the Shelf Software Disadvantages For more information see: http://www.itenterprise.co.uk

1. TOP 10
OFF THE SHELF SOFTWARE
DISADVANTAGES

2. HIGHLY COMPLEX
Often you find that Off-The-Shelf software products are more complex as the product
has to contain extensive range features to suit a broad audience. These additional
features will increase the complexity of your product.

3. COST PER USER
Often off-the-shelf SAAS products charge a fee per additional user. When you expand
your business the cost to license the product is exponential.

4. HIGH LICENSE COST
You usually pay a high license fee or a high upfront cost. This fee will only allow you to
make use of the off-the-shelf product, but you will not own the product. This might hurt
your cash flow.

5. NO RIGHTS
As you don’t own the product you don’t have any intellectual property rights to the
product. This means that you will never be able to sell, change or have any influence in
the direction of the product.

6. NOT CUSTOMISED
As the software wasn’t developed to you to meet your dedicated requirement, it is not
customised according to your needs. As such your business might have to reach out to
alternative solutions to bridge that gap.

7. DIFFICULT TO ADD NEW FEATURES
The vendor is completely in control of any new features in forthcoming releases. As a
user, it will be difficult to influence the addition of new features in an off-the-shelf
software product.

8. HIGH LEARNING CURVE
Often Off-The-Shelf products contain a vast number of features, besides the core set of
features. Having additional features will make it harder to learn the product.

9. COMPETITORSDISADVANTAGE
Your competitors have access to the same off-the-shelf software. As such you cannot
have a competitive edge and increase your efficiency in comparison with the
competition. This is another disadvantage of an off-the-shelf product.

10. IT’S A COMPROMISE
You may have to compromise on your requirements and features. It is very unlikely that
you will find off-the-shelf software that meets your needs fully.
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