For many organizations, developing a cost-effective but efficient software platform can be a challenge. Smaller organizations need low start-up costs as they stay lean and scale. Larger organizations demand customization and complexity as operating needs grow.
The path an organization takes with their software has lasting implications for their operating costs over the long term. There are more than enough case studies out there highlighting the costs of poor software and data.
Should You Buy Property Condition Assessment Software?
In real estate, property condition assessment software is critical, as property condition assessments are a core business need. Today, leading companies have digitized a capital process that was once dominated by paper checklists and inconsistent reporting policies.
Here at 4tell™ Solutions, we often hear companies wondering whether it’s better to buy an off-the-shelf solution that’s ready to go, or to work with internal IT teams to build proprietary property condition assessment software. The key is to remember: supporting core business needs is your first priority.
What Costs More, Building or Buying Software?
Custom software can be structured to work with an organization’s operating platform and KPIs, but takes much longer to implement. Ready-to-purchase software often works with multiple software packages and systems.
Notably, building software requires a big investment upfront in the form of staffing, time and money. Custom software requires patience and access to expert developers, and you can spend a lot of money yet not achieve the desired results. Scope creep is a risk when building software—unforeseen costs and time requirements can quickly get out of hand.
We hear from our customers that compared to working with off-the-shelf software as a service (SaaS) products, building custom software generally:
- Takes 3X as long
- Requires 2X as many resources
Unless your software is technically architected to understand and address your broader organizational needs, two major issues often arise:
- Your resulting data is siloed
- You have to spend additional capital upgrading existing software programs to work with your newly built product
Market software solutions start working right away. They also require fewer resources and IT capacity, as staff simply need training to get the software up and running. Customized solutions often get cumbersome, especially in terms of maintenance.
What Approach Will Drive More Value For Your Organization?
Consider the core business needs of your organization. What is your value-add proposition for your clients and/or stakeholders? Organizations must understand their core competencies in order to answer their software needs.
For example, take an organization whose property assessment needs are solely for capital planning, investment and maintenance. The organization may benefit from customization of their software, but should they spend a large chunk of their IT budget on a process that can easily be achieved by choosing a less expensive option? Probably not.
Ultimately, firms need to ask themselves whether their software makes them more effective. If not, it’s time for a change.
What Will be More Beneficial in the Long Run?
Since internally built software is not intended for use outside the organization, it is usually a minimum viable product (MVP). These can be costly to adapt as your business scales and your needs adapt.
Custom built software isn’t a one-time cost. Maintaining it can cost up to 25% of the initial IT investment annually.
When your business requires a very specific type of software not yet on the market, your only option is to build. But if what you need already exists, save yourself the lingering maintenance costs and IT headaches and opt to buy instead.
If what you need is property condition assessment software, 4tell™ Solutions can help. Learn more about our scalable, future-proof assessment software, or contact us for more details on how we can meet your business’s needs.
Photo credit: SFIO CRACHO / Shutterstock, Inc.
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