[Sigia-l] Extranet software

[Listera]

"Christopher Fahey [askrom]" wrote:

> The decision to "buy" is sometimes driven by the reality that the organization
> is not at all sure what the requirements are and are simply betting that a
> pre-packaged solution is likely to satisfy those requirements - if it's
> bloated with features, chances are it'll do what you need it to do once you
> figure out what that is.

Quite. The other reason why pre-packaged may not be the best answer is that
the software "packages" not only technology but solutions as well. Often,
you have to buy into a particular (and essentially limited) approach. While
you might think this is "safe" (the proverbial 'everybody else is doing
it'), it also robs you of differentiation and ultimately of competitive
advantage. For instance, when MCI introduced the "Friends of the Family"
program (thereby changing long-distance telecom marketing forever) it didn't
and couldn't use "pre-packaged" software; it had to be developed to give it
the competitive advantage.

I think the principal issue with build or buy is not necessarily where the
app is developed, but to what end? Does it provide a competitive advantage?
Depending on pre-packaged software for an organization's core competency is
often (but obviously not always) an invitation too disaster.

Best,

Ziya