Let's assume you are the owner of a small or medium-sized business. After a lot of effort building your business, you now have a portfolio of customers and prospects that keep you and your staff busy at all times. Your processes are not at the level you would like them to be, but they allow you to deliver the product or provide the service your customers pay for. However, it's not all plain sailing:
- You manage your information and many of your controls in Excel.
- These controls do not easily connect to each other.
- Sometimes you can't access critical information because of things as simple as:
o You can't find the right file.
o The last changes to the file were not saved.
o A formula was moved within the file and the information is no longer reliable.
- On top of this your employees are doing repetitive work that clearly could be automated by using a system.
Then you decide that, if you want to get to the next level, something has to change.
Most SMEs go through this situation at some point in their existence; when there is a latent need to implement a system where information is secure, interconnected and easily accessible, as well as offering automated processes that save time for your human resources. When this happens, there are two viable options:
- Buy or subscribe to off-the-shelf solutions to manage part or all of your business (ERPs, MRPs, CMS, etc.).
- Develop custom software.
The only way to make the right decision for your business is to know the advantages of each of the options.
The advantages of an off-the-shelf software are:
- It is a fully developed solution and therefore can be implemented immediately.
- There is usually a bank of information available on how the software works and answers to frequently asked questions.
- The monetary investment can be lower than what’s needed for a custom software.
The advantages of custom software are:
- The end product is a solution built around your processes and tailored to your specific goals.
- You are less prone to information leakage since you decide where the information is stored, who has access and to what extent.
- You decide the pace of development and implementation. That is, your solution can be modular or complete, and can go from simple to complex, depending on your needs.
- You have the flexibility to modify, add or remove functionality as needed.
- You are not subject to mandatory upgrades, nor are you subject to certain features being locked in for the same reason.
If any of the above resonates with your business situation or goals, and you decide to look for a custom solution, here at Monobits we are ready to help you in your digital evolution.