Build vs Buy.
Core Competency vs Not.

Most organizations have dedicated IT groups these days and it’s tempting to want to leverage their skills to develop applications that the organization needs for standard business processes. Think expense and project management, marketing automation, and customer relationship management (CRM) to name a few.

It’s all just data connected to business rules and presented over the web – right?

Right.

It’s not if your team is qualified to do the work. They are. It’s an issue of whether that is the best use of their time and talent regarding your business.

Here are a few questions to ask when you’re considering who should develop that application:

What is your company’s core competency?

What is your company’s product or service?

What will make you money rather than save you money?

If you’re considering a home-grown version of an otherwise commercially available product in response to the vendor’s pricing, that’s a red flag.

And as for purchasing software from others. Those vendors will continue to improve and enhance the software continuing to build more value for you and their other customers.  That’s often where building your own falls short. The homegrown versions cannot mature at the same rate as the commercially available applications.

Think of your company’s core competency as it relates strategically to your business and apply your team’s talents to where they can make the most impact.