Regardless of size, today’s businesses depend on software to stay competitive in the current market. Some brands might even consider CRMs, ERPs, and back-office financial software vital to survival since these tools keep many organizations operational.
Innovations in artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) have expanded the roles and capabilities of such technology. As a result, most companies can swiftly identify the specific type of software they need before considering the options in a robust marketplace.
Once you begin shopping, however, you’ll recognize two main paths to procuring a comprehensive tool like an ERP: out-of-the-box (OOTB) – sometimes called off-the-shelf – software purchased directly from a vendor or custom software developers that create bespoke solutions. When deliberating between out-of-the-box vs. custom software, business leaders should take the following steps:
- Create a business requirements document (BRD) outlining your software needs.
- Evaluate whether OOTB options offer sufficient features to meet those needs.
- Compare the benefits and drawbacks of both OOTB and custom software.
- Deploy your preferred solution.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the steps above to better understand this process.
Step 1: Create a Business Requirements Document (BRD)
A BRD is a document that describes the requirements a specific project (adopting a new software tool in this case) must fulfill to be considered successful. The goal of a BRD is to identify the following components:
| Objectives | What problem does this project solve, or what opportunity does it create? |
| Goals | What necessary business goals must the project achieve to solve a problem or seize an opportunity? |
| User Stories | What user groups will be benefitting from this project? What are their backgrounds within the company, their pain points day-to-day, and their priorities? |
| Metrics for Success | What material outcomes must this project achieve to qualify as successful? |
| Scope | What is and is not included within the scope of the project? |
In the context of ERPs and other solutions, a BRD usually includes a list of “must-have” features a business needs to justify the investment in whatever option they choose. Such mission-critical functions may include workflow automation, integrated communications, automatic report generation, and others designed to save your company time and money by enhancing efficiency and increasing data accuracy.
Step 2: Evaluate Out-of-the-Box Software Options
Once you’ve developed a BRD outlining your ideal software’s core features, it’s time to identify available out-of-the-box solutions. Track down some leading software options for whatever tool you’re looking for and review their feature lists, comparing them against those listed in your BRD.
Most OOTB software can be customized and integrated with other apps to some extent, so they don’t have to fit perfectly. If you find an OOTB solution that offers 80-90% of the features you need, it likely offers a good business solution. Simply customize or integrate the tool with other apps to cover all of your required functions. You can leverage the developer’s support staff or work with a software/ERP consultant to get more direct 1-on-1 support and assistance.
If you can’t find at least 80% of the features your BRD outlines, then you should opt for a custom software developer. Working with a custom software consultant offers several benefits, including guaranteed inclusion of your essential features – which we’ll break down further in step three.
Step 3: Consider and Compare Benefits and Drawbacks
No matter which way you’re leaning after step two, it’s vitally important that you understand the benefits and drawbacks of both OOTB and custom software before settling on a plan of action. Let’s dive briefly into each one below for more clarification.
OOTB Software
Purchasing an out-of-the-box software tool and customizing or integrating it with others is certainly cheaper than custom software development, but the familiar saying, “You get what you pay for,” is especially relevant for software purchases. However, these tools do have some select advantages over custom dev projects.
Because vendors sell OOTB solutions to multiple companies, they’re relatively bug-free, with dedicated bug-fixing teams. In addition, suppliers usually offer comprehensive libraries of user training content for 24-hour support.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Cost-efficient |  Generic, limited feature sets |
| Easy to train staff | Multiple provider contacts and timelines |
| Relatively bug-free | Expensive to add features |
| Continued license and seat charges |
Beyond these benefits, though, these tools can be troublesome. For firms with more complex or comprehensive needs outlined in their BRD, it can be frustrating to deal with several different service providers if you need to integrate multiple apps. Since OOTB tools aren’t customized to your goals, businesses tend to get nickel-and-dimed for “extra” features that create an end product that’s truly valuable to them.
Custom Software Development
Hiring a custom software developer delivers the most overall value and can nearly guarantee that you get every feature in your BRD. A quality custom dev firm will do a deep dive into your business and its processes to understand your exact pain points and Digital Transformation opportunities.
A custom software team works with your company to create and deploy premium software with cutting-edge technology. You can expect them to staff exceptional talent since they specialize in creating purpose-driven tools for niche industries. What’s more, they’re generally more available for staff training and user support because they introduce new tools to businesses of all sizes on a regular basis.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Custom-tailored solutions | Costlier than OOTB software devs |
| Top-tier development talent | No in-house development staff |
| Accessible training and support | |
| Full onboarding assistance | |
| IP creation can enhance enterprise value |
Despite the increased upfront expenditure, a lack of ongoing subscriptions or user licenses common to OOTB software usually offsets costs in the long term. Choosing custom software may require simple maintenance costs, which are typically much lower than license fees. This, in addition to the long-term ROI that a truly comprehensive solution offers, tends to even the costs over time.
Step 4: Deploy Your Preferred Solution
Once you’ve decided between out-of-the-box vs. custom software, you can begin the onboarding process. Employee product training allows teams to operate tools pre-deployment to understand how they work and recommend changes to better fit daily workflows. For OOTB tools, such changes may not always be feasible, but custom software developers will be able to turn feedback into tangible improvements to your software tools.
It’s important to plan a sufficient timeframe for this process — a couple of months, at least — as a rushed deployment can lead to serious operational delays and the loss of important company data. Give your leadership time to understand the new tool well enough to train their staff, and give your IT team enough lead time to back up vital information in case complications arise.
Out-of-the-Box vs. Custom Software With 7T
At 7T, we use a “Business First, Technology Follows” approach to create genAI solutions for our clients across countless industries. Our custom-built platforms leverage machine learning and AI technology to deliver significant operational advantages with a robust ROI. Our team will audit your organization’s challenges, often showing up on-location to embed ourselves in your business for a time to understand your needs from a first-person perspective. Then, we’ll architect a value-generating solution to transform your vital processes and meet your goals.
7T is based in Dallas, Houston, and Charlotte, NC, but our clientele spans the globe. If you’re ready to learn more about out-of-the-box software vs custom software, contact 7T today.
