Are your processes industry standard, or do you need something that differentiates your business?

If the system you're planning on acquiring is meant to support a process that doesn't bring you a competitive advantage, if it's only something you need in order to keep up to par with the industry, it is probably a good candidate for a package or a SaaS provider.

But, if there are parts of the process that are unique to the business and you know you'll need to add custom code from day one, you should really by weary of packages. Customizing a package is hard and expensive, and it leads to a maintenance nightmare. In this situation, you should definitely consider building your own custom application.  

See how you can explain your business team members the problem of using packages for your unique processes

How well does the package integrate with other systems? 

When picking a package, you'll need to consider how well it integrates with other systems. Even if it seems the package addresses all your business needs, the business is bound to want to innovate.

Sooner than you think, you'll need to use the data stored in your package to support your unique processes. And these will need to be implemented using custom built software.

By making sure your package provides an open API, you can then quickly develop tactical or strategic applications that combine the data in one or more packages into something unique to your business. 

See how the Agile Platform quickly integrates with other systems to build unique applications

Are you buying a package or investing in a maintenance nightmare?

After a vendor has made a flashy demo to the business, it is sometimes hard to convince them that custom software is the way to go. Particularly if you have nothing to show but an empty screen. 

Most of the time you can see it coming for miles. The package will not address all the business needs and pretty soon you'll have to start customizing it putting your business on the road to maintenance hell.

The best way to show the business stakeholders that custom software is a viable alternative is to show something working. But because we know you don't have time to build prototypes, we did it for you: we created a suite of applications that will give you something to show to the business when making your case for custom software.

Learn more about the suite of OutSystems Applications

Are you buying a package because building custom software is slow?

One of the main reasons for buying a package is the time-to-market packages promise. Building custom software is perceived as a slow and painful process, while the cost of getting a package up and running, and the pain of customizing it, is usually greatly underestimated.

But with the Agile Platform™ and the new apps@outsystems, you get the best of both scenarios. You can have an application up and running really quick on your servers or in the cloud, even faster than if you bought a package. And then you can quickly customize and adapt the application to fit your needs with minimal risk and at an incredible speed.

Learn how fast you can build and customize your applications using the OutSystems Agile Platform