Software Building… What’s Your Strategy?

1. Software Building…What’s Your Strategy? Pros & Cons Discussion By: Learning Team B By Tom Yost, Richard Woodham, Tam Truong, Gordon Heeres, Susan Kenney, John Leonard

2. In-House Built(Pros) • Satisfies proprietary requirements • Software built to accommodate established procedures and policies • Internal resources and capabilities increased and improved • Easily integrates with existing systems and technologies

3. In-House Built(Cons) • New competencies and resources may be acquired • High long term costs • Information sharing could be problematic • Adding hardware to an in-house system could require development of proprietary device drivers

4. Contract Built(Pros) • Improve service and performance • Leverage expert resources and staffing • Shorter systems development cycles • Improve management control • Stabilize and reduce costs • Facilitates business focus

5. Contract Built(Cons) • Potentially high cost • Introduces contractual issues • Builds no in-house expertise • Possible conflict of interest

6. Purchasing Turnkey Software (Pros) • Vendor experience and expertise • No additional staffing • Vendor-Customer relationship drives higher quality • Improved Customer support • Improved Customer training

7. Purchasing Turnkey Software (Cons) • High cost • No control over project management • No control on project delivery • High vendor dependence – expertise, personnel, etc.

8. Customizing Pre-built Software (Pros) • No internal IT development • Provides all business functions • Quality systems • Stability Fast delivery of system • Service agreement

9. Customizing Pre-built Software (Cons) • Expensive • High Risk • Possible loose of upgrades • Main system can be impacted with bugs

10. So, to decide which strategy to adopt … • Calculate ROI • Research vendor – expertise, contract, etc… • Analyze potential costs-vs-savings • Decide on core competencies • Investigate security risks/concerns