Question

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• What are issues to consider when deciding to build software in-house or purchase commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)?
• If you were asked to evaluate several COTS applications and choose whether to develop in-house or purchase a COTS application, what criteria are important to consider and why?
• How would you decide?  

Usually, in-house development is not something big companies are pursuing. We do have in house developers to help with customizations and small apps requests but not for big systems support/design. One of the reasons for not considering in-house development is because we do not want to create a department around a system (meaning hiring employees for one system). What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

What are issues to consider when deciding to build software in-house or purchase commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)?

• COTS are build for the maases and it does most of the job a user might require but when a software is developed for a particular user or a company it would be targeted only for those few set of users.
• Using a in-house software will have many benificial features which the COTS will not have.
• As COTS are developed for a large number of people the cost will be less as compared to a custom software where it has to be developed from the scratch and according to the requirement of the user or company.
• COTS have a large user base so there will be a big community to provise help whereas a custom software will be used by a very few users which will make the helping process difficult.
• Upgrading or maintaining a COTS in easy whereas upgrading a custom software will require a lot of research and will also cost extra money.

If you were asked to evaluate several COTS applications and choose whether to develop in-house or purchase a COTS application, what criteria are important to consider and why? How would you decide?

The main criteria while evaluating a software would be:

• the features and funcstionality the software provides. If a COTS can provide the features required by a user then one should go with COTS but if it doesn't then they should consider custom software.
• the cost of the software. One should look mainly at the value for money which the software provides.
• adapting workflow. A software should be able to perform according to the requirement of the given task and different tasks require different workflow.

Usually, in-house development is not something big companies are pursuing. We do have in house developers to help with customizations and small apps requests but not for big systems support/design. One of the reasons for not considering in-house development is because we do not want to create a department around a system (meaning hiring employees for one system). What are your thoughts?

I think if a COTS can accomplish the required funtionalities of a company then it is fine for them to stick with it. But once the business or the company grows they should consider opting for a in-house software as is it designed particularly for their usage. It would be a unique experience for the users working on it and ccan set a completely new standards of the work they provide.