Question

Provide arguments in support of both the make and buy approaches. What are the principal advantages of each decision? Increasingly firm approach information systems development as a “buy and make” process. What do we mean by “buy and make”? Why is this approach gaining increasing popularity today

Answer 1

Provide arguments in support of both the make and buy approaches. What are the principal advantages of each decision? Increasingly firms approach information systems development as a “buy and make” process. What do we mean by “buy and make”? Why is this approach gaining increasing popularity today?

Make and buy :

Off-the-shelf applications are becoming larger and more complex, and require some modification to fit the purchasing firm. Today’s technology market before any organization makes any products they need to make sure that they are not making the same products that already in the market. Today’s market organization wants to be successful in the business. To be successful in the business they need new technology but before they buy new technology they need to make sure that they don’t spent so much in the technology. To support make and buy approaches the firm will have to weigh the choice between custom development and purchase of the needed technology.

The principal advantages of the customer development is pre-packaged software is available in the marketplace, in many cases the firm will still engage in custom design and development to capitalize on the advantages of this process.

Make and buy

Modern firms are blending the custom development and selection approaches

First firms acquire off-the-shelf systems, then they modify them extensively

Few firms modify off-the-shelf applications slightly or not at all

Off-the-shelf applications are becoming larger and more complex, and require some modification to fit the purchasing firm.

Buy and make mean modern firms are increasingly adopting blended approaches, first acquiring systems and then modifying them extensively.

Make approach gaining increasing popularity today because first firm buy thesoftware program that is mass produced and commercialized by a software vendor basically buys off the shelf application. After that few firms modified the software, and they reported that modifying the software is a great deal, and firm like that buy cheap software and make it great product. Few firm reported that the degree of package customization they engaged in exceeded their pre-implementation expectations.

• Unique Tailoring

Molded to fit the unique features, characteristics, and needs of the firm that commissions them.

Off-the-shelf software may require adjustment (customization) to fit the organization

• Flexibility and Control

Building from scratch allows the software to be molded into any form and modified at a later time

Advantages of Purchasing

• Faster Roll-Out

Purchased software dramatically reduce the time it takes to obtain the software and to begin the implementation process

• Knowledge Infusion

Software developers proactively seek out best practices in order to code their applications

• Economically Attractive

The firm can capitalize on economies of scale created by the vendor

• Software Quality

Mature off-the-shelf products have been heavily tested