I’ve seen companies set out to build ridiculously expensive in-house software, only to discover they could get a similar, even better system out of the box for cheaper or for free. Software by nature isn’t cheap, but software built by a software company is more reliable than software built by your non-tech company.
Plus, do you really have the skills to build what you need?
Any software that you’re plugging into your business should be the simplest to use. Most of the software out there has been over-built. Think about Microsoft Word. The only stuff that many of us really need in Microsoft Word might be templates, maybe the text appearance tools, editing features and… what else? Not much. Get software that’s simple to use. Obsess about the simplicity versus all the functionality it has. Only let your IT team give you what you need.
It’s just like buying a DVD player or a luxury car with all of the functionality that you never use. Think about that technology in your business as well. The more functionality you buy, the more confusing that it becomes. Strip down the functionality and it all works simply because it’s less confusing and less problematic. Plus, it’s even easier than trying to build it yourself.