Five Signs That A Custom Software Solution Is The Right Call For Your Business
Open source software has transformed our world. There is no shortage of free software that promises unlimited possibilities. To a large extent, this is true. If you can imagine it, you can do it. The unfortunate reality is that there comes a point where free software stops meeting your needs and it is time to make the transition to custom software.
It can be difficult to know when this transition point arrives. As a company, you want to ensure that your resources are being used in a responsible way, and if a random WordPress plugin can meet your company’s needs, why spend money on custom development?
The answer is that you do not. If open-source or modestly priced software meets your company’s needs, then the right call is to use that software. Custom code can be expensive, and it does not make sense to spend money on totally custom code that re-invents the wheel. In this post, we cover how to know when it is time to stop using open source software.
Defining our terminology
Before we go any further, let’s make sure we are aligned on the terms being used.
Open source software refers to any code that has been written by someone and placed online with the intention of being used by others. It can be a library that provides functionality to make building a website easier (think jQuery, React, or Vue), platforms like WordPress or Joomla, or a fully featured product like plugins for WordPress or Shopify. Whatever type of open-source software you have in mind, it is often created to help countless people solve real problems with code—many times for no other reason than the author or team wants to support the community.
Custom software is code that is written specifically for your use case. It can be as tailored as you want and built to your specifications. Custom software is typically closed source. It often leverages open source packages, but the final product is not freely available. Essential business processes are often proprietary or contain trade secrets, and there is no reason to give competitors the secret sauce you have created.
1) You need continuing development
Open source software evolves in different ways. Sometimes the maintainer is part of a team or company that relies on the code to run their own business. That team will maintain the repository, improve the documentation, and keep the software current.
Often you will find a single developer builds something because it solves a problem they had, or it is a concept they wanted to explore. That code might do exactly what they need—and perhaps exactly what you need—but it may not do anything else. When they move on to other interests, you are left supporting the code on your own. You can request support or sponsor the project, but there is no guarantee the maintainers will answer. Even if they do, they likely will not build precisely what you need.
By hiring a team to write custom software, you can ensure it does exactly what you need and will continue to do so as your business evolves. Your team keeps the documentation current, adds new features as required, and provides maintenance long after the project originally ships.
2) You need feature enhancements that open source cannot offer
If you need a feature a plugin or open source package does not offer, it might make sense to see if the maintainers are willing to add it—for a fee if necessary. This can work, but there are still looming issues leaving open source software in charge of key business functions:
- Can the feature be implemented in your required timeline?
- Will the maintainer remain responsive a month from now? A year from now?
- Will the maintainer build the feature exactly the way you need it?
If not, you will need to hire someone to build the functionality. The person you hire may be an agency, a freelancer, or an internal team. No matter who it is, they must be able to interpret the existing code and extend it without breaking other pieces.
When you invest in custom development, you control the timeline, scope, and quality. The team is accountable to you, not vice versa.
3) Something breaks and nobody can fix it
Technology moves fast. Security updates, new browsers, operating system releases, database upgrades, and hosting changes can all break code that worked yesterday. When that happens, you need to know someone can fix it quickly.
Open source software may no longer be maintained. Maybe the maintainer built it on their own; maybe they retired it. Even if it is maintained, updates often require changes to your existing code before you can deploy a patch.
If you are building that code in-house, you already have the expertise required to keep things running smoothly. Instead of waiting for a fix, you control the roadmap.
4) You need to understand or explain how a component works
If you are working with open source software that you or your team did not write, understanding the code base can be time-consuming. Perhaps it is not well documented. Perhaps it has been abandoned. Worse, perhaps the documentation you need was never written. Open source projects frequently ship before the documentation is completed—or ever started.
Your customers need help? You have to give a demo to investors? You want to expand the platform? All of these scenarios are easier when you have a clear understanding of the code. Even if documentation exists, it might not tell you what you need to know. Is it current? Does it cover your unique configuration? Sometimes the documentation is incomplete because maintainers are volunteering their time—they have no obligation to write the guide you wish existed.
That isn’t to say it is impossible to obtain support for open source software. Plenty of projects provide excellent documentation and support. The key is to answer these questions before you entrust a critical workflow to open source. Be sure that if something goes wrong, you can get help when it matters most.
5) You need to support mission‑critical processes
When it comes to running the code that powers your business, it must be up to the task. The code should be secure, follow best practices, and operate efficiently. Without technical background, it can be difficult to determine whether that is true.
If the code is not adequately secure, your data can be at risk—either through accidental disclosure or intentional breach. It is not uncommon for developers to take shortcuts or ignore best practices in favor of their own solution.
If the code has not been thoroughly tested, you or your customers may run into problems that are difficult to understand or reproduce. That can cost sales, customers, or both—damage that is difficult to repair.
You also need software that can scale with your business. Every entrepreneur wants success, but are you ready when it arrives? If your company goes viral, is the code powering it ready? Code that works for a handful of users may collapse when it has to serve thousands.
Open source software is incredible. You would not be reading this article without the tireless effort of volunteers who invested time and energy to make the internet what it is. We rely on open source software every day to help clients achieve their goals. But it requires expertise to evaluate whether a particular package is fit for a specific job.
We would love to put that expertise to work for you. Whether you are assembling a WordPress site for the first time or scaling a fast-growing product, we can help you plan the next step. Reach out—we are ready when you are.