نعيش حالياً بدايات عصر الرقمنة، ونسير بوتيرة متسارعة باتجاه الاعتماد الكلي على الآلة، الذكاء الإصطناعي مصطلح أعمق من غزو الروبوتات للكوكب، إذ بات تقنية تلجأ لها كافة قطاع التكنولوجيا والبرمجة، من أجل الحصول على نتائج مذهلة ومجدية في أنظمتها، وعند اللجوء إلى التكنولوجيا تضيع الشركات بين إثنتين، الإشتراك أم بناء برنامج.
The technology and software sector today serves all other business sectors by renting software as a service. The large SaaS sales figures prove the size of the demand for this market. According to the “Statista” website, the corporate software market achieved profits of 227 billion dollars during 2021, and it is expected that this profit will reach 348 billion dollars by 2026.
Companies from all sectors have become completely dependent on software programs to run their business and to provide better customer experiences. One of the most pressing questions facing businesses is whether to rent SaaS software programs or build their own software. This article will help you make the decision that is right for you.
7 عوامل عليك أخذها بعين الاعتبار قبل أن تقرر مسألة الإشتراك أم بناء برنامج:
1. Cost:
It doesn’t make sense to think only of the costs of building a software program, as it is impossible to predict the costs of a program over its life cycle. In a study by the Standish Group, more than half of the projects cost 189% more than they were estimated to.
Subscription:
The provider bears all costs related to the system, from development and design through the trial period to maintenance. In this case, you do not need to invest in a project from scratch, you only need to purchase a subscription to be able to use the system.
When you work with a supplier with a large customer base, you get your system at a lower cost due to economies of scale, as the cost to the supplier decreases as the volume of production increases.
Another thing to consider is the cost of training, as your employees need a period of training on the system to get used to it, and it applies to construction as well.
Building:
The issue of building a software is serious and requires in-depth study, as it is a real investment that drains resources and its risks cannot be overlooked.
Here you are responsible for everything, starting with design and development, through testing, and then maintenance and usage.
And if you want to make modifications and additions, you will find the topic expensive and time consuming. As 70% of the cost of the program comes after development.
2. Control:
By control, we mean how much control you have over your software, how it is developed and how it works and how it affects your business and the future of your company.
Subscription:
When you purchase services from a provider, you may not have complete control over.
But if you request features and features from the provider that help him develop his program and benefit other customers, then he needs to fulfill your requests.
It depends on your relationship with the provider, if the relationship is based on a partnership rather than a traditional one, you will have control that aligns your business requirements and strategic plans.
Building:
When you build your program, you will be the one in the driver’s seat, and you will have absolute control over the program, how it works, and its features. You will build your software according to your needs.
But with total control of the program comes greater responsibility, development risks will be yours to bear, without a strategic partner that is tech-savvy to carry these burdens with you.
You will need an exceptional development team that has the ability and enough time to focus on developing your system, and there are no guarantees that the team will continue with you, as you will find yourself lost because everything related to the program is related to the team members.
3. Maintenance:
Without constant maintenance, the software will not continue to run smoothly, you will encounter technical issues and the system will not evolve.
Subscription:
The provider takes care of everything related to maintenance and development, and then you will be able to focus on your business and complete the tasks that will bring you profit.
When subscribing to a program, you must sign an agreement with your provider that guarantees you your right, so that the responsibility for use and maintenance is clear to all parties.
Building:
When you build your program, you will be responsible for everything related to maintenance, development and modernization.
Maintenance is very expensive, resource consuming, and requires a special budget and staff of developers and technicians to keep the software functional and usable.
4. Time:
The element of time is very important. Every project has a timeline, time means money, and your urgency determines to a large extent whether you should build or buy.
Subscription:
If the issue of your software is urgent, you have no choice but to buy, as you will save time and save on development costs.
Instead of taking months of your time to build, you only need to take a few days to compare alternatives and choose the right software for you.
The time it takes to implement and train employees on the software you subscribe to varies from company to company, but your provider will be able to give you an accurate time based on their knowledge and experience, and it will definitely be less than the time you would need to build a software.
Building:
Since you do not have the experience and knowledge of the provider, you will be unable to establish a schedule, you will find many challenges during the work that will make the timeline equation complicated.
Your team will be in charge of the timeline rather than a technology partner, and this has its pros and cons.
It depends on the scale of the project, but the construction period usually takes 9-18 months for your software to be up and running.
5. Technical support:
You will always need help from outside sources in developing and operating your software.
Subscription:
If you decide to subscribe to a software, you will find a whole team ready to serve you and answer your questions, as they are experienced in everything related to the program.
The provider will supervise the training of your employees, as well as provide you with a user manual, or how to videos, and a customer success agent to turn to when you need something.
You might also find customer communities where relevant problems and issues are discussed and answered by other customers using the software like yourself.
Building:
Taking this step will put it on you to search for answers and solutions related to your program.
You may be able to build your support base internally, but it will be costly and time consuming.
6. Data storage:
The programs you need to run your business will store data, the size of data you store will depend on the size of your business and operations. However regardless of your size, you will need to store the software’s data somewhere.
Subscription:
When you subscribe to a software, you will not have to worry about storage, as the software providers will bear the cost of storing your data. Also any problems that happen with storage will be their problem to fix and you will not need to worry about it.
Building:
When you build your system from scratch, you will have to bear the cost of storing your data, and maintaining its privacy which will be a burden on you and you will find yourself needing to budget for it. In addition you need to know that the cost of storing data will only increase with time since your data will only increase with time.
7. Future needs
The final thing you need to consider before deciding whether to buy or build software is your future needs.
How your software will be able to support such future needs and changes?
Subscription:
SaaS softwares on the market is usually future ready, they exist to help your business grow and scale. In addition, for these software providers to stay competitive they need to keep updating their software programs.
In addition SaaS software providers have an unlimited source of innovative ideas which is their customer pool, customers will keep asking for new features and software providers will have to meet such customer requests. What is good here is that such customer requests might be in line with your needs.
Building:
If you choose to build your software you will find yourself restricted in terms of growth, and if you want to keep up with any new technology it will be very challenging for you. First because you will need to either work with the same development team or you will need to find a team who is willing to work on a project not developed by them.
Second, adding new features or making adjustments will cost you a lot of money.
With the growth of the software market in the world, many companies have found it more convenient to sign up with a provider or work in partnership with a technology expert, as the software subscription solution has become the most appropriate due to the strength of this sector and its high competitiveness, as most system providers Like LogesTechs,offer multiple plans to suit your business needs and your financial capabilities
