{"id":2100,"date":"2019-06-10T09:10:23","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T09:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/?p=2100"},"modified":"2025-07-10T05:33:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T05:33:41","slug":"custom-software-or-off-the-shelf-a-guide-to-successful-software-solutions-for-smes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/custom-software-or-off-the-shelf-a-guide-to-successful-software-solutions-for-smes\/","title":{"rendered":"Off-the-Shelf vs Custom Software: A Complete Comparison"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest challenge tech companies are facing is delivering working software, which is a good ROI; this is because businesses are still confused about which <strong>software development process<\/strong> to pick and how to work on it. &#xA0;<\/span><\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_73 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseprofile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 \"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/custom-software-or-off-the-shelf-a-guide-to-successful-software-solutions-for-smes\/#What_is_custom_software_development\" title=\"What is custom software development?\">What is custom software development?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/custom-software-or-off-the-shelf-a-guide-to-successful-software-solutions-for-smes\/#What_is_off-the-shelf_software\" title=\"What is off-the-shelf software?\">What is off-the-shelf software?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/custom-software-or-off-the-shelf-a-guide-to-successful-software-solutions-for-smes\/#How_is_custom_software_different_from_off-the-shelf_software\" title=\"How is custom software different from off-the-shelf software?\">How is custom software different from off-the-shelf software?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/custom-software-or-off-the-shelf-a-guide-to-successful-software-solutions-for-smes\/#The_pros_and_cons_of_custom_software_Vs_off_the_shelf\" title=\"The pros and cons of custom software Vs off the shelf\">The pros and cons of custom software Vs off the shelf<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/custom-software-or-off-the-shelf-a-guide-to-successful-software-solutions-for-smes\/#What_research_says\" title=\"What research says?\">What research says?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/custom-software-or-off-the-shelf-a-guide-to-successful-software-solutions-for-smes\/#Which_software_suits_your_business\" title=\"Which software suits your business?\">Which software suits your business?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, a business without software is nearly implausible. Handling daily tasks and working faster needs software support. From project management to hiring talents, the software is everywhere to lift the office process. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The technology market already offers a variety of software to the most common needs. However, for companies whose operation is a little complex doesn&#x2019;t entirely depend on it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&#x2019;s take a dive to find out which <strong>software solution<\/strong> is the best fit for your business. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_custom_software_development\"><\/span><b>What is custom software development? <\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/custom-software-development\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Custom software development<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the process of designing, building, deploying, and maintaining software solutions for specific users, functions, or organizations. This solution aims at a narrowly defined set of requirements. Also, termed as <strong>bespoke software<\/strong>, it is usually built by in-house development teams or outsourced to a third-party. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_off-the-shelf_software\"><\/span><b>What is off-the-shelf software? <\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/what-is-custom-software-development\/\">Off-the-shelf software<\/a> is readymade software products made for specific work that takes a broad set of requirements, allowing it to be packaged and sale to the general public. Microsoft Office, Photoshop, accounting software like Tally are some of the common examples of packaged <strong>commercial off-the-shelf software<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_custom_software_different_from_off-the-shelf_software\"><\/span><b>How is custom software different from off-the-shelf software? <\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Framework: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The off-the-shelf software comes with a unified design and a standard build for a wide range of users. You might need some of the features, and some are extra for you. On the other hand, made from scratch <strong>custom software<\/strong> offers opportunity to add features and functionality according to your process need. This support your workflow much better, and you can also make changes over time to maintain a distinctive competency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best thing about off-the-shelf software is that it cost less than <strong>custom software development<\/strong>. The off-the-shelf solution is for different businesses who are willing to buy it, and that&#x2019;s how the cost of building the software is divided among the businesses. While custom software is made exclusively for a company to support their business needs, it requires high investments. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Performance:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Besides the required features, off-the-shelf software also comes bundled with rarely used features that take up the system resource. Whereas, custom software eliminates unnecessary features, increasing performance. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Time: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Off-the-shelf software<\/strong> takes less time for setup. On the other side, custom software takes much time and effort in deployment. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Updates: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For <strong>off-the-shelf software<\/strong>, you have to pay for future updates to keep it going. Also, it comes with limited updates. Custom software updates are released according to your business needs and budget. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_pros_and_cons_of_custom_software_Vs_off_the_shelf\"><\/span><b>The pros and cons of <span data-sheets-value='{\"1\":2,\"2\":\"custom software vs off the shelf\"}' data-sheets-userformat='{\"2\":12416,\"10\":2,\"15\":\"Calibri\",\"16\":11}'>custom software Vs off the shelf<\/span><\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Off-the-shelf Software<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5351\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/of-the-shelf-software-development.webp\" alt=\"of-the-shelf-software-development\" width=\"720\" height=\"351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/of-the-shelf-software-development.webp 720w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/of-the-shelf-software-development-300x146.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/of-the-shelf-software-development-390x190.webp 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><b>Custom Software <\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5346\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development.webp\" alt=\"custom-software-development\" width=\"720\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development.webp 720w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-300x120.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-390x156.webp 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"\/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_research_says\"><\/span><b>What research says? <\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research by<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodfirms.co\/resources\/software-development-research\" rel=\"nofollow\">GoodFirms<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shows that about 61% of development companies established takes an average of 4-6 months to develop a customize solution. Also, about 38% of companies take 2-4 months.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In our opinion, the development time depends on the complexity of the software, and also, testing does take time to make the product a flawless one. However, a minimum of 2-4 months is expected to <strong>build custom software<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/software-development-company.webp\" alt=\"software-development-company\" width=\"720\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/software-development-company.webp 720w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/software-development-company-300x180.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/software-development-company-390x234.webp 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another survey by GoodFirms show we are in the right path of following the best software development methodology as 61% of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/custom-software-development\/\">software development companies<\/a><\/strong> said they follow agile <strong>software development<\/strong>. As it creates efficient team collaboration, involve clients, and suitable for adapting to changing requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Have a <strong>custom<\/strong> <strong>software development<\/strong> project in mind?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Our experts at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/\">Sphinx Solution<\/a><\/strong> can help you with your project requirements.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&#xA0;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-methodology.webp\" alt=\"custom-software-development-methodology\" width=\"720\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-methodology.webp 720w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-methodology-300x180.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-methodology-390x234.webp 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><b>Quick summary<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/off-the-shelf-vs-custom-software-development-comparison.webp\" alt=\"off-the-shelf-vs-custom-software-development-comparison\" width=\"720\" height=\"752\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/off-the-shelf-vs-custom-software-development-comparison.webp 720w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/off-the-shelf-vs-custom-software-development-comparison-287x300.webp 287w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/off-the-shelf-vs-custom-software-development-comparison-390x407.webp 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\"\/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_software_suits_your_business\"><\/span><b>Which software suits your business? <\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are not looking for long-term profit and want support for everyday work with low flexibility &amp; up gradation, then a readymade software pulls the task. Also, installation cost and set up time is less for a readymade solution. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, if you are a growing company, with lots of unique products\/services and corporate data, then a custom solution is expected. It not only offers you scalability but seamlessly integrates with your existing software workflow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/contact\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-services.webp\" alt=\"custom-software-development-services\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-services.webp 728w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-services-300x37.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/custom-software-development-services-390x48.webp 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before taking any decision, you must talk to an outsourced <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/\">software development company<\/a><\/strong> in detail about your business expectation for the best solution. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We hope this short piece helps you to discuss with our sales rep. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The biggest challenge tech companies are facing is delivering working software, which is a good ROI; this is because businesses are still confused about which software development process to pick&#x2026;\n<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"ub_ctt_via":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[500],"tags":[192,27],"class_list":{"0":"post-2100","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-software-development","8":"tag-custom-software-development","9":"tag-offshore-software-development"},"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/successful-software-solutions.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Anand Mahajan","author_link":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/author\/sphinxuser\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2100"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19504,"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions\/19504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sphinx-solution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}