Software Selection Paper

Software Selection Paper

Software Selection Paper

Most of us are very familiar with purchasing commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) programs to meet are computer needs. Software such as Turbo Tax, Quicken and Photoshop are robust and very capable programs. The idea of hiring a software design firm to engineer the needs of a small business seems daunting. Purchasing COTS software helps reduce the amount of development time involved with custom software design. The trail phase of implementing custom software, while ironing out details along with training staff could become a major pitfall. The time involved in launching COTS business software is drastically reduced versus a custom design version. Once bought and installed most of the up-front time invested is in employee training. Furthermore, if you are already managing your employee data with programs like Microsoft Excel, most COTS time management software would be able to directly import this data. While these facts are clear reasons to seriously consider purchasing COTS software, there are some reasons to be hasty with this decision.

I question worth investigating when reviewing COTS software is how does it interface with the needs of my company? Is the software capable of handling the demands of my specialized company at the level I need? While COTS software is fast to implement, it will always be a “cookie-cutter” approach to time management needs. The advantage of a turn-key custom software approach is that you receive a solution that directly addresses all of your particular needs. Moreover, technical support is another issue worth considering. COTS systems often have a reputation of subpar technical support, an issue that’s often void in custom designed software. Also, worth noting is how current is the COTS software, and how long is the cycle period before it becomes obsolete?

References

Valacich, J. S., George, J....