Custom Software Development’s Origin-Story
The term bespoke originates from England as far back as 1745 and it was mostly used as a reference to tailor-made clothing, for example, “made to individual order” or “custom-made”. In recent years the term has become more synonymous with all things I.T. and now refers to customised software development.
Bespoke software is software specifically designed and developed for an individual customer or company.
It can be contrasted with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software which is designed and developed for sale to the general public. While COTS software can be tailored to a user’s taste by adjusting an array of preferences, it can never be as individualised as bespoke software.
Simply put, bespoke software is made specifically for you and your needs whereas COTS software is mass-produced for everyone.
One of the most common areas where bespoke software development is used is for websites. A bespoke website is one that is custom-built, most likely from scratch, to suit the needs of an individual or company. It is because of this that bespoke websites take longer to develop than using open source resources such as WordPress, Wix or Joomla.
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Bespoke software?
The biggest advantage of bespoke software is how it makes businesses who use it stand apart from the crowd. Because of its uniqueness and how intuitive it is, bespoke software is targeted to specific needs of the individual or business. COTS software may well have a variety of fancy bells and different sounding whistles, but also brings with it a generic design intended to work, in part, for every conceivable user.
Bespoke software is more expensive than COTS software, especially initially, in that it will require months of development and design to cater to the client’s specific needs. That being said, COTS software will have you paying for features that you don’t need (or understand) and worse still, the features that you do use may not be configurable enough to your needs.
Bespoke software is also more future-proof because upgrades and improvements can be made when necessary. COTS software forces its users to wait for upgrades and will probably never respond to an end user’s improvement wish list. Bugs or glitches in COTS software will only be seen to when a large number of users report the same problems.
And finally, one of the biggest disadvantages of COTS software is because of its mass appeal, it’s a natural magnet for hackers.
If you’re interested in Omnicor’s bespoke software solutions, why not visit us here?
