Choosing the Right Application Development Tools

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Choosing the Right Application Development Tools

** This thread discusses the article: Choosing the Right Application Development Tools **
I've long thought that the key strike against building, in the build versus buy decision, is that you are typically building for an audience of one. Now, I'm coming at this from the point of view of someone who has always worked for organizations that are application consumers, not developers and marketers of software. There's something more too. My organizations have ordinarily run lean in IT, and do not have a lot of depth of resources. That said, I think this is perhaps the most common situation. And those organizations that aren't running low cost usually want to (even if secretly). So the problem you face is that even if you can develop a system, keeping on top of bugs, upgrades, and new functional needs is a challenge. It doesn't take much to run out of time and energy to keep a system viable. A couple of key personnel changes, that can torpedo your ability to effectively maintain any medium to large scale system. Developing for an audience of one is great when you are dealing directly with your competitive advantage. Then it can really pay off. Then it becomes gold.

[J.Pluta]

Choosing the Right Application Development Tools

** This thread discusses the article: Choosing the Right Application Development Tools **
"I've long thought that the key strike against building, in the build versus buy decision, is that you are typically building for an audience of one." But by the same token, you're also able to focus your design specifically to a single goal. This allows you to make architectural decisions that you might not be able to make otherwise. "And those organizations that aren't running low cost usually want to (even if secretly)." This is a battle we fight more and more. It's always been a contention that IT is some sort of cost center, when in reality it's truly a profit center -- how much more would your business spend if they were NOT computerized? But the costs associated with developing custom code often outweigh, especially in the short run, the capabilities of off-the-shelf or offshore solutions. The number one job for an IT manager is to make sure the decision makers understand the ROI the IT department gives them. Then it's a little easier to put a good staff together and keep them. Joe