Custom Business Applications

The time has come for a new category of systems -- one that combines the flexibility of general purpose systems, the elasticity of the cloud and the simplicity of an appliance with integrated expertise. These expert integrated systems fundamentally change the experience and economics of IT with built-in expertise, integration by design, and a simplified experience.

Expert integrated systems are enabled by:

• Capturing and automating what experts do -- from the infrastructure to the application
• Deeply integrating and tuning hardware and software in a single, ready-to-go system
• Making every part of the IT lifecycle easier
• Integrating management of the entire system
• Leveraging a broad open ecosystem of optimized solutions

Despite the advantages, companies have often shied away from customized software solutions because of the perceived high cost of developing custom software. However, today's leading-edge development tools, such as the Microsoft .NET platform, relieve programmers of much of the actual coding, allowing them to concentrate more on addressing business problems and requirements. In sum, the development cycle is becoming much shorter and as a result the overall cost of development is reduced.

Moreover, as software development tools have continued to mature, customized software solutions are becoming more of a viable alternative to off-the-shelf or prepackaged software. They have allowed for the development of rich Internet-based applications that rival traditional Windows-based applications in functionality, robustness and ease-of-use.

In addition, when developing somewhat generic applications like shopping carts or work flow solutions, licenses for fully customizable, pre-written and tested programming code can be purchased at very low prices. This code base provides the foundation for a solution to be developed, leaving only the costs of customization and deployment.

Organizations can now realize all the benefits of customized software without the traditional high cost and long development cycles. These benefits include suitability, flexibility, better user adoption and lower long-term licensing and support costs. So, while certain types of applications like accounting, human resources and CRM may still be better suited to prepackaged software solutions, applications that can benefit from customization are now becoming more affordable than ever.