<s>
Customised	O
software	O
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
bespoke	B-Application
software	I-Application
or	O
tailor-made	O
software	O
)	O
is	O
software	O
that	O
is	O
specially	O
developed	O
for	O
some	O
specific	O
organization	O
or	O
other	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
contrasted	O
with	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
software	O
packages	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
mass	O
market	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
commercial	O
off-the-shelf	O
software	O
,	O
or	O
existing	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
developed	O
for	O
a	O
single	O
customer	O
it	O
can	O
accommodate	O
that	O
customer	O
's	O
particular	O
preferences	O
and	O
expectations	O
,	O
which	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
the	O
case	O
for	O
commercial	O
off-the-shelf	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
may	O
be	O
developed	O
in	O
an	O
iterative	O
processes	O
,	O
allowing	O
all	O
nuances	O
and	O
possible	O
hidden	O
risks	O
to	O
be	O
taken	O
into	O
account	O
,	O
including	O
issues	O
which	O
were	O
not	O
mentioned	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
requirement	O
specifications	O
(	O
which	O
are	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
rule	O
,	O
never	O
perfect	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Large	O
companies	O
commonly	O
develop	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
critical	O
functions	O
,	O
including	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
,	O
inventory	O
management	O
,	O
customer	O
management	O
,	O
human	O
resource	O
management	O
,	O
or	O
otherwise	O
to	O
fill	O
the	O
gaps	O
present	O
in	O
existing	O
software	O
packages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
cases	O
,	O
such	O
software	O
is	O
legacy	B-Device
software	I-Device
,	O
developed	O
before	O
commercial	O
off	O
the	O
shelf	O
software	O
or	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
packages	O
offering	O
the	O
required	O
functionality	O
with	O
an	O
acceptable	O
level	O
of	O
quality	O
or	O
functionality	O
became	O
available	O
or	O
widely	O
known	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
BBC	O
spent	O
a	O
great	O
deal	O
of	O
money	O
on	O
a	B-Device
project	I-Device
to	I-Device
develop	I-Device
its	I-Device
own	I-Device
custom	I-Device
digital	I-Device
media	I-Device
production	I-Device
and	I-Device
management	I-Device
software	I-Device
,	O
but	O
the	O
project	O
experienced	O
troubles	O
,	O
and	O
after	O
many	O
years	O
of	O
development	O
,	O
was	O
cancelled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
development	I-Application
is	O
often	O
considered	O
expensive	O
compared	O
to	O
off-the-shelf	O
solutions	O
or	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cost	O
and	O
delay	O
of	O
commercial	O
off	O
the	O
shelf	O
software	O
customization	O
can	O
even	O
add	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
expense	O
of	O
developing	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cost	O
is	O
also	O
not	O
the	O
only	O
consideration	O
in	O
the	O
decision	O
to	O
develop	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
as	O
the	O
requirements	O
for	O
a	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
project	O
often	O
includes	O
the	O
purchaser	O
owning	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
,	O
to	O
secure	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
future	O
improvement	O
or	O
modifications	O
to	O
the	O
installed	O
system	O
to	O
handle	O
changing	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
modern	O
commercial	O
off	O
the	O
shelf	O
software	O
often	O
has	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
(	O
APIs	B-Application
)	O
for	O
extensibility	O
-	O
or	O
occasionally	O
,	O
as	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
Salesforce.com,	O
a	O
domain-specific	B-Language
language	I-Language
(	O
DSL	O
)	O
-	O
meaning	O
that	O
commercial	O
off	O
the	O
shelf	O
software	O
packages	O
can	O
sometimes	O
accommodate	O
quite	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
customisations	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
access	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
the	O
core	O
commercial	O
off	O
the	O
shelf	O
software	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
theory	O
,	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
documented	O
APIs	B-Application
and/or	O
DSLs	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
direct	O
access	O
to	O
internal	O
database	O
tables	O
and	O
code	O
modules	O
,	O
for	O
customization	O
can	O
minimize	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
these	O
upgrades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
publishing	O
guidance	O
warning	O
that	O
support	O
for	O
old	O
API	B-Application
or	O
DSL	O
versions	O
is	O
to	O
be	O
removed	O
from	O
the	O
product	O
in	O
a	O
subsequent	O
version	O
,	O
to	O
give	O
customers	O
more	O
time	O
to	O
adapt	O
customizations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
decision	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
or	O
go	O
for	O
a	O
commercial	O
off	O
the	O
shelf	O
software	O
implementation	O
would	O
usually	O
rest	O
on	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
of	O
the	O
following	O
factors	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
it	O
is	O
widely	O
known	O
that	O
large	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
projects	O
cannot	O
fix	O
all	O
three	O
of	O
scope	O
,	O
time/cost	O
and	O
quality	O
constant	O
,	O
so	O
either	O
the	O
cost	O
or	O
the	O
benefits	O
of	O
a	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
project	O
will	O
be	O
subject	O
to	O
some	O
degree	O
of	O
uncertainty	O
-	O
even	O
disregarding	O
the	O
uncertainty	O
around	O
the	O
business	O
benefits	O
of	O
a	O
feature	O
that	O
is	O
successfully	O
implemented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
the	O
software	O
development	O
may	O
be	O
outsourced	O
or	O
done	O
in-house	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
construction	O
industry	O
uses	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
manage	O
projects	O
,	O
track	O
changes	O
,	O
and	O
report	O
progress	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
accommodates	O
a	O
project	O
team	O
's	O
particular	O
preferences	O
and	O
expectations	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
suitable	O
for	O
most	O
construction	O
processes	O
and	O
challenges	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
developers	I-Application
use	O
various	O
platforms	O
,	O
like	O
FileMaker	B-Application
Pro	I-Application
,	O
to	O
design	O
and	O
develop	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
the	O
construction	O
industry	O
and	O
for	O
other	O
industries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hospitals	O
can	O
keep	O
electronic	B-Application
health	I-Application
records	I-Application
and	O
retrieve	O
them	O
any	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schools	O
use	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
keep	O
admission	O
details	O
of	O
students	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sampoorna	B-Application
is	O
a	O
school	O
management	O
system	O
project	O
implemented	O
by	O
the	O
Education	O
Department	O
of	O
Government	O
of	O
Kerala	O
,	O
India	O
to	O
automate	O
the	O
system	O
and	O
process	O
of	O
over	O
15,000	O
schools	O
in	O
the	O
state	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Billing	O
is	O
a	O
common	O
use	O
of	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
often	O
used	O
by	O
small	O
shops	O
,	O
supermarkets	O
and	O
wholesale	O
sellers	O
to	O
handle	O
inventory	O
details	O
and	O
to	O
generate	O
bills	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
business	O
is	O
considering	O
a	O
software	O
solution	O
the	O
options	O
are	O
generally	O
between	O
creating	O
a	O
spreadsheet	O
(	O
which	O
is	O
often	O
done	O
in	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Excel	I-Application
)	O
,	O
obtaining	O
an	O
off-the-shelf	O
product	O
,	O
or	O
having	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
created	O
specifically	O
to	O
meet	O
their	O
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
will	O
generally	O
produce	O
the	O
most	O
efficient	O
system	O
as	O
it	O
can	O
provide	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
specific	O
needs	O
of	O
the	O
business	O
,	O
which	O
might	O
not	O
be	O
available	O
in	O
an	O
off-the-shelf	O
solution	O
and	O
will	O
provide	O
greater	O
efficiency	O
or	O
better	O
customer	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Given	O
a	O
suitable	O
approach	O
to	O
development	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
DSDM	O
,	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
will	O
also	O
produce	O
the	O
best	O
or	O
most	O
well-targeted	O
service	O
improvement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
one	O
printing	O
business	O
may	O
want	O
software	O
that	O
responds	O
in	O
the	O
shortest	O
time	O
,	O
whereas	O
another	O
printing	O
company	O
may	O
focus	O
on	O
producing	O
the	O
best	O
results	O
;	O
as	O
these	O
two	O
objectives	O
often	O
conflict	O
,	O
an	O
off-the-shelf	O
package	O
will	O
normally	O
sit	O
somewhere	O
in	O
the	O
middle	O
whereas	O
with	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
each	O
business	O
can	O
focus	O
on	O
their	O
target	O
audience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
can	O
be	O
even	O
more	O
flexible	O
than	O
spreadsheets	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
constructed	O
by	O
software	O
professionals	O
that	O
can	O
implement	O
functionality	O
for	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
business	O
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
disadvantages	O
of	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
are	O
development	O
time	O
and	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
a	O
business	O
needs	O
to	O
go	O
through	O
a	O
Software	O
development	O
process	O
that	O
may	O
take	O
weeks	O
,	O
months	O
,	O
or	O
with	O
bigger	O
projects	O
,	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
often	O
several	O
times	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
the	O
other	O
two	O
options	O
,	O
and	O
will	O
normally	O
include	O
an	O
ongoing	O
maintenance	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
will	O
often	O
make	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
infeasible	O
for	O
smaller	O
businesses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
higher	O
costs	O
can	O
be	O
insignificant	O
in	O
larger	O
businesses	O
where	O
small	O
efficiency	O
increases	O
can	O
relate	O
to	O
large	O
labour	O
cost	O
savings	O
or	O
where	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
offers	O
a	O
large	O
efficiency	O
boost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Particularly	O
with	O
modern	O
cloud	O
software	O
,	O
a	O
hybrid	O
model	O
of	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
possible	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
main	O
focus	O
is	O
on	O
the	O
commercial	O
off	O
the	O
shelf	O
software	O
-	O
mainly	O
the	O
mismatch	O
between	O
its	O
features	O
,	O
functions	O
and	O
the	O
business	O
requirements	O
,	O
preferences	O
and	O
expectations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
here	O
is	O
to	O
buy	O
a	O
commercial	O
off	O
the	O
shelf	O
software	O
which	O
satisfies	O
maximum	O
number	O
of	O
requirement	O
and	O
develop	O
custom	B-Application
software	I-Application
(	O
extensions	O
or	O
add-ons	O
)	O
to	O
fill	O
the	O
gaps	O
left	O
by	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
the	O
standard	O
approach	O
used	O
when	O
implementing	O
SAP	B-Application
ERP	I-Application
,	O
for	O
example	O
.	O
</s>
