Industry solution or standard software? Advantages and disadvantages

agiles Standard- oder Individualsoftware

17. July 2019

Industry solution or standard software? Advantages and disadvantages at a glance

Business processes without software support are hardly conceivable today. Before implementing a new solution, in many companies the question arises: Is an industry solution the right choice or would an individually programmed software be better for our requirements?

In the context of business processes, in most cases an ERP system is meant (Enterprise Resource Planning). It’s a software that manages processes and tasks in a wide range of business areas – from financial accounting to supply chain, human resources management and reporting. In contrast to using multiple isolated systems, ERP systems enable improved collaboration, create core business space, support data-driven decision-making and increase productivity.

Industry solutions and standard software

The terms industry solution and standard software can be confusing and are often used synonymously. However, their meanings are different: an industry solution is an enhancement of a standard software, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, with industry-specific functions.

Microsoft partners such as agiles adjust the standard software to the requirements of a specific market segment and offer concrete solutions for the respective industry. For example, agilesFood is an industry-specific solution for fresh food companies, while our agilesTrade solution is tailored to the non-food consumer goods industry.

Individual programming

An individual software is specially developed for the requirements of a single company. It does not necessarily mean that you have to use your own IT department; external service providers can also help here.

Historically, in the early days of software products, only individual solutions were developed that were geared to the hardware of a vendor and were sold with it. Hardware-independent software solutions were first sold by IBM in 1969 (“unbundling”). Growing standardization and an expanding market with vendors for a variety of applications has enabled an increasing adoption of standard and industry solutions.

Today, individual software solutions are more likely to be used in business-critical areas or large companies, which are hoping to differentiate their competitors.

What to think about when considering custom programming:

High personnel costs: Even if the development is implemented by an external service provider, internal resources have to be planned in order to coordinate the numerous requirements.
Budget: From a financial point of view, individual programming is often underestimated.
Time: If every detail is customized for a company, a longer development time should be allowed for.
Security: If you do not rely on an established technology partner, you will need your own risk management concept.

Whether individual programming results in the desired added value depends on the specific requirements of a company. But: Even with industry solutions or standard software, individual adjustments are possible. This allows you to benefit from the relatively short-term availability of a solution and you will still be able to handle the processes of your company.

In industry solutions such as agilesFood or agilesTrade, standard software is the foundation – in this case Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central / Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Industry-specific functions as well as special add-ons and workflows are added to the standard. Optionally, customer-specific requirements follow.

Other factors that make an industry solution a better choice for most businesses are:

Scope of functions: Industry solutions can (in most cases) already map a large part or even all of the required processes.
Updates: Through regular updates your solution will remain up-to-date. Cloud solutions are particularly hassle-free – new updates and security patches in our solutions are globally implemented by Microsoft.
Know-how: Every long established industry solution is the result of numerous best practices, as years of experience have influenced the development.
Costs: An already existing solution is significantly cheaper than a new development, as long as individual adjustments and extensions do not get out of hand.

For the majority of companies, a high-tech industry solution is the right choice. It does not have to be a solution that fixes all the problems of your business processes, because individual modules can be added depending on the requirements.