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Home » Articles » To build or not to build: Turnkey vs. Custom software development

To build or not to build: Turnkey vs. Custom software development

To build or not to build Turnkey vs. Custom software development

For companies wanting to stay ahead of their competitors, constant innovation is the name of the game. In the tech industry and businesses relying on technology for their products and services, innovative software is key to staying market-relevant.

Tech and tech-reliant firms have two choices regarding software: use turnkey software or invest in custom software development.

In this article, we’ll explore the differences between turnkey and custom software development. Read below to find out which software approach would suit your firm’s needs!

Turnkey vs. Custom software development: Overview

Before going into a detailed discussion of the distinctions between turnkey and custom software development, it’s essential to have an understanding of both.

Turnkey software solutions

Turnkey software solutions refer to the pre-built, off-the-shelf software used to fulfill a business’s tech needs. These software are readily available in the market and designed to cater to a wide range of industries.

Moreover, they seldom need extensive customizations, making them a cost-effective and time-efficient solution for companies looking to streamline their operations.

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Turnkey vs. Custom software development: Overview
Turnkey vs. Custom software development: Overview

Custom software development

Contrary to the rather generic and industry-agnostic nature of turnkey software solutions, custom software development offers bespoke solutions. These are tailored to the specific needs of a particular company or sector.

Custom software development creates solutions designed to address unique challenges and leverages the strengths of the niches they’re built for. As such, custom software development provides significantly more flexibility and scalability than its turnkey counterpart.

Although custom software development tends to require a more substantial initial investment, it often leads to long-term advantages and a competitive edge.

Because of this, investing in custom software development can often give more benefits to companies with plans to expand their operations in the future.

Custom software development
To build or not to build: Turnkey vs. Custom software development

Differences between turnkey and custom software development

Knowing the differences between turnkey solutions and custom software development can help businesses still on the fence decide which one to invest in.

The table below shows the comparison between turnkey solutions and custom software development.

Turnkey software vs. Custom software development
Turnkey softwareCustom software development
Costs
  • More budget-friendly initial costs
  • Costs can be distributed among multiple users
  • Higher initial investment costs
  • More cost-effective in the long run
  • Less dependency on additional software; thus less additional costs
Integration
  • Easy to integrate
  • May encounter compatibility issues
  • May need additional tweaks to fit into a company’s existing infrastructure
  • Being custom-built, it can be easily integrated into existing systems
  • Smoother transition with minimal disruption
Scalability
  • May lack the scalability needed for rapid growth or major shifts in operations
  • Can be built with future expansions in mind and accommodate evolving business needs
Features and functionality
  • Typically offers predefined features that cater to common business processes
  • Can be designed to include specific features that address unique challenges
Level of customization
  • Limited customization options, often allowing only minor adjustments to fit a business’s needs
  • Allows for complete personalization, ensuring that the software aligns precisely with the company’s workflows and objectives

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Saigon Technology is recognized as Vietnam’s foremost ITO provider and twice listed in the country’s top 15 Agile software outsourcing companies by The Vietnam Software Association.

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The company has over ten years of experience in the IT outsourcing industry and can help increase your efficiencies through its custom software development services.

Whether you need a web or mobile application, SaaS or software product development, or user interface and user interface experience (UI/UX) redesign, Saigon Technology has your back.

Contact Saigon Technology and see how they can help you!

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