When it comes to developing collection software in-house vs. adding a customized SaaS solution, what’s the best option for your business?
While creating the framework to help you decide what best aligns with your overall business strategy, understanding the risks involved is crucial.
Risk is the likelihood and potential impact of something going wrong. There are risks involved in buying and building collection software, and it’s up to you to decide which ones you’re most comfortable with taking.
Learn more about whether to buy or build new collections software by downloading our ebook Collection software: buy vs. build.
The Risks of Building
Data security
In case of a cyberattack, will your company be ready to assume the consequences? Data breaches are likely to result in loss of brand trust, among other legal and monetary repercussions.
If you build your software without acquiring the strongest security compliance audits and data management solutions, your system is highly vulnerable to getting hacked or infected with malware.
High upfront and added costs
There are significant upfront costs when building software. From the research to the workforce needed to create and implement, the technological advancements can balloon the price, making it not realistic financially.
Existing software developed with your company's business needs in mind can help you achieve your financial goals and lead to faster growth without the hassle or high costs associated with building it internally.
Prepare for the added cost of technical debt — a term used in software development when unexpected bugs emerge and further development work is needed to adopt short-term solutions. Sometimes, companies will take this on intentionally due to time and budget constraints. Technical debt, however, results from poor planning and an inability to stray from the pre-existing IT framework.
Time-consuming process
The time it takes to build software can be detrimental to your business goals. The process can take years, from determining the specific business needs to developing, coding, and integrating with other business systems. This process doesn't even consider working out the kinks after implementation!
Since building software is not a specialty for most companies, the time and resources needed can quickly turn the project into something that no longer aligns with the company's mission or values. As a result, missed opportunities for growth in their field of expertise can arise because building software is time-consuming and likely to lead an inexperienced team in the wrong direction.
Additional support staff
Companies can’t build software without a dedicated team to develop and maintain it. It requires additional HR resources tasked with hiring this specialized workforce, bringing us to the previous two internal cons of building.
Finding suitable candidates for the job can be time-consuming, and their salaries can prove costly for the company. Instead, perhaps reallocating current employees or adding the new project to their existing workload is financially or logistically convenient. In that case, the work can still suffer from the additional pressure placed upon staff.
Difficulty staying up-to-date
Lower functionality is not your only risk when developing software in-house. Regular updates must happen when building customized tools and features to keep up with new technological advancements and consumer preferences.
Building a solution in-house can quickly become a costly burden that increases dependency on IT teams and the possibility of system regression.
Connectivity
The connectivity of the new software with the rest of the applications and systems within and outside the business may be more efficient if done in-house — as long as your team can undertake the extensive process.
Say, for instance, what would happen if you lost some original developers throughout the process? Hiring new developers is an ongoing maintenance cost you won’t be able to avoid if you go for in-house development.
The Risks of Buying
A limited solution
One of the risks of buying collection software is whether the vendor's solution is sufficient to address your problem. Your needs might be particular — if not niche — so chances are a third-party supplier won't have the capacity to meet them.
You might be able to shop around until you find the right fit to help you reach your goals at a reasonable price.
Not enough control
Buying collection software can be less appealing than developing a solution in-house primarily because of the involved lack of control.
Having complete oversight of the product roadmap allows for greater customization of the company’s specific requirements as they arise and not having to depend on an external team for new features or upgrades.
Market downturn
Opting to buy a SaaS solution from third-party vendors, you trust their ability to overcome market fluctuations and other external factors that may impact the stability of their company.
Thorough research will provide crucial information to help you make a fair judgment.
Security and proprietary data
Despite security best practices, breaches still happen. Enterprise-level software companies are more likely to fall victim to cyberattacks that compromise their customers' sensitive data.
With that in mind, assessing your data's importance to your competitive advantage can prove helpful.
Even if it were imperative to build collection software in-house, you would still be at risk of getting targeted. Nonetheless, you could cut down risk by buying from vendors with high-security standards that can give you peace of mind — such as SOC2-certified companies.
Deploy a cloud solution that is feature-rich and flexible enough to employ
Deciding to buy or build collection software requires focusing on what’s essential for the business.
The challenges associated with building collection software, such as high upfront costs, time-consuming implementation, and keeping up-to-date with the evolving technology, can soon become overwhelming.
On the other hand, buying a SaaS solution from a vendor delivers a cost-effective solution designed by field experts who can keep you on track with accomplishing your business goals.
Reach and empower past-due customers by implementing a digital collection software like Lexop. Learn how to get started today!
