In fact, they’re the only sensible option.

Some people say that custom-built computer systems involve too much cost, time and risk. They say that it is better to take pre-existing, off-the-shelf products from software companies, and then adapt your business to make use of them. I disagree. In this current technological environment, custom-built applications are not just feasible, but they are more beneficial than ever.

“Back in the day”, that is, over 30 years ago, when computers were enormous and programmers were scarce, highly-qualified university professors, custom-built applications were the only way to go. The off-the-shelf products simply did not exist.

Thus, a business could not expect to receive an accounts management system without having one of these less-than-common professionals build it from scratch. That was expensive. But it was the only way.

Then, over time, things changed. Computers became more powerful, the networking and operating system infrastructure improved, and there were software companies producing lovely generic solutions in nice shrink-wrapped boxes. Custom-built applications still generally required hiring programmers to build something from the ground up. Even though programmers were more common, and indeed are almost ridiculously common, managing such a project was fraught with risk and oozing with costs. So, for a time, off-the-shelf products were the best option.

Now, however, the situation is different again. Years of refined off-the-shelf solutions now form a strong foundation for customised applications. Businesses can find strong, extensible foundations in existing operating systems, web platforms and rapid application development environments, either open source and commercial, depending on operational tastes.

In the 21st century, it is actually economically feasible to engage technology professionals to craft a customised solution for your specific business needs. Based on existing, well-tested and refined technologies, skilled programmers can create a solution to exploit your actual business environment, not just slot a generic box into your processes and demand that you learn to use it.

For example, say you want an enterprise collaboration system. Even just a few years ago, you would have had to choose from a number of existing products, each with their individual strengths and weaknesses. Each one perhaps meeting some of your needs, yet none of them actually satisfying them. Businesses were forced to train staff to use an inappropriately generic system, or a mix of systems, to get work done. Who loves spending money on training for bad computer systems? Not me.

Post-Web 2.0, you have a better option. It doesn’t take a NASA engineer to adapt open-source wiki and blog technologies to your business. Do you need to share confidential information with specific people only? Done. Do you need the ability to quickly propogate new information to staff across the enterprise? Done. Do you need to satisfy industry-specific regulatory requirements? Done.

But does your Australian operation need to conform to American customs? No. Don’t waste money on storing excess data that a business in South Africa might have needed. Customise your solution to keep the data you need where you need it.

Is your business a generic grey box churning out widgets, or an exact clone of a larger business elsewhere? Then maybe you should stick with off-the-shelf products.

So if your business is unique, and you want computer systems that really help your enterprise go places, get it custom built.