Build or buy: legacy modernization that fits your family-owned business

Recently, I spoke to an entrepreneur who had switched software packages three times. “Each time we thought: now we’ve found the solution,” he told me. “But every time we ran into the same walls.” And his story is not unique. The question isn’t which software is the best, but which approach fits your company. Build or buy? Let’s take a closer look.

The scorecard: when to choose what?

Because this choice is crucial for the future of your company. You want to avoid having to switch again next year, with all the hassle that comes with it. That’s why below you’ll see exactly when to choose which option, and we’ll explain why these factors determine your final choice.

The 100-employee threshold

Why exactly one hundred? Below this threshold, there’s often not enough critical mass. You don’t just need budget for custom software, but also people who can lead the project. A product owner isn’t a side job someone can “just do on the side” – it requires specific skills and full-time attention.

Smaller companies often underestimate this. “We’ll just build this ourselves,” I hear. But without the right capacity in-house, it becomes an expensive gamble. You need someone who knows your processes inside out, who can switch between business and IT, and who has the stamina to make this a success. Does your company have less than one hundred employees and experience with these kind of projects? Then you might be an exeption on this threshold.

The other crucial factors

Besides company size, your business processes are also an important factor in the final choice. Do you work the same way as most companies in your industry? Then standard software is probably fine. But if your processes are truly different, you’ll need customization. Standard software forces you into a straitjacket that doesn’t fit.

Your growth expectations also matter. Will you remain stable over the coming years? Choose standard. But do you want to move quickly, enter new markets, innovate? Then you need the flexibility of custom software. You can’t wait until your software vendor decides to include your brilliant idea in version 3.2 someday.

The custom-on-standard drama

This is where I see things go wrong most often: companies think they’re being smart by buying a standard package and then building customization on top of it. You might only use 40% of the standard features, pay for 100%, and build another 30% yourself.

Not only are you throwing away money on expensive licenses, but with the first update you often end up in even deeper trouble. Your self-built customization isn’t included in the vendor’s standard update cycle. So with every update, you risk that your custom part breaks.

The power of a software factory

Building custom software requires expertise. If you let us build your software, we do that with Thinkwise. What you buy isn’t just the software itself – you buy a software factory. We teach your developers or IT team how they can work with updates, upgrades, and entirely new automations themselves.

A great example is a fruit and vegetable company I recently started working with. They want to set up their own transport branch in the short term, which was impossible with their old system. Now we’re building together what they need, when they need it. Where their competitors wait months for a vendor’s adjustment, they build it themselves with Thinkwise in weeks. They can seize opportunities that others have to pass up.

The real cost picture

The initial investment for customization is higher – no doubt about it. But look at the costs of standard software over five years: licenses keep running, they get more expensive every year, and you’re likely paying for features you don’t use. Custom? One-time build, then just maintenance.

A customer recently calculated that he could save about €30,000 per year by replacing the licenses of three systems with his own development in Thinkwise. “We were paying for features we used once a year,” he said. Now he has exactly what he needs – nothing more, nothing less.