Need a mobile solution? If so, will any solution do?

What do I wear? What’s for lunch? Should I buy a new car or a used car?

Making decisions is a normal process. We do it instinctively, day in and day out. And yet, some decisions are more important than others. For the enterprise, the build-versus-buy decision can be a challenging one. Determining whether to invest in long term efforts or chose a more conservative (i.e. less expensive and short term) approach is not to be taken lightly.

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When deciding to implement a mobile strategy, will anything do?

First, you must pinpoint what is important to your organization:

  • Reducing overtime with efficiency gains?
  • Capturing additional information to provide the business with actionable data?
  • Access to data in the field?

No matter the strategy, at some point the decision will be made to pull a solution off-the-shelf or build something custom. Not all problems are created equal and neither are budgets for that matter.

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The Generalist Approach

Off-the-shelf, out of the box, one size fits all…at the end of the day this is the generalist approach.

Some problems are perfectly matched for this strategy.

The generalist approach is to create a solution that solves the majority of problems for the majority of the market. If your problem is popular enough, there could be an army of generalists providing multiple options for a given market. This is great when you have a common problem, (e.g. Project Management, Source Control, Tracking Inventory, etc).

But there are a few limitations to this approach – the yin and yang of software.

  • When the problem is the minority case in a majority product you could be paying for features that will never get used.
  • When the product/version is at the end of life. What do you do? Buy the company and force them to update the v1 stream of a v5 product?
  • When slightly changing your process to fit a product? It is a slippery slope that is tough to balance.

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The Specialist Approach

Bespoke, made to order, one of a kind…is what you could call a perfect fit and the specialist approach. Everyone’s problem could be solved using this strategy, but is the investment worth the reward?!?

The specialist approach is to create a solution that is tailored to the specific problem and need. Although this avenue has a higher initial cost, the opportunity to find creative returns on investment are greater when compared with the generalist approach.

The specialist not only needs to solve for today, but for the future. The ideal custom solutions will solve for today’s problems and can be supported, updated and extensible enough to be prepared for future problems.

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At BlueFletch we pride ourselves on being the specialist. Our clients come to us when they have tough problems and want the right solution.

Our custom solutions take into account that our clients are dynamic, evolving organizations. They are crafted to anticipate and grow with your future needs, giving you a competitive advantage by allowing your team to work faster and smarter. By focusing on specific needs as well as scalability and efficiency, we help our clients succeed.

If you’re looking for a mobile solution that will differentiate your organization, outperform your competitors, and realize your own vision, then we are the team you want on your side. We strive to provide a clearer, deeper understanding of what’s possible in mobile. In doing so, we provide solutions that improve your business.