Word Count: 605 Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2008 9:48 AM
Off The Shelf Versus Bespoke Software
Software development has become a run of the mill occupation these days. Computers are an integral part of everyday life and essential to all walks of life. However, they are only ever as good as the person that has made the programme. A computer by itself is useless.
For this reason, we need software development to enable us to do absolutely anything on the computer. From the simplest task up to the more complicated equations, a programme needs to be written that can work out the problem. This needs not only people that can understand computers but people that can also understand the problem that will be put to the computer.
Now this can be achieved on basic programmes that cover may different scenarios - basic, off the shelf software. But what if the problem is more complex? What if it was, say, something like medical research? This would take something a little more complex than off the shelf programmes, this would call for bespoke software development.
Bespoke software development involves working to a set of determinates that are peculiar to that field of expertise. You would need a fair understanding of the issues involved before you could even begin to think of bespoke software development for this field.
College and university courses studying computer science are the first step towards learning how to create software. It is only when you have a full and complete understanding of how this works that you can then move on to bespoke software development.
Of course, this is something that develops over time. Specialists in this field need to know what questions to ask about the particular business they are dealing with. They need to know exactly what is expected of the software, how it will be used, who will be using it and what other software it may need to interact with.
This is a lot more useful to a company than off the shelf software as it can be tailored to suit that business exactly. All the specifics can be programmed in from the start and operation of the software will then be quite simple and easy to grasp.
This has the knock on effect of making the business run more smoothly. Stock is controlled at the touch of a button, staff records and wages can be updated and kept track of and any variables that are exceptional to that business can be taken into account. Business is run more efficiently thus offering better customer service and drawing in more custom by recommendation of a good service.
For those in more complex careers, such as medical research, bespoke software development is absolutely vital. A computer with the right programme can now work out possible equations and results that would previously have taken scientists months or even years to work out. Thanks to this, medical advancements have been made at a much faster speed than ever before and this has led to the bigger picture of saving many lives.
The country's defence system is another very complicated set of computer programmes and has its very own dedicated team of programmers. These highly skilled personnel are working around the clock to keep on top of computer systems that not only make things run smoothly but also keep out hackers. There is a constant effort by hackers around the world to get into governmental computer programmes, therefore it is an ongoing effort to keep them out and this is just one interesting branch of computer programming to get into.
About the Author
Shaun Parker is a leading computer expert with many years of experience in the software development industry. Find out more about bespoke software development at http://www.mbrit.com
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