WK5 DQ response

Article Analysis

Of-the-shelf (OTS ) Software and In-house Software

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OVERVIEW OF THE ARTICLE

Off-the-shelf (OTS ) software products are ready-made software that is commercially sold to the public (Webopedia , 2007 . In-house software applications are those that are developed within the IT department and custom made for the required application of the company

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The purpose of this article analysis is to produce three questions from the article and generate comments from it . The questions generated are all in relation to what this article is trying

to say

ARTICLE ANALYSIS

What are the advantages /disadvantages of OTS Software

According to the article , OTS software is advantageous in the sense that the cost can be projected with greater certainty . But on the other hand any variation into the application had to be worked out from its I /O otherwise it can 't be used . Much effort is required to put the capabilities of an OTS to function on a variant application . Another minor drawback is the cost of yearly licensing which an indirect form of maintenance . Although on the brighter side , this could be cheaper than maintain a whole IT group to do maintenance for it

What are the advantages /disadvantages of In-house Software

In-house software is advantageous in the sense that software can be tailored to what the company application requires . It can be optimized for that purpose . This also brings company the costly IT department to develop and maintain it . According to the article , in-house software development puts the company under the hands of its IT department and the department must keep up with the quality of software required

What is the best choice of software , OTS or In-house

The article tends to lean on the idea that in-house software is by far the best choice . Although he cautioned , that he is concern whether the IT department can maintain the quality of the IT output over the long run . There is problem with this argument because he only focuses on the weakness of OTS software and makes this as a leverage to rationalize the advantage of in-house software . For example the document does not consider much regarding the quality of software . Although the author cautioned but it lacks emphasis in the discussion when in fact it is one of the most important aspect . There is a very big possibility that in the long run , ready-made software are more reliable over in-house software . Ready-made software products are used by a greater population and bugs along the way are corrected in the long run . This together with the cost of in-house development proves to be a considerable factor . The conclusion of which is better will depend on the type of application required . When the application required can be found on ready-made software , then OTS products are better option . However if the application is very far from it and there is a clear possibility that it will be used for a long time then an in-house software might prove...