The problem with any business strategy is that it is almost certainly unique to the business that comes up with it, based on very particular needs, goals, and carefully identified issues of one kind or another. So what happens when SharePoint® out-of-the-box can’t live up to the individual requirements of a particular business?

Perhaps the best way of explaining the reality of the situation is to quote Consultant and SharePoint MVP, Jamie McAllister:

“If [SharePoint] were to meet all those extras on top of the core product, there’d be a ten-year release cycle and the product would be obsolete five years before it was even released.”

Businesses smart enough to accept this simple logic soon find themselves facing the question: “Is it better to build custom software for SharePoint and own the resulting intellectual property? Or buy commercial base software add-ons and configure them to support unique solutions?”

The international success of Bamboo Solutions is based on its strategically large portfolio of commercially-tested SharePoint enhancing products that can be deployed by non-programmers in SharePoint-based applications. Covered areas include:

• Web Parts (Components)
• Business Process and/or Workflow Automation
• Management Tools, including system management, user management, content administration, archival, and system analysis
• Migration and Integration Tools
• Purpose-built business applications, including Project Management and Knowledge Management

Whichever option you’re considering, you’ll start out with a good idea of the upside of any solution, but you need to make sure you’ve considered the potential downside, too. Here’s a brief list of potential problems with the build option:

• Cost due to software complexity and other factors
• IT involvement, competency, and time required
• Ongoing cost of custom software beyond the project end
• Potential of crucial players changing positions or leaving the company
• Difficulty in detouring from the custom path once embarked upon

The CHAOS Report the Standish Group International also produced the following stats on the build solution:

• Average software project success rate – 34 percent
• Projects failing outright – 15 percent
• Projects described as “Challenged” – 51 percent

Aside from a very broad range of products and services, Bamboo® clients receive updates and feature enhancements for the products and services they purchase. Doing the math on the potential time and money-saving aspects – as well as the security of knowing world-leading experts are on-hand at any stage of the journey – ought to be enough to encourage anybody to look deeper into the available choices.

Stay tuned to Bamboo Nation for news on our upcoming White Paper: Build vs Buy, which will take an in-depth look at the question of build versus buy, providing more information and statistics to help you make the best decision for your business.

In the meantime, check out our Products and Services.

Also coming soon on Bamboo Nation:

Thinking Outside The Box, Part II: Singling Out The Right Solution For You.