INNOVATION SOFTWARE: TO BUILD OR TO BUY THAT IS THE QUESTION

JESSICA DAY IDEASCALE | IDEAVIBES WHITE PAPER

The Must Have Reasons to Buy A Time to Build Do You Have a Completely Unique Business Need? Is There No ExisBng SoluBon? IdeaScale: How You Get In Touch With Your Network Meet ExpectaBons

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Innovation Software: To Build Or To Buy

“There is a strong argument to create and implement brand

engagement programs, since the results indicate that people expect two way interactive communication.”

There are very few businesses that can claim digital independence these days. Most

organizations (from nonprofits to multinational corporations) conduct a large percentage of

their business using specific software programs for everything (from their customer

relationship management to their product development processes). This includes, of course,

their open innovation and engagement programs.

Back in 2010, a brand survey was conducted by agency BBDO that resulted in the following

recommendation:

“Most people agree that brands need the input of their consumers, they have to involve their

consumers. There is a strong argument to create and implement brand engagement programs,

since the results indicate that people expect two way interactive communication between

brands and their consumers.”1

In the years following, this expectation has only become more entrenched in the business

mindset: companies must foster community engagement. But it’s not just consumers anymore.

The barriers between departments and organizational strata are evaporating, as well – and

“engaging” means not just connecting with consumers and end users, but also employees,

subscribers, citizens, classmates, and virtually anyone within a network. These people can

provide the next big idea that propels a business forward. But to connect with them, do you

build your own engagement and ideation tool or do you buy an existing solution?

If you don’t want to read the rest of the white paper, we can tell you now that most of the time

(and perhaps unsurprisingly) the answer is that it makes more sense to buy a solution than it

does to build one. If you want to know “why?” however, keep reading.

The Must Have

3INNOVATION SOFTWARE: TO BUILD OR TO BUY

INNOVATION SOFTWARE: TO BUILD OR TO BUY 4

Purchasing a solution (depending on the need and the vendor) will result in various levels of

cost-savings, a faster time-to-market, less IT overhead, more agility, and the ability to scale

(among other things).

Cost Savings: It’s not just the cost of building the technology (which is, in itself a complicated

and weighty cost of time, salaries, and benefits), it’s also the associated costs of maintaining a

solution, which can include hardware, rack space, hosting, installation, project management,

and more. One study, by Capgemini concluded that purchasing a cloud software solution

actually reduced costs by 52%. 2

Time to Market: Developing a unique solution takes place on a long timeline; committees and

project groups take time establishing buy-in, vetting, developing, sourcing approval, and finally,

implementing (along with many other steps). The same study by Capgemini stated that

purchasing a cloud software solution reduces the time to market by nearly 41% (a number

that can be reduced even further when no customization is required).

Experts Required: With technology’s multidirectional growth, it is difficult to employ experts in

everything. The benefit of purchasing a solution is that the developers that serve a vendor are

dedicated to a level of specialized training and expertise in their own subject matter that simply

isn’t required of the typical business’s IT staff. This minimizes the number of staff required to

run the program.

Agility: If a tool requires support or customization, the ability to make those changes is

significantly curtailed if a company doesn’t have a team of experts dedicated to rapid build

improvements and twenty-four hour support. Implementing new programs always require a

period of discovery and if companies can’t adapt based on their findings, it is unlikely that the

new program will succeed or will return additional value on an initial investment.

Ability to Scale: Vendors that provide purchased solutions are generally accustomed to

collecting and managing large volumes of data and have gone through the trouble of working

Reasons to Buy

“One study concluded that purchasing a software solution (as opposed

to building one) actually reduced costs by 52%.”

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out the kinks inherent in managing a high level of traffic. The benefits of this experience

include an increased data capacity, as well as increased productivity on the platform since

no one has to slow down in order to keep pace with the flow of information. And as the

community grows and evolves, users and administrators won’t feel the associated growing

pains.

Digital Experience: The end user is far more likely to adopt and regularly visit an online

platform that is easy to use and looks professional. The polish that vendors are able to

provide is often one of the first things to be sacrificed when a new in-house platform is being

developed, whereas vendors have made an investment in design and user experience.

There are times, however, when it is appropriate to develop a new tool and if you can answer

“yes” to either of these questions, then it might be time to start building.

Do You Have a Completely Unique Business Need?

If the solution that a company is seeking requires a level of customization so unique and

specific that it demands an intimate expertise concerning your own company, it might be

better to build a solution. Certainly no one knows your company better than the people

working on it and building it. However, most business processes are not so far afield that they

are totally unique and most purchased solutions have customization options that can be

tailored to a business’s needs.

Is There No Existing Solution?

If you truly can’t find an out-of-the-box solution to customize to your needs, not only should

you build it, but you should look at the market to see if other people need it, too (perhaps it’s

an opportunity for diversification). However, if you also don’t see a need for it in the broader

community, one wonders if it’s really a solution that you need after all.

A Time to Build

INNOVATION SOFTWARE: TO BUILD OR TO BUY

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7EXPLORING CROWDSOURCING AND RISK

Used by Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike, IdeaScale is a social engagement

platform for gathering valuable ideas and insights for any business or organization. Having

this sort of centralized ideation tool allows organizations to easily manage and utilize all the

feedback and ideas a business is getting from its users all the time, anytime, from anywhere.

Because of IdeaScale’s commitment to accessibility, it is also priced competitively in order to

make the implementation of an ideation program an affordable matter of just a few clicks. In

fact, one government agency first spent six months developing their own solution that failed

load testing and within the week IdeaScale was able to replace their built system with our

own. That community went on to generate over 6,000 ideas with the IdeaScale tool.

IdeaScale is a site where a user submits an idea and others vote on the ideas submitted by

users and the best idea gets bubbled up to the top. In this way, organizations can ensure that

they are in close touch with their network, what they’re looking for, what their needs are, and

also what they have to offer. IdeaScale is used by all types of organizations ranging from

government agencies to non-profits. And the platform allows for the high-fidelity

transmission of ideas that can be acted on in real time.

Traditional online research methods and network management tools haven’t been so

effective in fostering a sense of community among customers, whereas IdeaScale keeps the

conversation going with anyone who wants to join. Additionally, the network is already

talking about your organization and sharing great ideas all over the web: on sites like Twitter,

Facebook, etc. IdeaScale is a tool that helps manage the conversation while increasing

engagement and providing focused, effective feedback for an organization.

IdeaScale: How You Get In Touch With Your Network

Think of it like this.

You get home on the weekend after already having worked a full week to find a leak in your

basement piping. In spite of being exhausted and in hopes of becoming thrifty and proving

your homeowner skills, you spend hours learning what you need to know on the internet,

make a frugal investment in tools at the hardware store, and valiantly head downstairs to

take care of the problem… and end up flooding your basement.

Meet Expectations

FOR MORE INFORMATION sales@ideascale.com

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1. Claus, Dennis, and Isabelle Stevens. The Brand

Engagement Index. Engage BBDO, 30 Nov. 2010.

Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://www.slideshare.net/nbbdo/

brand-engagement-index-most-engaged-brands>.

2. Brantz, Carly and Brian O’Neill. “Build Vs. Buy.”

SendGrid. 13 December 2012. 11 February 2013.

8EXPLORING CROWDSOURCING AND RISK

< http://www.slideshare.net/sendgrid/build-or-buy-

moving-your-email-to-the-cloud>.

3. “To Build or To Buy? Seven cautions on procuring

enterprise software.” Explorance. 12 December 2006. 9

February 2013. < http://www.explorance.com/

news_n_views/PDF/Build_vs_buy.pdf>

Ideavibes | 613.878.1681 | paul@ideavibes.com | blog.ideavibes.com | www.ideavibes.com

Then you end up calling the plumber anyways, spending significantly more to clean up after

your own best intentions.

It is hard to argue expertise, a proven track record, ease of implementation, and (in the long

run) a lower price tag. It is also unlikely, however, that any in-house software will live up to

your own expectations. One 2004 study revealed that less than 1 in 3 in-house programs

were able to successfully meet their own requirements.3 Working with a vendor makes it far

more likely that not only will they help you avoid making a mess, but they will help you meet

all of your original program conditions.