Business Software
Reduce costs while securing digital independence – with an open-source solution or custom development
The software landscape is changing
ERPs and CRMs like SAP, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and many more - these are the engines that drive modern businesses. However, not without problems: exploding costs due to non-transparent SaaS pricing structures, unexpected and unwanted changes to functions and interfaces, risks due to geopolitical shifts with the operating countries - does it have to be this way?
Not anymore. The way software is designed, developed, and deployed is changing rapidly. Modern development approaches, cloud infrastructures, and automation have drastically reduced the time and cost required for high-performance, custom-built systems. This allows even small and medium-sized enterprises with small budgets to achieve great things - and to question their dependency on established ERP and CRM providers.
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Ready to take the first step towards digital sovereignty? Contact me today!
Software is not a capital good
The last few years in particular have shown that software is not a one-time investment, but a liability. Political upheavals or development decisions by operators can affect the stability and availability of cloud platforms, leading to failures in your own company. Unpleasant and unasked-for updates to the user interface lead to confusion for the user and entail recurring training costs. Price increases or changes to the billing model lead to unexpected financial burdens. With a self-operated, open-source solution or custom development, you are independent of all these circumstances and can fully control your digital tools – where your software runs, what it looks like, and when it is updated.
With over ten years of experience in implementing custom digitalization solutions, I am perfectly equipped to find the best solution for your company and your business process with you. Whether it's about legacy systems or new requirements: I will find the solutions with you that best fit your processes. Independent, honest, and with engineering care.
Want to learn more?
Read my article on my lecture of the same name "SAP, Salesforce and Co. – Do we still need them?"
What role does open-source business software play?
In open-source software, the entire program code of an application is available, can be adapted as desired, and the software itself can be operated. Depending on the licensing model, commercial use is possible free of charge, for a one-time fee, or for a monthly fee.
Open-source solutions exist for every conceivable type of business software, from ERPs and CRMs to online storage and office software. Your advantage: even if you want to supplement or change individual processes or functions, you start with a functioning basis over which you can take full control at any time (but do not have to). Due to the possibility of self-operation, the ongoing costs, especially in environments with many users, are significantly lower compared to traditional SaaS software.
When should you consider custom development?
As a rule of thumb: The more unique your processes are, the more sense custom development can make. Especially in these situations, the progress in software development driven by Large Language Models reduces the advantage that standard software brings. Individual requirements mean increased integration efforts here as well, while predefined structures may not fit your process at all.
Custom development does not have to (immediately) replace an existing system entirely - individual processes can also be mapped in custom development and feed their results back into legacy systems via interfaces, so-called APIs. In this way, existing systems can potentially continue to be operated while new, individually designed extensions offer flexibility and increased development speed.