Why bespoke software turns out cheaper than Salesforce

In the bustling world of business, the quest for efficiency and competitive edge often leads companies down the path of digital transformation. For many, the immediate answer to complex CRM, sales, and service needs seems to lie in the warm embrace of a giant like Salesforce. It’s an undeniable powerhouse, a household name that promises out-of-the-box functionality and a rapid deployment. But what if I told you that, for many UK businesses, this initial allure could mask a long-term financial burden, and that a bespoke software solution, despite its perceived upfront cost, could actually prove to be the more frugal choice?

It’s a bold claim, perhaps, given Salesforce's ubiquitous presence. Yet, when we delve deeper into the economics, flexibility, and scalability of software, a compelling case emerges for the bespoke approach. Let's unpick why your wallet might thank you for choosing a custom-built solution over a ready-made giant.

The elephant in the room: recurring licensing fees

The most glaring difference between Salesforce and bespoke software is the ongoing cost structure. Salesforce operates on a subscription model, charging per user, per month, often with additional fees for various add-ons, modules, and API calls. While these fees might seem manageable initially, they accumulate relentlessly.

Consider a growing UK business. As your team expands, so does your Salesforce bill. What starts as a seemingly modest £50 per user per month can quickly escalate to thousands, even tens of thousands, of pounds annually. These costs are perpetual; you never truly ‘own’ the software. It's akin to renting a house versus buying one – the rent payments never cease, whereas a mortgage eventually leads to full ownership. With bespoke software, once developed, the core product is yours. There are no per-user licensing fees eating into your profit margins year after year. This single factor often dwarfs the initial development investment over a five-to-ten-year period.

The burden of unused features: paying for what you don't need

Salesforce is an incredibly powerful, feature-rich platform. It boasts a dizzying array of functionalities, designed to cater to a vast spectrum of businesses across countless industries. While this breadth might seem advantageous, it often leads to a significant problem: you’re paying for a huge amount of functionality you’ll never use.

Imagine buying a luxury car when all you need is a reliable vehicle for the school run. You're paying for advanced features, high-performance engines, and complex infotainment systems that remain untouched. Similarly, many businesses only utilise a fraction of Salesforce's capabilities. With bespoke software, every pound spent is on a feature your business genuinely needs and will actively use. There's no fat to trim, no redundant modules inflating your expenditure. This hyper-focus on specific requirements ensures maximum ROI on every line of code.

The customisation conundrum: when ‘clicks not code’ becomes costly

Salesforce proudly champions its "clicks not code" philosophy, promising easy customisation for non-developers. While this is true to a certain extent for basic configurations, truly tailoring Salesforce to unique, complex business processes often requires significant development effort using Apex (Salesforce’s proprietary language) and Visualforce, or leveraging third-party AppExchange solutions.

These customisations are not cheap. Salesforce developers command high rates, and integrating disparate AppExchange solutions can lead to further licensing fees and integration challenges. Moreover, heavily customised Salesforce instances can become brittle and difficult to upgrade, leading to further development costs down the line. With bespoke software, customisation is inherent. The entire system is built from the ground up to fit your exact workflows, eliminating the need for expensive workarounds or compromises with an off-the-shelf solution. The software adapts to your business, not the other way around.

Scalability and future-proofing: building for tomorrow, today

While Salesforce is undeniably scalable in terms of user count, scaling its functionality to meet evolving, highly specific business needs can become problematic and expensive. New requirements might necessitate purchasing additional Salesforce clouds, which come with their own substantial licensing costs, or extensive custom development that ties you further into the Salesforce ecosystem.

Bespoke software, on the other hand, is built with your business's future in mind. It's designed with an architecture that allows for flexible expansion and adaptation. As your business grows or pivots, new modules and functionalities can be seamlessly integrated into the existing framework. You maintain complete control over the technology stack, ensuring your software evolves in lockstep with your strategic objectives, without being constrained by a vendor’s roadmap or pricing structure. This intrinsic flexibility can save significant capital expenditure on future upgrades and re-platforming efforts.

Vendor lock-in: breaking free from the chains

One of the less obvious but profoundly impactful costs of Salesforce (and indeed, many SaaS solutions) is vendor lock-in. Once your entire sales, marketing, and service operations are deeply embedded within Salesforce, migrating away becomes a monumental, costly, and disruptive undertaking. This effectively gives Salesforce significant leverage when it comes to contract renewals and pricing adjustments.

With bespoke software, you own the intellectual property. You're not beholden to a single vendor. While you might engage an external development team for initial build and ongoing maintenance, you have the freedom to switch providers, bring development in-house, or integrate with any other system you choose. This independence fosters a competitive environment for development services, ultimately keeping costs in check and ensuring you retain control over your most critical business asset.

The upfront investment: a different perspective

It’s crucial to acknowledge that bespoke software development does require a more significant upfront investment than subscribing to Salesforce. There's the cost of discovery, design, development, and initial deployment. However, this upfront expenditure should be viewed not as an expense, but as a capital investment in a depreciating asset that you own. Like investing in a custom-built factory or a piece of specialised machinery, it’s a strategic decision that yields long-term returns.

Compare this to Salesforce's operational expenditure model, where payments disappear into the ether with no tangible asset remaining. When you factor in the avoided licensing fees, the elimination of unused features, the precise customisation, and the long-term flexibility, that initial bespoke investment often pays for itself many times over within a few years.

Conclusion: a strategic investment for the savvy business

For many UK businesses, particularly those with unique operational workflows, a desire for long-term control, and an aversion to perpetual subscription costs, bespoke software development emerges as a compelling and often more cost-effective alternative to Salesforce. It's not about rapid deployment at any cost, but about strategic, sustainable growth built on a foundation of tailored efficiency.

While Salesforce excels at providing a broad, generic solution, bespoke software offers precision. It’s the difference between a ready-to-wear suit that kind of fits, and a perfectly tailored garment designed exclusively for you. And when it comes to your critical business systems, that perfect fit isn’t just about comfort – it’s about significant, long-term financial savings and unparalleled operational agility. Before you sign on the dotted line for another year of Salesforce, pause and consider: could bespoke be the smarter, cheaper solution for your future?

Appdrawn takes great care in developing bespoke software that delivers specific gains. Challenge us to demonstrate how bespoke software development can be better value.