Build, Buy, or Blend? The First Step on Your Path to OSS Transformation Success

Are you about to embark on an OSS transformation? It’s a huge journey that awaits. It won’t be without risks and fears either. Like any journey, it all starts with the old cliche of starting with the first step!

When helping organisations embarking on their transformation journeys, there’s typically three primary transformation models for you to consider:

  1. Buy an Off-the-Shelf Solution: This approach involves procuring a ready-made product from a vendor, designed to meet common industry requirements. There are over 600 vendor listings in our Blue Book OSS/BSS Vendor Directory, so there is already a lot of choice of off-the-shelf solutions – some commercial, some open-source projects
  2. Build Your Own: With this model, the organisation has extensive OSS/BSS product development capability (either in house or via partner companies). This allows the organisation to develop a custom solution tailored specifically to their unique needs and operational nuances
  3. A Blended Combination of Both: This hybrid model utilises off-the-shelf solutions as foundational pillars, around which custom developments are crafted to address specific requirements not met by standard products. In reality, even option 1 above has an element of this because even the most perfect-fit off-the-shelf solutions tend to require some integrations. But for the purpose of this  article, let’s consider the blended model to require some significant customised development expertise

Each model presents distinct advantages and challenges, but the choice among them often hinges on factors such as implementation speed, cost, flexibility, capability and risk (do you notice how these are similar factors that describe the chasm of getting an OSS transformation project underway?). We don’t have a particular preference towards any of the three options depending on the client.

However, as described in the recent article, “It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small… It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow,” we outline the importance of speed as a critical success factor. The use of off-the-shelf solutions (ie Options #1 or #3 above) tends to deliver business value fastest…if implemented well.

The Case for Off-the-Shelf OSS/BSS Solutions

Opting for an off-the-shelf OSS offers several compelling benefits:

  • Accelerated Implementation: Pre-built solutions are designed for rapid deployment, allowing organisations to achieve operational readiness more quickly compared to building a system from scratch. This speed can be crucial in dynamic markets where timely service delivery is a competitive advantage. Starting with our Inverted Pyramid Vendor Selection Approach, we fast-track the selection of best-fit solutions, but the real key to using this approach is to work through Proof (or Proofs) of Concept (POC). These POC environments act as a key transition point between “Strategy / Planning” and “Implementation” phases and fast-track delivery of business value significantly compared with traditional OSS transformations
  • Proven Reliability: Established OSS products have usually undergone extensive hardening – ie use, testing and have been refined through deployments across various environments and a variety of customer requirements. This track record provides a level of assurance in terms of capability, performance and stability. Refinement is the key word here. When building your own solution (ie Option #2 above), you’ll never get the solution perfect on the first try (or first go-live). When building your own, you’re not just budgeting for the initial build. You have to consider the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), which means budgeting and committing resources to ongoing developments (aka the Puppy Analogy)
  • Vendor Support and Continuous Updates: Similar to the previous point, there’s a total OSS product lifecycle to consider. Vendors typically offer ongoing support services, regular updates, and enhancements, ensuring the system remains current with technological advancements and industry standards. When building yourself, you’ll undoubtedly plan for all of those activities too. The one big difference is that when you develop in-house, you’re on the hook for all of the life-cycle upgrade costs. When you’re a customer of an off-the-shelf solution, the development costs are spread across all of the vendor’s customers
  • Cost Efficiency: There’s no doubt that having a middle-man (ie the vendor) means there’s an extra layer of management and profit margin applied to the software. The initial and ongoing licensing fees can be considerable for off-the-shelf solutions. This is one of the reasons we perform multi-year TCO model profiling for customers that compare different alternatives. These alternatives might be a comparison of multiple vendor solutions (ie multiple instances option #1 above) or even a variety of buy / build / blend analyses (options #1, #2 and/or #3). This can help to identify which option will be more cost-effective in the long run for each client’s unique situation. Note that the TCO model is often an important part of building an OSS transformation business case (if you’d like to download an OSS Business Case Builder, we have one for you here that’s free and doesn’t require any personal details to access)

Balancing OSS Implementation Speed and Customisation

In the article “It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small… It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow,” the emphasis is placed on the importance of speed in gaining a competitive edge. We maintain that speed and agility enables organisations to quickly adapt to market changes, seize opportunities and meet customer demands effectively. As mentioned earlier though, it’s about the delivery of business value – potentially within weeks/months, not many months or even years – that helps to gain an early return on the money you’re investing into your OSS transformation. Importantly from a change management perspective, evidence of momentum helps to build confidence in the project team’s ability to deliver, which helps to keep the project naysayers / skeptics at bay.

However, while speed is essential, it’s equally important to ensure that the solution aligns with specific business processes and goals. This is where the blended / hybrid model (option #3) becomes a reality for most implementations. By implementing off-the-shelf solutions as core components and layering custom developments on top, organisations can achieve a balance between rapid deployment and tailored functionality.

Re-framing and Mitigating the OSS Buyer-Seller Chasm

The “buyer-seller chasm” refers to the gap between the expectations and perceptions of OSS buyers and sellers, often leading to prolonged sales cycles and implementation delays. Factors contributing to this chasm include fear, trust issues, perceived risks, and skill gaps.

Building on the re-framing perspectives of this article, choosing an off-the-shelf solution can help bridge this chasm by:

  • Reducing Perceived Risk: A well-established product with a history of successful deployments can alleviate concerns about reliability and performance. Depending on the contract negotiated with your vendor, using an off-the-shelf product can also help to deliver a clearer cost-model / budget for your transformation. How long will it take for you to build your own OSS is often akin to asking how long is a piece of string? Because the off-the-shelf product is already built, the vendor already knows its cost-model. That’s not to say that you can’t have budget blow-outs on off-the-shelf implementations – that still happens all too often – but if managed well, the risks of this can be reduced
  • Building Trust: Engaging with reputable vendors who offer comprehensive support can foster a sense of partnership and confidence. However, this is easier said than done. It’s easier to have greater trust in internal development teams that you know are working towards to good of your organisation (for the most part 😉 ) than trusting those greedy suppliers. That’s definitely acknowledged. Moreover, the typical OSS procurement approach tends to be flawed from the outset in terms of building buyer/seller trust. This link does show some alternate approaches that we use and recommend to help foster greater partnership and trust between buyer and seller. We’re often used as match-makers to help ensure these buyer / seller marriages get off to a great start
  • Addressing Skill Gaps: There are so many different threads we can take on this one, so let’s reserve it for another article. Your team already has lots of skills and experiences. Your team has so much tribal knowledge. The OSS vendors have an outsider’s perspective – they have seen how similar transformations have been done for other customers, seen other trends, can compare with industry benchmarks / approaches, etc. OSS vendors also often provide training and resources to help internal teams become proficient in using the system and solving operational problems with it, thereby reducing the skills gap.

 

Embarking on an OSS transformation can feel overwhelming, starting with navigating the critical decision of whether to build, buy, or blend your solution. The right choice depends on your unique goals, challenges, and operational landscape. If you require guidance to bring greater clarity to your transformation journey, we’re here to help. Contact us to start the conversation to help you chart your best path forward.

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