Bespoke Database Solutions

Why go bespoke?

Organisations devote a large portion of their IT budget to the development of database systems, either completely new solutions or upgrades to legacy systems. The reason why businesses decide to invest in bespoke database solutions is fairly straightforward: the required tools are simply not available on the market. At other times, off-the-shelf solutions might require extensive customization to become usable in the organisation, inflating the programming budget and loosing financial viability. Whatever the case, off-the-shelf database systems cannot adequately satisfy business requirements all the time. When this happens, custom-built databases come in to fill the void.

So what are the benefits of a bespoke database system? For a start, a point of difference. Software, as any productivity tool can allow you to do a job faster, better and with greater results. Similarly, bespoke database systems allow you to utilize unique features and functionality producing information that your competitors cannot obtain. Off-the-shelf software is tailored to fit many, meaning that it follows general business rules, guidelines and principles. But there are exceptions to the rule – exceptions that ready-made solutions cannot readily cater for.

Alongside the uniqueness of custom database systems, bespoke solutions allow organisations to participate directly in the development process, shaping every step of it. Essentially, by purchasing an off-the-shelf solution you have little or no influence over how the system works – you accept it “as is”. If flexibility is critical and you wish to influence the final product, custom database development will provide that option.

Call it your own

Getting the right database system in place to support your organisation is an important decision. Depending on your requirements and the complexity of the project, a database solution can be developed in Microsoft Access or implemented using larger, licensed software, such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or IBM DB2. If licensing costs are a constraint, you might want to consider open-source databases, such as MySQL or PostgreSQL. Of course, more complex projects require more development and are more expensive.

To a large extent, the choice of technology will depend on your existing IT infrastructure or preference - in other respects the platforms are fairly comparable and will not appear different to business users. But you must consider cost, compatibility and platform dependency: for example, if your computers run Linux OS, you might not be able to use Microsoft SQL Server for desktop applications.

The selection of platforms, frameworks, and design structures should be a secondary objective, however. The key aspect is to adequately reflect business requirements and to let them dictate the choice of technology – not the other way around. If business objectives are correctly translated into database design specifications, the end product could be delivered using either platform.

See also: A Business Guide to Database Solutions

Canary Custom Database Solutions