The Slippery Slope of Custom Software
It’s the buzzword of the year. Custom. It’s a prideful word — a word that feels powerful. But in software, it’s one of the most expensive and time consuming words you can use.
2017 saw the most ever investment into real estate technology, which was the same case in 2015, and 2016. The space is full of great products, and what’s more exciting is that things are actually changing. Processes are being reinvented, competition is rising, and the brick and mortar mentality is slowly accepting that tech can add proper value.
I am fortunate enough to work with some of the most innovative, talented and boundary pushing real estate developers in the world. But even still, I come across more and more custom pieces of software that are hindering more than helping. All which have been sold on the premise of ‘we can do anything you want’.
The biggest culprit of this mentality, the ultimate yes man, is Salesforce. Their customization agents have done a phenomenal job of selling the custom dream—the software that can do anything. But the reality of it comes with ever extending budgets and huge time commitments, all built on platform that has no business in your business.
Now don’t get me wrong, Salesforce has done an amazing job, and their platform is ultimately powerful. But my question is, “is it right for you?”
But from my experience, “custom” platforms in the real estate space cause a lot more headaches than they are worth. The biggest being when you actually want to make a switch to something better. This is the #1 reason why clients aren’t able to adopt our technology. They’re stuck.
Customizing you own software is similar to trying to build your own car. It’s a great idea, if the resources are available — until you need to get it serviced.
Spark has spent the last 5 years building the best possible software for the new development industry. We work with hundreds of builders and developers in over 70 cities, to bring you software that works with you, and for you.
So, when choosing what software platform you want to use to help you sell, market and manage your real estate projects, think about where your strengths lie. You build homes, let us build the software.
