Tailor Made: Better Fit, Better Value
- Buy versus Build?
That’s a question you’re likely to struggle with as you consider software systems to solve complex business problems. Most organizations find this a difficult decision. On one hand, packaged-based software offers the promise of low risk and quick execution, but often fails to address the unique requirements that differentiate your pension trust. Custom-developed software, on the other hand, can be built to solve known business requirements, but is risky, expensive, and prone to schedule overruns.
Current technology trends; however, are changing the “buy versus build” decision process. The new paradigm is “buy, integrate and extend.” Why? Public pension administrators understand that many of their peers across the country share similar business functions, but they are not the same. Many Business rules are codified in statute, captured in administrative rules or guided by legal opinions and must be uniquely implemented by you. Package-based solutions fall short of serving dynamic, rule-intensive government organizations, such as your Pension Trust because their offerings are not built for the level of modifications required to differentiate you from other pension clients. Further, most plan administrators understand that prudent fiscal management does not permit the whole-scale replacement of all technology investments and skills – a frequent requirement of packaged solutions. Existing technology assets and skills must be leveraged to maximize return on investment, promote a continually evolving IT organization, and ensure that your ongoing costs will remain under your own control.
Likewise, plan administrators understand that they share deep processing similarities (patterns) with their peers and that it is both inefficient and expensive to “reinvent the wheel” by developing a custom solution. Many of the operational problems faced by your Pension Trust have been addressed by other pension trusts across the county, and you can benefit tremendously by repeating their successes and avoiding their mistakes.
In response to the buy versus build dilemma, Sagitec developed a public pension solution framework (Neospin™) that bridges the gap between packaged-based and custom-developed software.
Our Neospin™ Framework approach is unique because it is:
• Designed for Rapid Tailoring - Unlike packaged-based software, our solution components were designed to be tailor-fit to meet your needs. By design, our functional architecture covers roughly 60 percent of the business functionality required to provide cradle-to-grave management of your members and beneficiaries. The remaining 40 percent, which is what makes you distinct, is tailored to reflect your unique vision, goals and management style.
• Designed for Rapid Implementation - Unlike custom-development, our solution provides reusable services that yield immediate business functionality and rapid return on investment. Our out-of-the-box functionality offers significant productivity gains and cost savings. Our solution can be implemented at the same speed required to install, configure, and customize a packaged-based solution without binding you to a brittle architecture or obsolescing platform.
• Based on Proven Industry Patterns - Our solution offers the precise fit promised by custom development without reinventing the wheel. We leverage reusable business components that allow us to bring proven public pension best practices to your system.
• Rapid Extensibility – Our solution puts you in control of your own technical destiny and allows you to evolve your systems and technical staff. The Sagitec Neospin™ Framework will allow you to quickly implement legislative changes, maintain your own software, reduce costs and achieve higher return on investment.
