When looking at various software options, organizations may find that less configurable packages include features that address many project goals but do not thoroughly satisfy all of their requirements. CRM software packages, for example, often advertise “custom fields” that allow users to track constituent data beyond out-of-the-box functionality. However, this feature is often of limited scope, offering an insufficient number of fields, restrictions on the type of fields or field placement, as well as constraints on how fields relate to each other, and whether or how they can be used in reporting tools

The advantage of more configurable software is that it allows the product to more easily adapt to project requirements. For users and administrators, highly configurable software provides more opportunities to customize the way data is stored, displayed, imported, and exported. Customization can also allow users to more easily generate visual reports and infographics (as opposed to simply code). For developers, configurable software provides comprehensive access to controlling stored data using custom code, as well as (ideally) a strong, logical, and consistent framework that can be easily adopted by other developers. This combination of configurability can help ensure that the software or service will meet your exact specifications, as well as a smoother adoption process

The Downsides to Customizing Software

Customizations, being highly technical and specialized, require skilled technical support that is often difficult to find and costly to retain. In addition, the final product can require a high level of skill to operate. While most CRM systems offer methods for importing constituent information, for example, these methods demand varying levels of expertise. Some systems offer graphical, step-by-step tutorial wizards, others allow Excel-file uploads, while still others demand complicated API (programming interface) access requiring advanced knowledge.