Question at position 14 Which of the following is a disadvantage of building custom technology solutions?Immediate cost savingsLong-term maintenance commitmentReduced alignment with business needsLower strategic alignmentClear my selectionSingle choice
A
Immediate cost savings
B
Long-term maintenance commitment
C
Reduced alignment with business needs
D
Lower strategic alignment

Question

Question at position 14 Which of the following is a disadvantage of building custom technology solutions?Immediate cost savingsLong-term maintenance commitmentReduced alignment with business needsLower strategic alignmentClear my selectionSingle choice

A

Immediate cost savings

B

Long-term maintenance commitment

C

Reduced alignment with business needs

D

Lower strategic alignment

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Custom-built technology creates a long-term maintenance burden because it produces proprietary code, integrations, and operational processes that an organization must support over time.

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Custom vs. off-the-shelf solutions: custom solutions are tailored to specific needs, while off-the-shelf products are standardized.
- Total cost of ownership (TCO): includes initial development cost plus recurring costs (maintenance, updates, hosting, staffing).
- Technical debt and lifecycle costs: custom systems accumulate unique technical debt and require dedicated expertise for bug fixes, upgrades, and security patches.
- Alignment trade-offs: custom solutions typically increase functional and strategic alignment, not reduce it.

2. Step‑by‑step reasoning
- Custom development produces unique code and integrations.
- Unique artifacts require dedicated ongoing support (developers, sysadmins, documentation, testing).
- Over time, support costs (salaries, patching, compatibility updates) accumulate, increasing TCO.
- Therefore a primary disadvantage of custom solutions is the long-term maintenance commitment.

3. Intermediate details (exemplifying TCO)
- Example: initial build $200k + annual maintenance 15% of build = $30k/year.
- Over 5 years: total = $200k + (5 × $30k) = $350k.
- An off-the-shelf product with license $80k and 20% annual fees ($16k) totals $80k + (5 × $16k) = $160k — showing maintenance commitment drives higher long-term costs for custom builds.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- "Long-term maintenance commitment" directly reflects the ongoing resource, cost, and staffing obligations inherent to custom systems, making it a clear disadvantage.

5. Why other options are incorrect
- "Immediate cost savings": wrong — custom builds usually have higher upfront costs, not immediate savings.
- "Reduced alignment with business needs": wrong — custom solutions are designed to match business needs, so alignment is typically improved.
- "Lower strategic alignment": wrong — custom systems often enhance strategic fit by implementing unique processes and competitive features.

6. Conclusion
The best choice is "Long-term maintenance commitment," which matches the provided correct answer.

Question at position 14 Which of the following is a disadvantage of building custom technology solutions?Immediate cost savingsLong-term maintenance commitmentReduced alignment with business needsLower strategic alignmentClear my selectionSingle choice

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