Question at position 11 Which of the following is a disadvantage of building custom technology solutions?Long-term maintenance commitmentLower strategic alignmentReduced alignment with business needsImmediate cost savingsClear my selection单项选择题
A
Long-term maintenance commitment
B
Lower strategic alignment
C
Reduced alignment with business needs
D
Immediate cost savings

Question

Question at position 11 Which of the following is a disadvantage of building custom technology solutions?Long-term maintenance commitmentLower strategic alignmentReduced alignment with business needsImmediate cost savingsClear my selection单项选择题

A

Long-term maintenance commitment

B

Lower strategic alignment

C

Reduced alignment with business needs

D

Immediate cost savings

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Custom-built technology is tailored to an organization’s needs, so it usually requires ongoing ownership and upkeep — hence a long-term maintenance commitment.

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Custom solution: software or systems developed specifically for an organization’s requirements rather than using off‑the‑shelf products.
- Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): includes initial development plus ongoing maintenance, updates, bug fixes, security patches, and support staff.
- Strategic alignment vs. operational overhead: custom systems tend to align better with business needs but create operational responsibilities.

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- Step 1: Identify the nature of custom builds — they are bespoke and not supported by broad vendor ecosystems.
- Step 2: Determine likely consequences — because only your organization (or a contracted developer) understands the unique codebase, you need to maintain it over time: fix defects, adapt to changing requirements, apply security updates, and ensure compatibility with other systems.
- Step 3: Compare each answer option with these consequences:
  - "Long-term maintenance commitment" directly describes the ongoing obligations that follow custom development.
  - "Lower strategic alignment" contradicts the typical benefit of custom solutions (they increase alignment).
  - "Reduced alignment with business needs" is likewise contrary to the main purpose of customization.
  - "Immediate cost savings" is usually false: custom development typically has higher upfront costs.

3. Intermediate “calculation” (conceptual)
- Upfront cost + (annual maintenance × years) = TCO. For custom builds, annual maintenance is often significant, increasing TCO over time — illustrating the long-term commitment.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
Long-term maintenance commitment captures the primary disadvantage: ongoing resource allocation for support, updates, and staffing. This is a predictable and direct downside of choosing custom over standardized solutions.

5. Why other options are incorrect
- "Lower strategic alignment" and "Reduced alignment with business needs" are generally advantages of custom solutions, not disadvantages.
- "Immediate cost savings" is incorrect because custom solutions typically require higher initial investment, not savings.