Bitrix Study Demonstrates the End of the Era of Custom-Built Content Management and Social Intranet Solutions

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February 24, 2011
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Bitrix Study Demonstrates the End of the Era of Custom-Built Content Management and Social Intranet Solutions

Transparent TCO, Predictable Security and Ready-To-Go Functionality of Off-The-Shelf Solutions Deliver Advantages to SMBs in Cutting Implementation Costs, Improving Business Continuity and Evading Development Risks

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, February 24, 2011/PRNewswire/ --     Bitrix, Inc., a technology trendsetter in business
communications, introduces a new study (
http://www.bitrixsoft.com/support/doc/white_papers.php?r1=prnw&r2=bvsb) of
the top five reasons off-the-shelf CMS and social intranet software offer
clear advantages over custom-built solutions. The study demonstrates that the
functionality and availability of off-the-shelf software makes in-house
development obsolete in terms of total cost of ownership, security and
associated risks.

    At present, there is still wide-spread use of custom-built
CMS's to power website management, e-commerce, e-marketing and social
intranet solutions. In reality, off-the-shelf software demonstrates lower
TCO, lower deployment labor costs, faster add-on development and faster
time-to-market compared to custom-built solutions.

    Custom-built solutions entail a wide range of development and
implementation risks. According to the Standish Group, in 2009 only 32% of
software projects were considered to be successful while 44% were partially
successful and 24% simply failed. Considered along with the limited ability
to evaluate and predict the whole range of required functionality, these
risks make it nearly impossible to estimate the solution's TCO or to take
into account the necessary security measures.

    The security aspect of custom-built solutions often appeals to
the fact they are more secure due to their limited usage and proprietary
architecture. In fact, the security here is better described as unpredictable
rather than robust. For developers who do not specialize in security, it is
hard to address all the relevant issues, let alone that security is a moving
target. Conversely, off-the-shelf software vendors normally adhere to secure
development practices, integrate security frameworks (
http://www.bitrixsoft.com/products/cms/security.php?r1=prnw&r2=bvsb) and
regularly release free product updates. As a result, custom-built solutions
have a greater vulnerability to targeted attacks and likelihood of
application backdoors, inadvertent or otherwise, left by programmers. To
ensure the solution's security, organizations must perform third-party
security testing and code audits that significantly increase costs.

    Importantly, the highly-publicized vendor lock-in problem
clearly misleads organizations about the nature of the issue. With
custom-built solutions, organizations fall into dependence on internal
development teams or third-party consultants - leading to much greater
continuity risks in comparison to established software vendors.

    The custom functionality to address specific business needs is
another myth that doesn't stand up to criticism in the current market of
off-the-shelf CMS software. Solutions now cover a wide range of business
requirements based on thorough market research and customer feedback from the
product's installed base. Additionally, the availability of an open API,
source code and community support in a hybrid-licensed CMS (for example,
Bitrix Site Manager (http://www.bitrixsoft.com/products/cms/?r1=prnw&r2=bvsb)
and Bitrix Intranet (
http://www.bitrixsoft.com/products/intranet/?r1=prnw&r2=bvsb) opens up a wide
range of opportunities for customization, integration with legacy business
applications and true software ownership.

    On the flip side, custom-built solutions conceal certain
business drawbacks both for organizations needing CMS software, third-party
consultants and web development companies. In-house development distracts
resources from the core competence and makes it a rather questionable
investment with recurring expenses.

    Learn more details about advantages of the off-the-shelf CMS
over custom-built solutions in a dedicated white paper
http://www.bitrixsoft.com/support/doc/white_papers.php?r1=newsltr&r2=bvsb

    About Bitrix, Inc.

    Bitrix is a privately-owned company developing an advanced
business communications platform to bridge SMBs with their customers
(Internet), partners (Extranet) and employees (Intranet). Founded in 1998 and
headquartered in Alexandria, VA, Bitrix is rated #3 most popular commercial
CMS by W3Techs with 50,000+ installations and 6,000+ partners worldwide. The
company's products are distinguished for their pioneering technology,
hybrid-licensing approach, unique security features, performance and
ease-of-use.

Source: Bitrix, Inc.

Denis Zenkin, Marketing Director, Bitrix, Inc., +1-703-740-8301, denis.zenkin@bitrixsoft.com

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