Many screening companies think that’s the way to go. However, here are some facts that you might like to consider before taking a decision.

Table 1 – In-house development effort & cost – an estimate

Table 2 – In-house development – On-going maintenance and support cost

• In 3 years, with a market-proven screening operations technology platform YOU SAVE
• In-house development: One-time cost + maintenance/support cost = A+B  = Rs. 77.01 Lakhs
• Checks-360 (approximate cost of enterprise edition)                                           = Rs. 54.00 Lakhs
• SAVINGS                                                                                                                         = Rs. 23.01 Lakhs

That was the financial comparison. Next, it is important to ask yourself the following questions from a business perspective and answer them candidly if you are contemplating developing your technology platform in-house OR you have developed one and are continuing to maintain and manage the platform –

• 1. The cream of talent in the software industry has always opted to work with software services companies rather than end-user companies. Therefore, will you be able to handle the demands of your clients to have in place a highly efficient, scalable and secure technology platform? Even if you find the talent, will you be able to hold on to them?
• 2. A mature product, like Checks360, is developed taking in the good practices followed by various screening companies. Will your in-house team be able to deliver this breadth and depth of industry knowledge?
• 3. As a business owner or senior manager of a background screening company, on what should your prime focus be? Should that focus be on building your business or should it be on managing a team of programmers and their needs?

The conclusion is very clear.  In this day and age of rapidly changing technology landscape, developing a platform in-house, is a costly distraction to your business focus.