Introduction
If you’re a pork producer evaluating whether you should build your own custom software or license an existing platform, this article is for you.
As a forward-thinker, you probably already know that it has never been more important to look to new technologies and innovative practices to ensure your pigs are alive and comfortable and make your operation as efficient as possible.
And many in the industry are looking to tech for solutions to improve their efficiency because producing more efficiently allows you to remain competitive.
Often producers consider developing new custom software to meet their needs.
Maybe you’ve been considering it too?
Don’t be taken advantage of. This article will help you weigh the pros and cons of such an approach, to help you make an informed decision.
Background
Over the last few years, the team at EveryPig has visited with companies raising over 100,000,000 pigs per year. These businesses range from small, mid-sized, and even large family-owned enterprises. Others are multinational conglomerates.
From this unique viewpoint, we’ve found that many of these businesses have one thing in common: deciding to attempt to build their own software solution, or pay an outside software-development house to create software for them, to rear their pigs more efficiently.
Naturally, having made that decision to improve their business in this way, employees and owners often feel close personal ties to their software vendor and trust them to a fault.
However, despite making this decision for the best of reasons, the unfortunate fact is that we have found the most common result for those who have paid or are paying for custom software to be developed is that IT IS NEVER DELIVERED.
Imagine paying for corn or pigs that just never arrived….week after week, month after month, year after year. Crazy right?
That’s right; imagine paying for corn or pigs that just never arrived….week after week, month after month, year after year. Crazy right? And you certainly wouldn’t want to fall into that trap yourself once you realized it was happening to others in your industry.
Sadly our findings show that this is commonplace in the software development industry, and good pork producers are being taken advantage of (although you probably don’t realize, because it’s not something most producers want to admit to).
It seems that where developing individual custom software is concerned, there are many promises and a fair amount of excuses, but NO PRODUCT DELIVERED.
So, where does that leave you, if you want to tap into the indisputable power of tech to rear your pigs more efficiently and profitably?
Let’s look at the pros and cons in more depth…
Using Software Successfully—Build Your Own vs. License A Proven Solution
When you build your own:
You’re the software builder and boss. The software builder (that’s you) has to decide what goes into the software program, as it gets built from the ground up. Even if you’re not doing the coding yourself, a typical application can take years to develop, so you’ll need to set aside a significant amount of time.
You’re the support team. Are you ready to be on the hook 24/7? Your team will expect ongoing support, bug fixes, upgrades, platform migrations, to keep up with software industry trends, browser updates, and system updates.
You’ll never be done. Developing software is something of a never-ending process. You’ll find software updates and patches are required on a rolling basis to ensure your new app is running smoothly.
It’s expensive. As it’s a home-grown software designed only for your business, you bear the build’s entire cost burden. You also have to pay for ongoing updates and maintenance, so it doesn’t quickly become obsolete, as is the danger with fast-evolving software programs. These costs can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions!).
When you License:
It’s faster. Licensing gives you IMMEDIATE access to the software because it already exists. You don’t need to make any decision other than which day you want to start, and then you just plug ‘n’ play. How much is each month without the software you need costing your business?
It offers customization opportunities. Existing software companies who have products on the market know how to create software, and often can and will customize it for customers.
It’s cheaper. Paying to have software created solely for your company’s use is like buying a 747 jet instead of a ticket. It rarely makes sense to develop your software, when similar products or often more advanced ones already exist and are available now.
You’re able to focus on what YOU do best. Your skillset is rearing pigs, and you are good at it. When you license specialist software, it allows you to stay focused on what you do best, rather than being distracted by tasks that take you away from the profit-centers in your business.
Think of it this way…
If you had to have a heart operation, you’d want the doctor wielding the knife to be a cardiac specialist, and the anesthetist to be a specialist in anesthesia. You’d want specialists, not a generalist doctor who was multi-tasking on ALL the roles. And your business is no different.
To make use of specialized cutting-edge tech in your business, you need a proven solution from the company specializing in software for rearing pigs efficiently…
“With EveryPig, everything I need is in the palm of my hand. It’s giving us a platform that’s more than just data – it’s also a tool to communicate, it’s a tool to work with our veterinarian, and it’s basically an entire Operating System. Anybody who’s not using this app is, in my mind, throwing money away. It’s a game-changer for us.”
Christopher Fasoli, Owner of Bear and the Flower Farm
What’s The Answer? A Proven, Specialist Software Solution
The benefits of Licensing EveryPig’s online telehealth platform for remote, collaborative care, instead of building custom software include:
- Working out of the box. We’ve spent years perfecting the EveryPig platform to work on almost all smart devices, so you don’t have to
- Giving pig owners real-time access to veterinarian care so you can get on top of disease issues fast, without needing to wait for a barn visit
- Enabling veterinarians to efficiently provide top-quality healthcare and advice to dozens of farms daily, without needing to travel to farms in-person
- Increasing farm biosecurity by reducing in-person disease transmission between sites, and enabling faster identification and treatment of disease
- Improved vet coverage, resulting in lower mortality and higher profits in your business
- Specializing in pigs. EveryPig is proven software in use by some of the most advanced pork producers in the world both large and small
Before you build anything, request a FREE Demo of EveryPig’s platform.
Get your free demoEveryPig is the only software solution of its kind, created specifically to meet the needs of pig owners, producers, and veterinarians.
This easy-to-use app is a unique software solution that enables you to collect secure data, collaborate with your team, provide veterinary services in real-time, and track outcomes.
It can be accessed on almost any modern device with a browser and access to the internet, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers, making it simple to use for caregivers, producers, and veterinarians.
Plus, the EveryPig app includes unique, industry-first, artificial intelligence capabilities to provide treatment recommendations, accurately forecast mortalities, and recognize illnesses in post-mortem images, saving veterinarians time, and improving pig health outcomes.
“EveryPig is a way to help drive continuous improvement, not necessarily just for health and welfare monitoring. It’s how we’re going to be more efficient in our business.”
Dr. Brent Carmichael, Manager of Swine Production at RC Family Farms
EveryPig is being rapidly adopted within the pork production industry and is now being used by more than 1,550 pork producers and veterinarians in the United States, Canada, and Brazil.
Here’s what users are saying about EveryPig:
“With EveryPig everything I need is in the palm of my hand. It’s giving us a platform that’s more than just data – it’s also a tool to communicate, it’s a tool to work with our veterinarian, and it’s basically an entire Operating System. Anybody who’s not using this app is, in my mind, throwing money away. It’s a game-changer for us.”
– Christopher Fasoli, Owner of Bear and the Flower Farm
“EveryPig is a way to help drive continuous improvement, not necessarily just for health and welfare monitoring. It’s how we’re going to be more efficient in our business.”
– Dr. Brent Carmichael, Manager of Swine Production at RC Family Farms
With a commitment to global capability, the app is currently available in eight languages, including English, Portuguese, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, and French.
If you would like to reduce disease transmission through remote-working and improve efficiency and pig health outcomes, request a complimentary demo of the EveryPig platform today.
