Build vs Buy: Buy a ready-made platform or develop your own from scratch?

Content:

1. What is a Trading Platform?

2. Buying ready-made trading software: pros and cons

3. Building the trading platform from scratch: pros and cons

4. Trading Platform Designer like an alternative

5. Conclusion

The fintech industry is rapidly evolving, often too quickly. If you want to make your own product or start a business in this field, you should carefully consider the benefits and drawbacks of making your own software versus buying ready-made software. This is especially true in the case of trading software.

1. What is a Trading Platform?

It is a technology developed especially for trading which enables users to open, close, monitor and control the market, and apply an online broker to manage the trades. It may entail a list of additional features, including immediate adding quotes, instruments for charting and doing the research, news feeds etc. This technology may be designed in the main for specific markets (stocks, currencies, options or futures) or cover the larger appeals and serve as a more general tool for trading.

When dealing with trading platforms the most controversial question is rather to buy a ready-made platform or develop a personalized one. In this article, we are dedicated to outline the major advantages and drawbacks of both options to present the most comprehensive picture.

2. Buying ready-made trading software: pros and cons

Advantages

Cost: if the company decides to purchase the completed platform, it pays once and gets the whole package immediately. They do not need to spend money on developing, testing, and maintaining the trading platform. The developers bear the responsibility for conducting the range of these processes. It is rather beneficial for companies on a shoestring budget as well as for those with no intention to invest a fortune in the platform. The price contains a subscription fee providing the access to the platform. Any further requirements such as managing and bug-fixing are fulfilled by the administrators.

Time: Buying a platform turns into an advantage when the time is limited. Having bought the finished version company obtains the instant possibility to apply it in the next trades. The time and money are not spent on developing or employing staff to build it. Special attention should be paid to the next stages after the purchase. These are customization and launching of the platforms. Since every venture has its demands and specialities, every template platform undergoes adjustment. It is not as time-consuming as building the new one but still takes some time. A good option is to consult the vendor on the duration of the adjustment process.

Maintenance: even though the company buys a finished trading platform, it still requires constant circles of maintenance –  administering, debugging, solving technical errors, and improving the platform. Control over this operation is placed on the developers or the company vendor of the platform. So your company should initiate the implementation of the document listing the responsibility each party adds to the maintenance.

Disadvantages

Changes: having decided to buy the trading platform, each company must acknowledge that its flexibility is a stumbling stone for both parties as it needs some modifications in order to meet the requirements.

The same happens with the level of control the company has on the ready platform. Sometimes it is more than essential to participate in the adjusting and customization process and make sure that the platform can be altered according to your needs.

3. Building the trading platform from scratch: pros and cons

Advantages

Customization:  the major lever to convince the entrepreneur to build their own trading platform are the abilities it provides. Personal trading space enables the trading company to reach its customer, manage all operations on their own and create the platform they are really in need of, without adjusting outside platforms.

When traders build their own platform the primary benefit is that the flow is completely controlled by the team and the features they install fulfill the demand of both the clients and the company.

Security: another personal platform’s merit is the privacy. This adds to the security of your venture as the platform code retains in your proprietorship.

Pioneering: whenever you aim to create or add something absolutely unique it turns out to be the strong point of your business between the competitors.  Developing a new platform, adding brand-new features and design. All these steps to perfection of your image would not exist if you opt for buying an existing platform.

Disadvantages

Time: the process of development takes much more time than simple customization. Building from scratch means playing a long-term game and doing prospects into the future. However, when other companies tend to play fast, developing your platform can result in a loss of time. Other companies may already gain the results when your project ends creating.

Employment: to build the platform the company needs to find the professionals to execute it. It is followed by the list of hardships – time on recruitment, eliciting the best candidates along with others cons. Moreover, the risk of failure exists as it is not safe to hire personnel the company has never worked with.

Cost: before resolving to build the trading platform, the company must realize the price it is going to invest. As the bill for development is not exhaustive. Further expenses move to constant support, debugging, updating the platform, and changing it according to new tendencies and demands of the trades market.

4. Trading Platform Designer like an alternative

Fintatech provides an alternative to both options — Trading Platform Designer. It is the algorithm giving you the possibility to create your personal but still already made platform. All necessary components can be included right away. With this Designer you can assign your project the label of your company. Fintatech does not impose labels on its Trading Platform Designer. It is completely adjustable for your needs. Another advantage is instant access to customs broker endpoints or data feeds via API, making it possible for companies to get information about the market.

Fintatech creates ready-made components:

 -Trading Chart Designer

– Trading Platform Designer

– Trading Data Server

5. Conclusion

All these components undergo further development stages and can be adjusted for customers’ appeal. To exclude any problems which may occur, Fintatech provides Support service during the year as well as Maintenance in case it is needed.

Thus, buying and building have both pros and cons. There is no correct choice which to choose. Each company must evaluate their demands and capacities. Fintatech recommends applying our Designer to meet both requirements as it is personalized and can be easily implemented.

In case you have any questions, Fintatech manager is open to answering them. The most customized and highly-developed platforms are the main speciality of Fintatech. We respect trust and cooperation on the way to the achievable result.