# Software selection, requirements, custom development, low-code and shadow IT > Select software in a structured way, gather requirements properly, use custom development and low-code where they belong, and bring shadow IT into order. Decisions that hold for three years. URL: https://techport.ai/en/it-beratung/entwickeln-und-beschaffen --- 1. [IT Consulting](/en/it-beratung)/ 2. Build and Buy Phase 3 # Build and Buy By Redaktion techport.ai, IT-Beratung · Last updated on 21 August 2026 Every new system starts with the same question: buy, build yourself, or change the process so that no system is needed at all. In mid-sized companies the answer often follows sympathy, the last trade fair or whatever the existing provider offers. Three years of consequences follow. A good decision does not need a heavy procedure. It needs clear requirements taken from your own processes, an honest assessment of what you can build, and a comparison in which every vendor has to solve the same task. ## Typical problems * Requirements sit in a spreadsheet as keywords, without priority and without reference to a process. * Vendor comparison runs through presentations in which each vendor shows what they do best. * A custom application depends on a single person who never documented anything. * Every department has bought a tool that IT does not know about and that still processes company data. * Automations run in spreadsheet macros that break with the next office update. ## What we do in this field We derive requirements from your processes, weighted into must, should and could, and turn them into a selection process where vendors work with your data and your script. We assess with you when building yourself makes sense and when it becomes a risk. We use low-code and automation where they deliver quickly, with rules that stop them becoming the next unmaintainable landscape. And we bring existing shadow IT into order without punishing the departments that helped themselves. ## Topics in this field [Using custom development wellWhen building yourself beats the standard, how to avoid dependence on individuals, secure quality, protect source code and rights, and carry the operation long term.](/en/it-beratung/entwickeln-und-beschaffen/individualentwicklung)[Automating processes with low-codeWhere automation pays off, how to use low-code sensibly, which rules stop it becoming the next unmaintainable landscape, and how to measure the benefit.](/en/it-beratung/entwickeln-und-beschaffen/low-code-und-automatisierung)[Gathering requirements properlyHow wish lists become solid requirements: processes as the starting point, prioritisation into must and should, acceptance criteria and a way to handle changes during the project.](/en/it-beratung/entwickeln-und-beschaffen/anforderungsmanagement)[Bringing shadow IT into orderWhy departments buy their own tools, which risks arise, and how to make shadow IT visible, assess it and move it onto an orderly path without punishing the departments.](/en/it-beratung/entwickeln-und-beschaffen/schatten-it)[Focus topicSelecting and introducing softwareHow a software selection succeeds: derive requirements from processes, make vendors comparable with your own script, review contracts, plan migration and secure adoption.](/en/it-beratung/entwickeln-und-beschaffen/software-auswahl) ## Häufige Fragen How long does a proper software selection take? For a departmental system in a mid-sized company we plan eight to twelve weeks from gathering requirements to the decision, about half of that for requirements and market screening. For an ERP, more like four to six months. Deciding faster does not mean deciding faster, it means deciding again later. Are you tied to particular vendors? We know the systems commonly used in the mid-market and advise independently of manufacturers. Where we have partnerships we say so before the selection, not after. The assessment follows your requirements, and the scoring matrix stays with you even if you decide against our recommendation. ## Let us talk about your situation In a thirty minute first call we work out where your biggest lever sits and whether we are the right people for it. [Arrange an initial call](/en/kontakt)[Our software](/en/loesungen) Rt Written by [Redaktion techport.ai](/ueber-uns), IT-Beratung Mehr als 15 Jahre Erfahrung in IT-Projekten des Mittelstands, Auswahl und Einführung von Unternehmenssoftware, Aufbau von IT-Betrieb und Informationssicherheit in wachsenden Organisationen. [More about us](/en/ueber-uns) More from techport.ai [ Software Custom process software for mid-sized companies. ](/en/loesungen)[ HR consulting People processes and the systems behind them. ](/en/hr-beratung)[ IT maturity check Ten minutes to a clear position. ](/en/it-beratung/reifegrad-check)[ HR maturity check 24 statements, a result per field. ](/en/hr-beratung/reifegrad-check)[ Funding BAFA grant plus more than 50 programmes for delivery. ](/en/foerderung)[ Process in practice How workflows become reliable software. ](/en/sop-praxis)[ Data and AI Analysis, forecasts and assistance systems. ](/en/daten-ki)[ About us The people behind techport.ai. ](/en/ueber-uns)