Speed vs. tailored fit: Navigating the time-to-market trade-off

A faster time to market is a critical factor that can give you a competitive edge over business rivals.

To deliver a dependable, scalable application that includes reporting and embedded analytics to market quickly,  are crucial but one must consider speed vs. tailored fit time-to-market dynamics in the build or buy decision-making process.

The build vs. buy dilemma

When developing software, you have the option to either build or buy the reporting and embedded analytics component. In-house production of the tool offers full control over features which can be tailored to match specific business processes and workflows, but that costs time.

Buying a ready-made reporting and embedded analytics component is faster to deploy inside your application, but it creates a dependency on the vendor for further development.

This strategic decision is multi-faceted but one in which Jaspersoft's flexibility and performance is a key differentiator. Here are some scenarios that could determine whether to build or buy the reporting and analytics component:

When speed is the priority

If you're trying to address an urgent challenge or make use of the well-developed features of an industry-standard reporting tool, buying an existing solution offers:

Advantages

• Rapid deployment: Pre-built tools cut out the need for development and facilitate faster rollout.

• Lower upfront cost: There's no need for in-house infrastructure or support teams.

• Industry expertise: Trusted vendors have proven capabilities built on field-tested requirements.

• Low maintenance burden: Vendors manage updates without internal effort.

Trade-offs

• Delays: Integrating a new tool into existing workflows takes time.

• Vendor lock-in: Software roadmap and support remain with the supplier.

• Feature gaps: Bought software may not fully align with unique workflows.

• Scalability limits: Some solutions may not scale efficiently as business needs grow.

Jaspersoft can be custom fit for long-term value

Most applications take between 3 to 12 months to develop. If no existing software meets your needs, building may be the only option. Custom development gives full control over design, functionality, and scalability.

This matters most when technology drives competitive advantage. Your business can shape the reporting and embedded analytics software around your exact needs instead of adapting operations to fit a vendor’s tool.

Benefits of building

• Full ownership: The roadmap remains in the business’s hands.

• Scalability: Can adapt rapidly without relying on third-party API limitations.

• Tailored functionality: Features solve business-specific problems.

• Cost control: There are no licensing or per-user fees.

Trade-Offs

• Slower: Custom builds take time to launch.

• Higher upfront costs: Development and testing require upfront investment.

• Talent reliance: Success hinges on skilled developers.

• Maintenance burden: You are responsible for updates and performance tuning.

The unique capability Jaspersoft offers 

General BI software like Power BI typically requires users to switch between tools to be able to act on insights and their embedded analytics capabilities remain secondary to their main offering. They offer limited control over formatting and place little emphasis on precise layout customization. This switch creates a pain point that can delay delivery to market. 

Embedded analytics adds real value to your application by reducing churn and boosting usage. Jaspersoft is architecture agnostic, so you can embed reporting and analytics without limits if your environment runs on AWS, Azure, Docker, Google Cloud, a mix of them, or some other software.

What you need is a platform like Jaspersoft that offers a balanced embedded analytics solution with the following features:

Pixel-perfect reporting

Jaspersoft's report designer offers full control over scripts, macros, and group data sorting. Reports export cleanly to formats like PDF, Excel, and HTML, exactly as designed.

White labeled reporting

Using an API-first approach enables developers to seamlessly push out reporting and analytics that looks native to your application. 

Jaspersoft also provides reports and dashboards that can be styled to match the design of an existing application. Built on  REST web services (4:07) with an HTML5/CSS interface, it lets developers fully tailor the look and feel of the new platform for a consistent user experience.

Ad hoc and self-service reporting

Jaspersoft excels at delivering self-service reporting with built-in flexibility. End users can take advantage of Jaspersoft's Ad hoc designer, that supports pivoting, drilling, interactive, and filtering charting to create custom reports on demand

The platform strikes a balance between control and customization that makes it ideal for businesses that prefer dynamic reporting in a structured environment.

Wide-ranging deployment support

You can deploy Jaspersoft nearly anywhere, such as:

• Cloud

• Hybrid

• On-premise ecosystems

• Combined environments

• Behind a firewall

• White-labeled environments

Its architecture-agnostic framework ensures easy embedding of reports and analytics into any application setup.

The platform also facilitates containerization support and can integrate with Docker.

Case studies

Here are some illustrative scenarios decision-makers face when deciding to build or buy, or selecting one software over another.

DAT Freight & Analytics

DAT needed to replace Oracle Forms and began seeking recommendations. One name kept coming up—Jaspersoft. DAT now uses Jaspersoft to power reporting for over 300 transportation management system (TMS) customers. 

DAT chose Jaspersoft for its fast report migration, which has reduced manual migration work by over 80%. It powers over 300,000 reports monthly and supports self-service customization with 99.9% uptime. Jaspersoft delivers actionable insights across 125,000 monthly truckloads.

Jaspersoft connects to DAT’s database to generate pixel-perfect documents like invoices, receipts, and bills of lading. The platform also delivers historical reports that help brokers analyze routes and monitor performance to help make informed business decisions regarding future plans.

RKW Group

RKW, a leading manufacturer of film-based packaging solutions, evaluated several reporting tools, including Power BI. Jaspersoft stood out for its pixel-perfect reporting and ability to handle granular production data from 14 MES-connected sites.

Jaspersoft now powers RKW's reports and offers the following benefits that others couldn't:

• Shift-level traceability

• Machine downtime tracking 

• Inventory insights

• Dynamic, printable reports

• REST integration

A custom web app feeds user inputs into Jaspersoft and delivers precise insights to every team member. Team leads receive daily updates without logging in thanks to Jaspersoft's scheduled reporting. RKW reduced 430 legacy reports to just 29 purpose-built ones with pixel-perfect reporting. 

Lexmark

Lexmark's rapid customer growth exposed the limits of its existing analytics architecture to scale. Reporting tools failed under large datasets, dashboards stalled, and developers spent too much time writing custom APIs. 

To meet increasing demand, Lexmark chose Jaspersoft for its turnkey solution, scalability, and speed. Jaspersoft offered a reliable engine that aligned with Lexmark's multi-tenant security model. 

Its REST APIs allowed seamless embedding into web and mobile apps. Developers could now build UX-friendly dashboards that reduced training needs and improved customer satisfaction. Users could now create reports fast, and Jaspersoft facilitated scaling across millions of records.

Why Jaspersoft is the best for speed and tailored fit

Jaspersoft offers the speed of off-the-shelf software with the tailored fit of a custom-built solution. It supports pixel-perfect reporting, an API-first design, and embedded analytics capabilities to give developers full control over look, feel, and integration.

End users benefit from flexible ad hoc and self-service features that allow them to create customized reports on demand. Jaspersoft offers support for white-labeled environments, architecture-agnostic deployment, and containerization with Docker integration.

Jaspersoft's advanced features help teams cut time-to-market. It also empowers users across all across roles, whether they are developers or frontline staff. Jaspersoft’s commercial edition is suitable across a range of industries including manufacturing, aviation, and logistics.

Related Resources