 pioneering new technologies, products or Chapter 4 - Developing an OSS Strategy business models, the cost and time in customizing an application may be such that it is better for the IIC to build instead of buy. Some earlier adopters of the Internet, for example, built custom Web portals in the absence of viable packages at that time. For the most part, IICs are using similar, proven approaches and technologies; therefore, the majority of the OSS solutions the market requires are now commercially available. Buying a package has several advantages over building - including shorter implementation time, lower cost and less risk. Package solutions provide core functionality that can enable the business very quickly, and generally with a lower cost than building alone. Package vendors can share development costs among many customers, hence developing significant economies of scale. Risk is also lower since package solutions, by definition, are commercially viable and often used by many customers. Tested both internally and through a variety of customer configurations, package solutions climb the experience curve faster than internally developed applications. One final consideration is the IIC's level of internal IT expertise. OSS vendors generally have well-developed application development, testing and maintenance methodologies to go along with disciplined processes. Many IICs recognize that IT is not their core competency and can be a major distraction. They would rather choose to keep their IT departments small and leverage package solutions. BIG BANG VS. PHASED DEPLOYMENT Once the decision to build or buy is made, the next step is deciding on a general implementation strategy. There are two main avenues IICs tend to pursue. One is known as the "big bang" method, where an IIC selects its applications and vendors up front and looks to deploy an entire OSS suite in one significant effort. A more common and often more successful approach involves a phased strategy, where applications, functions and processes are prio