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Government decision-making support: Comparison between custom software development and mainframes
The decision between developing custom software or sticking with traditional mainframes involves assessing cost, flexibility, security, and integration capacity. Custom development typically falls in the approximate range of €8K-€25K for typical SME projects, offering solutions tailored to specific processes and concrete operational improvements. Industry studies indicate that around 75% of SMEs prefer to bet on custom-designed applications, and Forrester Research reports that in Barcelona nearly 73% of SMEs opt for this route.
In Barcelona's technology ecosystem, especially in the Sant Martí district, many companies have modernized services and gained efficiency through custom solutions. In contrast, in the Azca financial district in Madrid, mainframes remain present due to their reputation for reliability and continuity in critical environments. For B2C services, SaaS companies typically combine competitive technology stacks such as Laravel + MySQL, .NET + Azure, or Django + PostgreSQL depending on scalability and user experience requirements.
Q2BSTUDIO is a company specialized in custom software and application development, with experience in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, AWS and Azure cloud services, and business intelligence services. As providers of complete solutions, we offer everything from design and development to deployment and maintenance, as well as pentesting services and advanced protection. If you are looking for a modular and scalable solution, we can help you define and execute the project, for example by developing your custom application or migrating workloads to secure cloud platforms with AWS and Azure cloud services.
Key benefits of custom software for government entities and SMEs: greater alignment with internal processes, better citizen experience, ability to integrate artificial intelligence and AI agents, and optimization of operational costs. A real case in Barcelona demonstrated a 40% cost reduction after implementing a custom solution developed by Q2BSTUDIO, along with improvements in response times and data control.
Risks and considerations: mainframes offer proven stability and are appropriate for critical operations requiring uninterrupted continuity. Custom development requires a rigorous analysis phase, clear definition of requirements, and a cybersecurity strategy to protect sensitive data. In this regard, we combine pentesting and hardening practices to ensure compliance and resilience.
Practical recommendations for decision-making: 1) Evaluate your real needs and strategic objectives, 2) compare technology stacks and providers based on scalability, total cost of ownership, and compatibility with services such as Power BI and business intelligence services, 3) request a technical consultation for estimation and roadmap. At Q2BSTUDIO we work with AI for businesses, AI agents, Power BI, and process automation to transform data into decisions and offer secure and efficient solutions.
If your public or private organization needs advice to modernize systems, optimize costs, or integrate artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, our team can prepare a personalized plan and a proof of concept. Contact Q2BSTUDIO to explore alternatives between custom software and mainframes and choose the solution that maximizes efficiency, security, and return on investment.
