Since my earlier blog post on optimizing your software development sourcing strategy, we have published a report I co-authored with Mike Gilpin on this same topic: "Update Your Application Development Sourcing Strategy To Drive Innovation and Differentiation." In this report, we explain how:

For firms that value innovation and differentiation highly in the software they deliver, it turns out that the right answer is neither just hiring a bunch of developers to build a strong internal team nor just tapping outsourcing firms to work around lacking the internal talent you need to excel. Firms that excel at this today are taking a mixed approach, one that's tailored specifically to meet the unique requirements of delivering differentiating and high-value software.

How are you doing it? Can you really innovate or differentiate with a packaged app without falling into the trap of writing a huge amount of custom code?

Are you having more success with custom or with packaged apps when it comes to innovation or differentiation?

Is the internal versus external talents decision-making different for packaged versus custom apps?

Share your experience on any of the above questions with us.