Homeowner Benefits of Configurable Software

Destiny Networks is to the connected home what Quicken™ is to home finances. Today, you can use Quicken to manage your home finances or you could hire a computer programmer to write a custom home financial management program for you. Similarly, you can hire a custom programmer to create software for your home or choose Destiny Networks' configurable software application to manage all the electrical systems in your home including lights, HVAC, entertainment systems, spas, curtains, fireplaces, and more. Configurable software wins hands down over custom programming for the following reasons.

Price. The price of Quicken is less than $100. Compare this to what it would cost to hire a programmer for weeks and or months, depending on how many features are programmed in. Destiny Networks' configurable software offers similar price benefits over custom programming.

Functionality. Quicken has been built upon the ideas of thousands of users providing feedback and requesting new features. Similarly, with Destiny Networks' software, the homeowner benefits from the combined knowledge of experienced programmers and users.

User Interfaces. Designing user interfaces that are easy to use and powerful is a very difficult job. Most commercial software companies put teams on user interface design and then test market them with their users. Destiny Networks offers a choice of different user interfaces to meet customer needs.

Delivery time. Once the decision to do computer-based financial management is made, it is only a matter of hours to buy and configure Quicken, where it would be months until the custom program is written. Similarly, Destiny Networks' products are ready to go straight from the box to be easily integrated and quickly up and running in the home.

Reliability. Commercial software goes through a long stringent test process, starting with QA, alpha and beta testing. New features are regression tested to make sure they don't affect the existing program. Most importantly, when bugs are found they get fixed and are available for distribution throughout the entire customer base.

Support. A programmer who writes a program is certainly capable of fixing bugs, as long as the code is well documented or while it's fresh in his mind. But being dependent on a single person for support may be risky. The programmer could move, change careers, or just be on vacation when an important bug strikes.

Flexibility and expandability. Both Quicken and Destiny Networks add new features annually while the entire system is compatible with previous versions. Of course, custom programming offers infinite flexibility as long as the programmer is employed. If the programmer is employed on other jobs, then the custom program may stagnate.

Scalability. As a business model, writing custom software is feasible, but it cannot reach the mass market. All mass market examples of technology are configurable for a reason; they lower the price per user as the cost for an incremental copy of the software is minimal. A low price allows for a broader network of users.

For all of the reasons listed above, Quicken sells thousands and thousands of copies a year while almost nobody hires a programmer to have a custom home financial management software program written for them. Destiny Networks offers the same benefits in the home automation market. Just like no two people have identical finances, no two people have identical homes. But software can be configured to accommodate for the features and preferences of different individuals without resorting to custom programming.

 

 

Homeowner Benefits

 

Integrator Benefits

 

Configurable Software Application White Paper