Quote:
Originally Posted by borked
How can a premade affiliate software package cost up to $10,000 less per month?
I like NATS a lot but I don't think it's worth the $20k purchase price (I know, monthly leasing is less, which is affordable for small operations). A custom built solution if well made would cost a lot less to make and contain exactly, and only the features you need. I don't think processors modify their APIs that often to say upkeep of a custom built solution is costly and a pain - a processor is but a module plugin to a well-built system, and would contain what, 50-100 lines of code. Hardly a pain to modify.
I wonder if you've ever dealt with a well-built web app, built on a MVC-style framework? Because I can tell you, upkeep is not a hassle at all and adding new modules is so simple that working with such a framework is indeed a pleasure.
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Well when I had my own backend, twice now. With the first, I had 6 coders and 2 admins. Let's just say the average pay was $50k a year, that's $400k a year or $33k a month.
Reduce that to nats at $150-$600 a month and it has no way of catching up. I have no idea what TMM charges today for NATS, but if it's $20k that's still cheaper than paying staff month after month to maintain affiliate software, correctly. You could go with nats, higher an advanced programmer and a full-time person to manage your nats and save $25,000 a month.
You must have multi-coders on your own software, and all must know the backend equally.. if your main guy quits, you would be screwed otherwise. If he's sick or the wrong group sick, you're boned. When a normal project ends, nobody has to learn it over again. NATS has advantages...
Processors change all the time, for sure when you have a group of them to deal with. They require someone to continually monitor them for post issues, failures, and other various problems and changes - most of which you are never notified about and must discover yourself.