What I can't understand is if EQUIP is (was) good, how come it hasn't continued to be developed?
Meanwhile (and briefly stated), reasons for developing your own system include:-
1) You retain full control
2) You get it to do exactly what you want it to
3) You don't need to stump up £££ thousands in the first instance (and often every year or so thereafter)
Also ... what happens when the developer of the off-the-shelf system decides they can "no longer support" your system (by which time you have become dependent upon it)?
Meanwhile, there is a Middle Way, and one that we may refer to (with some degree of accuracy) as the "Joe Emmerson Model" - where you adopt a well-known proprietary system, then mould it into what you want by a series of "add-ons" of your own devising.
