Replace legacy systems, improve processes, accelerate innovation

Off-the-shelf software once promised simplicity, a ready-made tool, quick to deploy, with minimal effort. However, by 2025, the reality is clear: businesses evolve faster than vendors can keep up with. What was once efficient now creates friction.

Your organisation is not average, so why rely on software that is? If your software defines your processes, you are already behind the curve. If your software is shaped by your processes, you are in control.

What is off-the-shelf software?

Off-the-shelf, or commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software, refers to prebuilt applications designed for mass use. Consider tools like Microsoft Office, standard ERP modules, or generic CRM systems. They are quick to implement and cost-effective in the short term, making them attractive to many organisations.

But these systems are built for the average business, not for yours. They can only take you so far before they start holding you back. When your operations evolve, your processes become unique, or your customers expect more, COTS solutions often become a barrier to innovation.

The legacy dilemma

Off-the-shelf or COTS software works great until it does not. Initially, it saves time. Over time, it costs agility.

• Processes get distorted: Teams adapt to the tool rather than the other way around.
• Data becomes siloed: Integrations grow complex and expensive.
• Innovation slows down: You move at the vendor’s pace, not your own.
• Costs creep in: Licences, add ons and workarounds multiply.

What begins as a quick fix soon becomes a bottleneck for growth, especially in industries where speed and compliance are both critical.

From templates to tailor-made: the composable alternative

The answer is not endless custom coding. It is low-code development, building the applications you need at the speed your business demands.

With Mendix, you can design, test and scale applications up to ten times faster than traditional development without sacrificing governance or security. Its composable architecture means every application can evolve independently, enabling continuous innovation as your business changes.

That means:

• Fit for purpose solutions that match your unique workflows.
• Seamless integration across systems, data and devices.
• Faster innovation cycles from idea to production in weeks.
• True collaboration between business and IT, closing the gap between strategy and execution.

It is not just custom software. It’s composable innovation: modular, scalable and future-proof.

Where this matters most

Across industries, the pattern remains the same: legacy systems hinder innovation. Mendix breaks that cycle.

• Manufacturing: Replace outdated shop floor systems and Excel workflows with connected production apps, from digital work instructions to maintenance dashboards.
• Professional Services: Eliminate tool fragmentation and deliver tailored client solutions at speed.
• Life Sciences: Digitise quality and compliance workflows, reducing validation time while staying audit-ready.

In every case, low-code means faster delivery, improved data flow and greater control.

How Ciphix makes it work

At Ciphix, we help organisations outgrow the limits of off-the-shelf software. Our Mendix experts build intelligent, composable applications that replace legacy systems, improve processes and accelerate innovation.

We do this by combining:

• Industry expertise understanding what Manufacturing, Professional Services and Life Sciences truly need.
• Technical excellence as a Platinum and Excellence Mendix Partner with certified low-code specialists.
• A proven approach from ideation to delivery, ensuring your technology evolves with your business.

When your software truly reflects how your organisation works, innovation follows naturally and endlessly.

Ready to move beyond templates?

Legacy systems do not define your business. You do!
Let us build technology that fits your future, not your past.
Contact us to discover what Mendix and Ciphix can do for your organisation.