必要・要る and Need

Here's a mistake I hear in class sometimes (like this afternoon):

• It needs time to develop typing skills
• It needs money for R&D expenses.

The problem is that the subject （主語） of "to need" has to be animate (alive):

• The dog needs food & water.
• Men need a few good friends.
• I need a few more points on the TOEFL test.

 You can probably use "take" for most of the inanimate subjects:

• It takes time to develop typing skills.
• It takes a lot of money to develop a new product.

Or you can use be-verbs:

• Typing skills are time-consuming to develop.
• R&D is expensive.

 Please use English well!