Who and When Requires Custom Software Services
Every business strives to be unique by bringing something different to the market. Besides, in a world where inefficiency can cost you millions in lost revenue, it comes as no surprise that a majority of businesses have embraced off-the-shelf software to streamline their operations.
However, with each business facing its own distinctive challenges, it is becoming increasingly necessary for businesses to go for custom apps. Although a standard, shared software might seem cheaper and economical, you probably stand to gain more from customized development services.
The big question: is a personalized software service just the thing your company needs to reach new heights, and how do you know when it's time? The following advantages should give you insight on whether you require a tailored app for your enterprise.
Advantages of Having Custom Software in Your Business
Increased Efficiency
Unlike shared software, personalized apps are specially created to fulfill your needs - which goes a long way to improving productivity. Besides, there is no point in spending too much time retraining employees or adjusting your business model altogether so that you can adapt to the introduction of new software. A tailored app will pair with your goals and processes as smoothly as possible.
Security
Have you ever noticed that most of the major data breaches to hit the headlines were done on shared systems? It is the boxed, shared software that criminals have the easiest access to. Moreover, with a hands-on approach to creation of tailored solutions, you can easily specify to the developers on your ideal security measures.
Better Integration at Lower Cost
One of the most significant concerns when considering commercial software is whether it can integrate with the other applications that your business might or already depends on. There are always so many gaps in between. More so, companies have been known to go for several shared applications just to keep everything running smoothly and avoid integration errors.
With a custom software service, however, you can overcome integration issues right from the start. You can always make room for both current and possible future integration needs, thereby cutting on several other costs that might haunt your company down the line.
Independence from the Developers
One major disadvantage of remade solutions is that decisions will always be made by the company that has created it. This leaves you almost entirely dependent on them. Talk of pricing, updates, and terms and conditions, among other factors. If something happens to the company – like bankruptcy or when they can't update their product anymore – you may have to make abrupt and costly changes.
Cut on Unnecessary Costs Related to Unused Features
When you go bespoke on your software, you get only the functions you need and no more. This will not only save you money on extra features but also increase efficiency within your organization. Everyone will only have the features related to your business to focus on, and there'll be lesser confusion. The learning curve for adopting your new software will be shorter as well.
Targeted Software Design
Perhaps the most relevant reason behind going for custom services is that you get a bespoke product, designed to address your specific needs. It is not uncommon for companies to adopt a boxed software alternative, only to find out that it is not as relevant to them as expected.
With tailored software, you get the chance to maintain consistency in your behavior patterns as well as appearance. It allows you to capitalize on your business potential rather than conforming to boxed standards.
Easier Scalability
Unless you have reached your maximum potential and there is no going up anymore for your business, you want to grow. And, as you grow, so will your needs. While a pre-built application might be reasonable during early stages (when your major focus is making the business viable), it may soon be unable to complement your business or get too expensive to keep using.
The more sensible way is, undoubtedly, to go for a solution that can allow you to mature at your own pace and scale up to match your business's growth rate easily. Packaged software solutions are a little too general and simply not cut out to address your issues down to the fine details.
How Do You Tell When Your Business Needs a Tailored Software Solution?
The reality today is that behind every remarkable business is a powerful, efficient software. Of course, many other important factors play a vital role in your success, among them timing. Even the custom software has to come at the right time, or you risk losing sight of your priorities.
So, here is a checklist to help you know when it's time to start looking into a bespoke software solution:
You Are Working as Hard as You Can with no Significant Improvement in Efficiency
You are striving to increase revenue. Perhaps your customer base or product has changed or increased, and the current tools simply can't handle your businesses' new state. You find yourself spending a lot of resources trying to keep running an old platform.
Maybe you've even noticed that your employees are putting up with too much manual work, but the time to complete tasks keeps going up – and so do human errors. You are better off considering a software tailored to your business' demands now.
Your Business Isn’t Keeping Up with Technology
Markets are ever-evolving, and so do business needs. You started with a system that was getting the job done right, but you can feel it getting obsolete with each passing day. Your competitors seem to have more to offer. Rather than holding on to the old way of doing things or waiting for your boxed software vendor to roll out the next update, you might want to look into adopting a customized solution.
Your Customers Aren’t Satisfied, or You're Having a Difficult Time Reaching Them
Every business owner understands the importance of customer relations. Perhaps you've always provided your customers with opportunity and value, but you two are now drifting apart. You are not as active in their favorite social media spaces or can't get actionable feedback from them fast enough. You might need custom tools.
You Are Spending Too Much Time Trying to Solve a Problem that Keeps Coming Back
This is especially true for small businesses and startups – solving the same issues for your clients over and over again. You keep organizing contact information, sending emails and notifications, drawing invoices, and scheduling meetings daily. A personalized software solution could help you automate all these processes, save on time, and allow yourself to focus on other important tasks.
You Company Is Expanding
Businesses often have to expand in terms of products and services offered, target market, expertise, or location. In such a scenario, custom software development services are your choice. You will have a smoother transition and handle the extra/ new tasks more efficiently. It can also enable you to integrate all the information gathered from different sources without a lot of hassle.
Bottom Line
Although often perceived as costly, custom dev services are much more economical and useful in the long run. They are the ultimate fix for your software needs, providing opportunities to solve problems in many ways that are simply not possible or viable with premade applications.
The earlier a business incorporates a software tailored to their unique needs into their processes, the better positioned they are to stay ahead of the competition even as technology and market trends shift.