Custom software development can seem like an expensive and large undertaking for any business of any size. Custom Software development plays a big role in areas where a business process does not match up with an off the shelf solution. It can also be applied in areas of repetitive and/or time consuming work. Many business leaders rely on a “Secret” recipe per say. You know that thing that makes your product or service unique in the market compared to your competition. Usually this unique approach to your business requires a custom touch that software that is available in your local store just doesn’t get right. Custom software gives you the flexibility to clearly define the process that makes your unique.

Off the shelf Software vs Custom Software

Off the shelf software is software that can be found in your local stores eg: Best Buy, Staples etc. These software solutions are marketed for general consumption and attempt at solving the majority of the problems in a niche market. For example Microsoft office provides tools for day to day business such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc. What if you had a large excel sheet with well over 25,000 rows and 10 columns that requires you to compare it against a file you have? This is where custom software development comes in.

Custom software development is the process of defining the clearly what the business pains are and designing a solution to address that issue. In our example above a developer could potentially create a piece of custom software that quickly and efficiently finds the records for you. A process that previously was partially done manually is now automated. This process of “automation” reduces errors, increases productivity and in many cases provides clarity in what your business is doing.

Who can utilize custom software?

Business small or large can utilize custom software. The most common reason for having custom or bespoke software developed is because existing software in the market does not align with your business process. Often off the shelf products can be challenging to integrate into your existing business work flow only server as a Band-Aid solution to your problem and don’t normally solve it. Initially the investment into bespoke software might seem high, but it can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

So when should you consider custom software? When you find yourself asking some of these questions.

• Is one more of my critical process unique?
• Is internal communication between department technologies breaking down or non-existent?
• Are some of the business processes slowing you down or repetitive?
• Do my current applications feel outdated or require too many steps?
• Is analysing data from the departments, processes and clients hard to gather or not disposable?

If you answer yes to all or any of these you are are a candidate for custom software.

Advantages of Custom Software Development

There are many advantages to have custom software developed. Here are a few when considering your options:

For Custom Software Development Cycle

A common question I receive is what does your development process looks like. For example Most people think a software developer just sits and writes code until the program is complete but the truth is there is a lot more to it than that.

In conclusion I hope that this answered some of your questions and if you find yourself still unsure contact us and we can see if a custom application is for you.

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