Have you been searching for the right software for your business? Have you struggled to find a solution that fits your needs within your budget? You’re not alone. That’s why so many businesses turn to custom software, also known as bespoke software.
With With the help of a reputable custom software development company, businesses are creating their own unique, customized software solutions to enhance their everyday processes and increase their bottom dollar.
What Is Custom Software?
Custom software is built specifically for a client. A business either uses an in-house team of software developers or partners with a custom software development company to define exactly what they want and need in a software application. After determining must-have features, the development team will get to work and create custom software to the exact specifications the client has requested.
Custom software is different from packaged or off-the-shelf software. With off-the-shelf software, you get pre-made software developed to offer the same features and functionalities for every business or person that purchases it. There are no customization opportunities, and you often end up paying for features you don’t want or paying additional for features you want to add on.
If off-the-shelf software offers everything your business needs, it may be the solution you’re looking for. It’s easy to budget for with a consistent monthly charge, and you have no ownership or responsibility for the software, meaning its maintenance is left up to the manufacturer.
However, if you find that you’re purchasing multiple off-the-shelf software applications to meet your needs or you still haven’t found one software solution to fit the bill, custom software may be the better option for you and your business.
Performing a cost-benefit analysis can help you make an informed decision and will leave you feeling confident, regardless of whether you choose to stick to off-the-shelf software or develop custom software.
Custom Software Development Companies
If you don’t already have an experienced, robust development team available in-house, you’ll most likely need to partner with a custom software development company.
Custom software development companies specialize in bringing custom software dreams to life with the help of custom software developers. They will work with you to determine your must-have features, develop a budget, discuss realistic expectations, establish a timeline, and more. A qualified, reputable software development company excels at communication. Whether you need to adjust plans or uncover issues during the development process, they’re available to keep you informed and can have a project manager dedicated to keeping your software projects on track.
One of the major benefits of custom software development companies are their long-term partnership capabilities. As we’ll discuss in more detail later, these companies can offer ongoing maintenance and support, even after your custom software application has launched. So, if your software runs into problems or you need to upgrade your custom solution to fit your business needs, your custom software partner is available to help.
Custom Software Development Benefits
Custom software is a popular option in various industries because of the many, many benefits it offers. The advantages of custom software range from cost effectiveness to ongoing maintenance. Let’s take a look at how tailor-made software can improve your company.
Cost Savings
Do you pay more than you’d like to for your current software?
With customized software, you pay for exactly what you want and nothing you don’t need. Unlike commercial off-the-shelf software, you won’t be stuck with unnecessary features or be forced to pay extra for functionalities or users that aren’t included in the standard package.
Plus, with custom software, you don’t have to worry about surprise increases on monthly subscription fees, as you would with shelf solutions. Typically, you’ll own the code to your own customized software, so you can skip the subscription and licensing fees altogether.
Scalability
Are you looking to grow your business or keep up with the rapidly changing industry?
Your business isn’t stagnant. It grows as you develop more products and obtain more customers. Your software should be able to grow with it.
Whether you need your software to handle more users, want to add new features, or need to modify business processes to fit new procedures, your custom software development team can scale and grow your software with your company.
With custom software, the project doesn’t have to end after the initial launch. Your development team can continually evolve and grow your software as you need them to.
Software Integration
Does your company find value in and enjoy using your current software?
Perhaps you don’t need completely new, overhauled software. Instead, you’d like to build new software that complements what you already have or you’d like to update and modernize a legacy system.
With a custom software development team, you can build a software application that can be integrated into your current software or partner applications. That way, you can continue to use what works while customizing it further to meet your needs.
Increased Productivity
Are your employees forced to do things the hard way or use lengthy workarounds?
Custom software gives you the chance to streamline your business operations, making your company more efficient and, therefore, more profitable. By building and using custom software that fits your exact needs, you can save time and money with streamlined processes and interdepartmental software that improves data analytics, making data easily accessible anywhere in the company.
As a result, your employees will be able to complete work faster and can quickly check off low-priority to-dos, so they can focus on more important, high-dollar tasks.
Security and Compliance
Do you need to maintain specific industry security or compliance regulations?
With custom software, you can ensure your applications take advantage of the highest security and most advanced technologies available. You can protect your company’s and your customers’ sensitive, private data by identifying and addressing risks and issues during development.
With the help of a custom software development company, you can also ensure your company meets any necessary compliance standards, such as HIPAA or other government regulations, like DFARS.
Maintenance
Does your staff waste time waiting on system updates or support tickets?
One of the biggest perks of custom software is the continuous technical support and maintenance you can receive from your custom software partner. Whether you run into bugs down the road or your business processes change and the software needs to be adjusted, you can turn to your development team to continually create software that works best for you and your business.
With the off-the-shelf software, on the other hand, you have no control over issues or updates. Your software is left at the mercy of the manufacturer.
Competitive Advantage
Do you want to offer more than your competitors can?
When a business buys off-the-shelf software, they are receiving the same functionalities as many other players in the industry. As a result, there are significantly less opportunities for them to have a competitive, unique advantage against their rivals.
Examples of Custom Software
The possibilities are endless when it comes to custom software projects. Anything you can envision can be brought to life by the right development team. But let’s take a look at some common examples of custom software and how they can benefit your business.
Web and Mobile Apps
Are you looking for custom software that can be accessed from anywhere at any time?
When businesses decide that developing custom software is the right choice for them, they often have a web or mobile application in mind.
A web application is a computer program that uses a web browser to perform tasks. While a standard software program must be downloaded and used locally on a device, web applications can be accessed anytime, anywhere with an internet connection and a browser available.
If you find yourself checking your email, playing a game, or writing a paper on a browser, you’re using web-based apps. Because of the flexibility and accessibility of web application development, it’s become one of the most popular custom development options.
Mobile apps are similar to web applications in terms of flexibility and accessibility. In some ways, they’re even the same. But while web applications can be used on desktops and mobile devices with browsers and cellular data or internet available, mobile applications are only accessible on the operating system they’re designed for, such as Android or IOS. They can only be downloaded through an app store and stored on the device.
Mobile apps are more difficult to build because they require highly specialized development and are built to be stored, which makes them less cost-effective. If you can only choose one option, consider how and where your users will primarily be using your application.
If you’re looking to design a software product that your employees only access from their company tablets, perhaps a mobile app is the best choice. But if you’re planning to offer your custom applications to a wider audience who may be using it on various platforms, then web application might be the right choice for you.
E-commerce Solutions
Is your business trying to sell products or services online?
There’s a good chance you’ve used an e-commerce solution at some point in your lifetime, even if you didn’t realize it at the time. E-commerce products allow users to sell and purchase goods and services online.
Think of any of your favorite major retailers. They probably have a website or bespoke mobile app that allows you to browse items, add products to your cart, purchase the items, and even handle shipping. That’s an example of an e-commerce software solution. Similarly, if a company uses billing software to handle invoicing and payments for services provided, they’re using an e-commerce solution.
There are some off-the-shelf solutions available for e-commerce products, such as Shopify or QuickBooks, but businesses may find that the software currently on the market doesn’t offer the configurability or power they need to run their company effectively. A custom software solution, on the other hand, can be built to meet the exact needs of a business.
CRM and ERP Systems
Do you find yourself flipping between many existing software applications to get one job done?
ERP Systems, which stands for Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, is large-scale software designed to integrate various departments and roles in an organization, so your team can perform all their tasks in one central location.
Enterprise software can look different for every company, depending on their needs and wants. But in short, enterprise software is any solution that handles most of a business’s tasks or solves various problems across an organization.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is one popular enterprise software option. With CRM software, your business can merge information and processes for all your customer-facing employees in departments like marketing, sales, and customer support.
By doing so, your teams can easily access accurate, up-to-date information on the customers they’re working with every day without having to switch between applications or request information outside of their own department.
Ultimately, customer relationship management software saves time, requires less effort, and enables your employees to focus on building customer relationships rather than keeping up with mundane daily tasks. You may already be familiar with some off the shelf products available for CRM, such as Salesforce and HubSpot CRM.
These off the shelf products are great options for some companies, but others find that they don’t provide some of the features they need while requiring them to pay for features they don’t. A free consultation with a software development company can help you determine if the decision to build custom software will be more cost-effective for you in the long run.
Find Your Custom Software Partner Today
If you’re considering custom software solutions for your business, a custom software development company can make it easy. At Geneca, we bring years of varied experience in custom software, helping you to navigate the process successfully no matter your industry.
Contact us today to discuss whether custom software would be an asset to your company!
FAQS
What is a custom application software?
Custom application software is designed to provide all the features you need and want without making you pay for features you don’t need. Unlike packaged software, custom application software is owned by you, so you never have to worry about licensing fees or monthly billing costs. Plus, custom application software is scalable and can grow with your business.
What is an example of custom software?
Custom software can be any type of software that’s tailored to your specific needs and goals. Whether you’re looking for a project management solution or a large enterprise resource planning system, custom software can identify and resolve issues you face every day.
How do you build custom software?
The software development life cycle is used to build custom software by completing each of the steps iteratively until the project is complete. A team of business leaders, analysts, and developers design, develop, test, launch, and maintain the software, making sure it meets the needs of its users every step of the way.