In the modern digital world, it is prudent for businesses to go digital in order to achieve rapid growth. A lot of companies are content with generalized software solutions. But customization of software according to your specific needs can be more beneficial if you are in for the long haul.
Today we look at custom software development and how it can enhance your business growth. Before looking at the advantages of custom software, let us look at what exactly custom software development is.
What is Custom Software Development?
The process of designing software architecture that is specifically attuned to the particular needs of a business of the company is called ‘Custom Software Development.
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Customized Software Examples: A software custom-designed for a law firm specializing in real estate would come under the process of custom software development.
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Commercial Off-the-shelf Software: A generalized commercial software (like MS PowerPoint or WhatsApp) that is used by a business without getting a customized software service designed is called COTS (Commercial Off-the-shelf) software.
Custom software is also called ‘Bespoke software.’ ‘Bespoke’ is a tailoring term that literally means ‘made for a particular customer or user.’ So, in the same way, a bespoke cloth is specially tailored for a particular person; bespoke software is specifically designed for a particular business.
Different Categories of Custom Software Development
There are primarily two categories or processes of designing custom software for a company:
1. Legacy Custom Software Development
It is also called Fully Custom Software Development. Here, the custom software development process starts from scratch. And no pre-designed or open-source software libraries are used.
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Advantage: Allows in-depth customization, and a high degree of flexibility can be achieved.
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Disadvantage: Legacy custom software development can be very costly, as well as time-consuming.
2. Modern Systems Custom Software Development
In this, the software development process is expedited by the use of pre-developed or openly available software libraries and codes. It is also called ‘Partial Custom Software Development.
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Advantage: The software development process here is less time-consuming. Also, it is less costly than legacy custom software.
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Disadvantage: While there are ample software libraries available for free use, there is still an element of rigidity associated with this process.
Top Custom Software Development Benefits for Business Growth
Let us now look at the advantages of custom software a business can derive to ensure rapid and consistent growth.
1. Synchronization between Business Needs and Solutions
Each and every business is unique, and its needs and internal processes are different. A custom-built software in sync with these needs will not only reduce hassles for the business but can actually aid its growth as well.
Businesses can often start by using commercial off-the-shelf software, only to realize later that it is unsuitable for their functioning. The commercial software simply can not have all the features that your business requires. Even if it does, the functions that you require might not be easy to use in that software. Often, a business might have to use a combination of many COTS software.
2. Aids Scalability of Business
As a business grows, its software needs grow exponentially. Using COTS software after a point might be untenable. At the same time, commercial software might impede your growth prospects by limiting your functions or rendering them time-consuming.
In the face of stiff competition in the modern business world, small delays or inefficiencies can peg your business back. No matter how innovatively the processes are designed around ready-made software, they will never match the efficiency of custom-made software.
While custom software development demands investment, it is a driver of fast business growth. Plus, if a business has software that is easy to scale up with the growth of the company, half the battle is already won.
3. Integration with Existing Hardware and Software
Customized software can be tailored to integrate with your existing hardware and software easily. Commercial software is built for generalized usage and is built keeping a lot of individual and business user types in mind.
Therefore, when COTS software is brought in to work with your existing software framework, it usually does not work out. There is a high chance of frequent crashes and errors. It is difficult to resolve compatibility issues in this case.
A custom software development process, however, is designed keeping your existing software ecosystem in mind. At every stage of development, inputs and feedback from the technical team are factored in. And therefore, integration with the pre-existing framework is never a problem. Also, even if there are issues in integration, they are resolved pretty quickly in custom software development.
Similarly, integration with company hardware is also not a problem, as the code is built keeping the hardware in mind. The capabilities and specifications of your hardware are taken into account before designing the custom software. It is determined in advance what type of software the existing hardware would be able to run.
4. Easier Crisis and External Threat Management
With COTS software, a crisis or an issue with the software provider can have significant ramifications for your business. If the server of the software provider crashes, all the processes of your business are halted in their tracks. In this case, one can only hope for a quick resolution of issues the service provider is experiencing. It is not possible at the exact moment of crisis to opt for a new provider as well.
On the other hand, the custom software is built for and managed by us. We can ourselves locate the cause of the malfunction and rectify it at the earliest. So it is easier to manage any crisis, and the resolution of the crisis is in our own hands.
Cyber crimes are always a source of headache for any company in the digital sphere. While commercial software providers have entire teams to prevent cyber crimes, criminals nevertheless target these companies the most. The reason is that hackers have more to gain from breaching a large software provider, than going after a single niche company with custom software.
Also, cybercriminals generally avoid going into the pains of understanding the vulnerabilities of custom software that is not freely available. Breaching a custom software offers them lesser booty as well.
5. Upgrades and New Features are Predictable
As opposed to COTS software, one can decide the timing and content of upgrades in custom software. As and when the need arises, one can upgrade the custom software. Also, the service provider of COTS software might suddenly increase the license fee of the service. In custom software, we can incorporate the necessary updates at a time when the company can afford it financially.
Also, if a COTS provider suddenly decides to discontinue a product, all the employees using the software service have to learn new commercial software.
Alternatively, an update might change the entire UI and functioning of the software. In this case, commercial software providers will not pay heed to a single customer’s needs. But the custom software updates can easily be rolled back if employees do not find it easier than before.
6. Inter-Departmental Coordination and Employee Satisfaction
Different workspaces can be included in the same software for different verticals, according to their need and use. Also, different departments can be given different levels of permission on the application. Using a single customized software eases the coordination between different departments and verticals.
Custom software development is built using a bottom-up approach, where the needs are determined from the bottom and implemented by the top. Such a process structure of software development ultimately leads to ease of usage, as well as employee satisfaction. Employees feel that they are using something that they own and that they helped build.
Is there any Possible Disadvantage of Custom Software Development?
We know that custom software development is an absolute necessity for a well-developed and fully-grown business. But for a business that is in its infancy, investing a fortune in custom software development might be a risky and costly affair. In these cases, it would be prudent to get custom-built software once the business reaches a certain level of maturity.
Also, certain businesses might not need customized software and could make do with Commercial Off-the-Shelf software. These businesses could rather spend their revenues on marketing or distribution instead of custom software development.
Which Businesses and Companies should go for Custom Software Development?
While large behemoths certainly have to go for customized software, start-ups and young companies can benefit from custom software management as well. No matter which stage of the business cycle you are in, Young, Growing, or Mature- there is always a case for customized software.
While there are certain barriers in terms of upfront costs and maintenance charges, custom software development benefits almost always outweigh costs in the long run. Since every business ultimately wants to sustain itself for a long period, custom software is always an option.
Companies that are heavily reliant on software architecture and which are closely related to the digital ecosystem should go for custom software development even when they are young. In contrast, businesses that use the software only as an accessory can afford to wait until their business gains some scale.
Conclusion
As the business scene is getting more sophisticated, we see new and innovative business models every day. And so, using commercial off-the-shelf software is becoming more and more difficult.
Also, the costs of custom software development services are becoming ever lesser, making it easier to opt for customized software. While it is certainly convenient to go for off-the-shelf software, any serious business has to go for customized software to grow as a company.
Going to an investor with custom software for your company automatically communicates your zeal and dedication toward your business. It also emphasizes the niche of your business.
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