Businesses only used to require a brick-and-mortar store, some banners, and a cash register to operate. But in this time and age where the commercial landscape is constantly evolving, businesses adapt to the trend to keep up with the needs and wants of their target market.
In line with this, with the shift to the digital space when doing business, custom software development has become a necessity more than just a luxury. It offers customers a unique experience that sets the edge over their competitors. It also helps recognize the customer’s pain points to cater to their needs better and also helps them predict future demands.
It’s functional, cost-effective, and flexible allowing for businesses to integrate their legacy systems. So in this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about custom software development. In the end, you’ll know the benefits of utilizing this cutting-edge technology and fully understand the process of how you can integrate it into your business.
Let’s start by understanding what custom software development is.
What Does Custom Software Development Mean?
Custom software development is the process of understanding a business need, designing and building custom technology to address that need, then integrating it into the current process. In time, it also involves scaling and upgrading software to reach business goals and objectives, the foremost of which is generating and increasing revenue over time.
As the name suggests, it involves modifying the software to fit the audience, dynamics, and objectives of a specific business. This implies that whether it’s software for the backend marketing or sales team or a mobile app that users directly interact with, the technology is catered to the needs of the business and its target audience.
But how do you assess if you need custom software development or just shelf solutions? Let’s now go over some circumstances where custom software development is essential.
When Is Custom Software Development Needed?
When planning to create software for your business, how do you know if custom software development is the route you should go for? Let’s consider 7 instances.
Instance 1: When You Need Security And Agility
Custom software development allows you to add any and as many features and functionalities your business requires. Included in those functionalities are security capabilities to safeguard transaction data both for the business and its customers.
So if you’re looking to create quality software with enhanced security functionalities, you can go for custom development.
Instance 2: When You Need Modernization And Greater Adaptability
At the outset, we mentioned that the business environment continues to evolve. Hence, every business needs to adapt, or else it’ll go obsolete. By choosing custom software development, adapting to changing marketing trends will be easier and the response time will be quicker.
If you want to add more value to your business by premiering new offers faster than competitors, customized software development can help you integrate changes to your system.
Instance 3: When You Need To Optimize Business Operations And Workflows
Even businesses in the same industry have differences when it comes to business processes and operations. To function more efficiently, workflows must be catered to the specific ways daily operations are undergone.
When these are not handled properly it puts in more work for the in-house team of developers and a headache to CTOs. Add to that the bugs and issues that need to be fixed by DevOps. Digital transformation through custom development methodologies will help optimize operations.
If operation efficiency is your business’ priority, it’s high time you work on a custom software development project. With it, rather than constantly replacing certain parts of your processes, you can easily optimize them with a custom development project.
Instance 4: When You Need To Facilitate Streamlined Integration With Existing Systems
Big companies often operate uniquely from other departments even within the same organization. In these cases, challenges arise when integrations are put in place. It causes compatibility issues leading to decreased efficiency and productivity.
If you need software to handle multiple systems into one software application, custom software development can make it happen. With the help of custom software development services, custom software solutions can be crafted to make automation for different departments more streamlined into one central system.
Instance 5: When You Need To Ensure High Scalability
Startups and big corporations alike have the common goal of scaling businesses for better revenue. Along the way, challenges may occur on development processes that can affect further business growth.
With custom software development, you can plan and prepare to address foreseen challenges. Roadblocks can more easily be handled by integrating advanced tools to speed up processes boosting revenue.
If you want your business to be primed for future growth, custom software development allows you to prepare for enhanced business processes as you scale further down the line.
Instance 6: When You Want Effective Maintenance And Support In Place
If a major part of your business is on handling customer concerns and issues, custom software development allows you to manage queries and concerns more effectively.
With the help of a custom software development company, you can take advantage of their years of experience handling and building custom CRMs to handle technical and security glitches to give customers a better experience with the support team.
If you need software that’s better capable of handling maintenance and support, custom software will do a lot of good for your business.
Instance 7: When You Need Cost-Effective Solutions
While developing a custom application can seem costly at the beginning, especially for start-ups, in the long run, it’ll be more friendly on the pocket. With it, you can design a system that caters to specific business needs and also prepare for future development.
You can more easily add, remove, or remove functionalities to cater to any unplanned changes. With it in place, future operating costs will be kept to a minimum.
5 Benefits Of Custom Software Development
Broadly speaking, custom software development can help businesses with business processes, customer interactions, and collaboration within departments and partners. But let’s consider the benefits a bit deeper to help you gauge if it’ll be worth the investment you plan on putting in it.
Benefit 1: It Meets Unique Business Needs
Each organization has a unique set of needs, operations, and challenges, including preferred security regulations. Tailored software allows personalized solutions where you can easily add and improve current functionalities as the business evolves or scales.
Benefit 2: It Automates Manual Operations
Manually operating a business can be tedious, time-consuming, and expensive- not efficient for highly engaged enterprises. It carries with it repeated manual action that can otherwise be streamlined through custom software giving more time for team members and leaders to focus on more important matters of the business. Simply, it makes things more efficient.
Benefit 3: It Saves Funds
Many businesses automatically go for shelf solutions thinking it's faster to create and thus can quickly be integrated into the business. But thinking about the long term, the business will evolve and scale and this kind of solution will give no room for additional functionality. You can end up paying for multiple ready-made solutions that just add up to the operational costs over time.
Benefit 4: If Offers Better Security Control
Business operations continue to evolve and so are cyberattacks. Hackers can easily target off-the-shelf solutions since, by default, they know how it’s made and how it works. Whereas with a custom solution, its modifications require hackers more time to study, and best of all, it’s not publicly accessible.
Additionally, since you can add security functionalities, you can incorporate encryption and other specialized security features to make it more secure.
Benefit 5: It Easily Updates Legacy Systems
For better efficiency, custom software projects, whether it’s an ERP tool, blockchain-related automation, a mobile-focused app development, or any other software that caters to business needs allow software engineers and DevOps teams to recode legacy systems integrated with modern technology to broaden its functionality and keep it hot of the press at most times.
Earlier we mentioned shelf solutions, if it’s new to your ears, we’ll cover the difference with custom solutions so you can better see how one is superior to the other.
Shelf Software Solutions Vs Custom Software
If you’re torn on whether to pay for a cheaper shelf software or initially expensive custom software, you should consider the following seven factors to make a more informed decision.
Factor 1: Purpose
A custom software’s primary focus is to have a robust and modified digital product that satisfies business requirements. On the other hand, off-the-shelf software is for those who can settle for a standard framework and design.
Factor 2: Usability
Custom software meets specific needs and is thus designed to be used by one organization with integrations that address specific requirements. On the contrary, shelf software, since it’s developed by several programmers and coders and is readily available, any individual or company can use it.
Factor 3: Cost
Custom software is initially expensive but as the need for expansion and more integrations arise, it becomes more cost-effective. On the flip side, off-the-shelf commonly have a reduced initial cost but are pricey when you realize you need custom functionality plus the ongoing maintenance and subscription fees.
Factor 4: Required Modifications
Again, custom software is readily adaptable to modifications while shelf software is hard to modify and may need you to purchase a separate software if you need additional functionality for streamlined business operations as the digital needs shift.
Factor 5: Development And Deployment Duration
Custom software will be built from the ground up so the development and deployment can take a few months. Longer if more functionality is needed. With off-the-shelf software, since it’s readily available, the only time needed is for installation.
Factor 6: Competitive Advantage
A customized solution gives a better experience for users and thus sets an edge over your competition. Whereas an off-the-shelf solution, given that it’s readily available is easily accessible to competitors and so they can take advantage of it as well, losing your advantage over them in terms of user experience and streamlined operations.
Factor 7: Software Provider Dependency
Custom software comes well-designed and is created with scalability in mind thus there’s limited to zero need to be dependent on the provider. On the off chance, you need additional functionality, later on, you can augment developers to build and add that particular feature.
On the other hand, because shelf software comes in standard design, you’ll need to shed more funds to incorporate a new feature or have a new software created independently and be in constant interaction with the provider.
Depending on your business needs, you can choose one or the other, but if you do choose a custom software what kind of digital products can you ask to be built? Let’s consider that next.
Sought-After Custom Software To Develop
There are a few types of custom applications that can be developed. If you can’t pinpoint yet what your business specifically needs, you can ask the custom software development services you're looking to work with recommendations on what application to acquire. Below are some of the most popular wants businesses have built.
I. Enterprise Applications
These kinds of software are made to manage and share information across a certain organization. This is useful for government, education, and other large institutions.
II. HIPAA Applications
Made for healthcare-related insurance processes. It streamlines information disclosure while keeping a strict practice of HIPAA government guidelines.
III. eCommerce Applications
An eCommerce application can be integrated into the organization’s current website. Being an online store, you can sell goods in a customized store-front and customized purchase process.
IV. SaaS Applications
Applications that are made for secured sales and are integrated into any platform where the target audience can be found.
V. Mobile Applications
Either an Android or IOs application that mostly interacts with customers. Mobile applications can be used to make access to the business easier for the users.
After covering the benefits, instances, and kinds of custom software development, you might ask by now how the process goes in getting a custom software built. Let's get to the point now.
Custom Software Development Process
Whether it’s a web application, advanced software, mobile app development, all software projects involve a general process that you should follow. Skip any step and you might be in for some huge concerns moving forward. So consider each step carefully to ensure a smooth transition from each phase until the custom software gets integrated into your business system.
Stage 1: Problem Identification And Ideation
Before executing the actual building of the software, you must consider your business problems and needs. This will ensure that the software will indeed streamline your processes and get it crafted in a way that provides the tailor-fit solution for these problems. This way, efficiency, and productivity will be increased. Inventory tracking, employee management, and customer information will be smoother.
Identifying the problem will then be the roadmap for software product ideation. By knowing your business needs, you’ll know what features and functionalities should get included in the software.
Stage 2: Detailed Study And Specification Outlining
With the problem now identified, it’s best to do deeper research on the possible ways it can be solved. By consulting software development experts, you’ll get options, weigh pros and cons, and decide the best solution to go for. Included in the study is the discussion of the developing team and your stakeholders, or those directly impacted by the software project.
Whether the team is in-house or nearshore, a detailed study should be done to craft the most tailor-fit custom software for the organization. During the back and forth, you should also discuss the outlining of specifications to find out if all the functionalities needed are already included. It will also help gauge the budget, team member volume, and duration of the project.
Lastly, it’ll help cover technical corners that might later need attention when further expansion is necessary and help identify programming language skills needed for the project.
Stage 3: Design
After specifying all the nitty-gritty of the custom software and all the arrangements agreed upon, it’s now time to do the design process. UI design is also necessary to ensure the software will be user-friendly. With a good user experience, you’ll gain loyal customers, draw in others, and increase revenue.
The technical architecture of the product involves discussing the project concept, workflow diagrams, and even the technology stack needed in each phase. In this stage, you can start breaking down phases into actionable modules and tasks.
Stage 4: Development
This can be said as the most crucial part of the process. In this stage, the design is actualized and coding starts to build the bricks up the custom software.
How do you approach the actual project development? You can either do:
- Waterfall Project Management: a slower approach that involves relying on QA and completion of the preceding tasks.
- Agile Project Management: a modern and versatile approach that finishes faster.
- Scrum Project Management: this is a derivative of the previous approach that proceeds by putting together small teams that hold oversight on specific tasks.
- Kanban Project Management: another agile project management approach that is more focused on considering all the tasks and looking for ways to streamline the processes involved.
- Lean Project Management: Like Kanban, it focuses on streamlining processes. It’s customer-minded looking for ways to make the software more time-efficient and affordable for the users.
- Six Sigma Project Management: with this approach quality is the main focus. Its goal is to produce the best possible result.
Deciding which approach to take can also be discussed ahead in stage 2.
Stage 5: Integration And Testing
With the project now built, it’s time to put it to action. Check whether it performs the way it should, works efficiently, and includes all the functionalities needed. Software testing tools can help a lot at this stage. This is also the time when beta testers are used to test out the quality of interaction. Additionally, here is where bugs are identified and fixed.
Stage 6: Release
After ensuring its quality and functionality, it’s time to release it to its target users. At this stage, the development should already be confident about the stability, disability, and functionality of the custom software.
The release also involves training its users on how to properly use it and how to teach others how to use it. It can also involve an orientation on how to do minor bug fixes and what to do if the issue needs more expertise.
3 Tips When Hiring A Custom Software Development Company
To ensure a smooth and secure collaboration with the team working on the project, here are some factors to consider.
Cultural Alignment
Find a custom software development service that has the same values and work culture as yours. The collaboration for product development will be more effective and blockers will be minimized.
No matter what culture your company has, it’s always best that you utilize a project management platform that gives you a high level of overview for your projects for an efficient working environment both for you and the development team. Aloa comes with a platform that keeps you updated with the project status even if you have no technical background.
We don’t just help you find the right developers to do the job, we also provide you with a customizable tool that provides accountability for bug fixes, daily standups, and more. This makes work relations, even with minor cultural differences more productive and collaborative.
Notable Aloa Features:
- Extensive Partner Network: Aloa has vetted 10,000+ software agencies around the globe to identify and hire the best software developers.
- Rigorous Vetting Process: Every developer undergoes a thorough evaluation, ensuring they meet Aloa's stringent quality and proficiency standards.
- Transparent Performance Reports: Aloa ensures consistent updates on the project's progress and lets clients stay informed and confident with every step.
- Dedicated Support System: Aloa offers continuous support throughout the software journey, from initial consultations to project completion. We’re here for you.
Team Options
When choosing a team to work with, you can either opt for a technical co-founder, a separate development team, nearshore or offshore development team, or hire a contractor or freelancer. Each has its pros and cons, you also have to research this ahead of time or consult with your CTO to know which one works best for you.
Non-Disclosure Agreement
Ensure that your application development idea doesn’t get stolen or replicated, get the team to sign a non-disclosure agreement to ensure the security of your project.
Quick Onboarding Checklist
Ensure that the collaboration with the team will go smoothly, here is a brief checklist of how you can start working with the development team.
- Consider the project specification and requirements
- Scan business portfolios, reviews, expertise, and experience
- Have a predefined budget, consult with the CTO or discuss with a few custom software development services candidates to get a good range of the rates
- Ensure the custom software development is continually learning about new trends and technology stack developments
- Conduct regular meetings and discuss objectives, lifecycles, and timelines
- Clear up misunderstandings and confusions early on
- Let them sign an NDA for your project’s safety
Conclusion
When working on a custom software development project, always start by identifying your business needs. When this is properly done, the project will be as customized to your needs as it can get. Doing so also makes the succeeding phases of the process go faster.
Additionally, whether you decide to have an in-house team or plan on outsourcing it to a nearshore or offshore development team, always remember to do proper onboarding and orientation and secure the project details with an NDA.
By closely considering all the points in this guide, you’ll be able to integrate your envisioned custom software project in no time.
