Published on November 14th, 2018 | by Guest

Can Custom Software Development Be A Secret Weapon For Small Businesses?

This is the era of software and apps. There is no job in the world that software can’t do. The growing technological trends like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Virtual Reality are based on advanced algorithms – inherent part of software. However, no software is perfect. It turns out, whatever configuration is used, and manual manipulation of data is always required to connect the software stack.

This is when custom software is the need of the hour, especially for businesses. It is quite capable of allowing businesses to transform their daily operations into specific goal oriented machines. Every business has its own unique needs, so it’s not feasible for one software product to fulfil multiple requirements. Therefore, the need for bespoke software has never been so evident than in the present scenario.

If you are running a small business, custom software can play a major role in taking your brand to the next level. You can build it to fit your company’s specifications and diverse business needs.

Following are the key advantages of developing customer software for your business:

1. Personalized Solution

When it comes to developing software for managing your various business operations, you cannot rely on one-size-fits-all solution. Custom software is tailor-made, specifically designed for your small enterprise by keeping specific in mind. It is developed in iterative processes that is fully analysed at every stage by factoring in all nuances and hidden risks so that it can fit to your business model. Even if you are promised superior quality off-the-shelf software, there are feeble chances that it will fit seamlessly into your organizational framework. That is why; you need to bring in a reliable custom software development company to create personalized solutions for your specific business needs. Custom software has a significant influence on your work rate since its functionality is tailor made for your requirements. It can also make a significant adjustment for all of your business operations, thereby making you even more competitive.

2. Scalability

One of the basic characteristics of businesses is they grow and expand, that’s the whole point of starting a business in the first place. That said, a custom software solution is more scalable than ready-made software. Since custom software developers work on a long-term basis, they can easily scale the software on the basis of business requirement and size. On the other hand, off-the-shelf software that seems to perfectly fulfil your needs right now may not always scalable. Since technology is evolving at a blinding pace, there are slim possibilities that ready-made software will accommodate the changes that are bound to come in the future. Additionally, you have to put time and efforts to train your staff all over. Hence, this way you will be better able to meet the needs of your company while allowing your business to grow without being limited by your software.

3. Continuous Updates

While using custom software, you don’t have to depend upon the provider’s development work plan. You are fully in charge of managing all the required updates and upcoming improvements. It provides you with personalized support because you can easily work with in-house developers’ team. In the meantime, the team will be aware of your individual requirement. As far as adapting to the existing server environment is concerned, the bespoke software does not need a new hosting.

4. Security Assurance

If you are using off-the-shelf software, you are in the ambit of risk because it was apparently developed with a generalized approach. The custom software, on the other hand, can be hacked only with a targeted attack. Your application will definitely have extra security measures to ensure its safety. It makes your team’s work much more intuitive and easy. The truth is custom-made applications are protected from external threats, while the hacking attempts on ready-made software solutions is mostly successful. It requires much more time, efforts, and expertise to beach custom tools. Also, you will hardly see any instance when ready-made programs interact with each other perfectly, without any issues. Off-the-shelf software can lead to lowering of employee productivity as they will experience continual errors, which will further prevent them to complete their work.

5. Integration

Generally speaking, in business operations, with scalability, there is a pressing need for integration. While expanding your business, the fulfilment of multiple requirements demands multiple software programs. It would be no less than a hassle to use these many programs. Therefore custom made software programs can be designed to integrate multiple processes. And you can enjoy the benefits of operating with one. This will help you achieve more than expectations while reducing stress at the same time. Moreover, any changes in staffing or software usage can be addressed by further creating extra modules or updates. As we mentioned, technology is always evolving, it’s highly pertinent to opt custom software because it can seamlessly integrate with your future needs.

6. Support and maintenance

Support and maintenance is quite easy with customized software because the developer will maintain it for as long as you want. One of the biggest advantages you get with custom software is a reliable, efficient technical support plan. You will be in constant touch with technical support team that is already familiar with the development process of your application. Even if you will encounter with any glitches, they will efficiently handle it in time.

The Verdict

Custom software is certainly the right choice for your business. It offers a number of benefits over licensing off-the-shelf software; notably, in the areas of scalability, guaranteed maintenance and integration into your business’ existing software environment.

Tags: custom, secret weapon, small business, software development