In recent years, the software development industry has managed to elevate itself to a level where now it’s considered to be the backbone of growing and developing economies. There exist, many types of software development. As a company or an individual looking to acquire software for any purpose, you have two options present in front of you. You may either purchase a generic software that is already present in the market, for your particular purpose. Or you may get software custom-built for you, by a software development company. The latter is a process that’s relatively expensive and time-consuming. To an outsider, the difference between generic software and custom one might not even be prominent or noticeable. However for an industry professional, the variation in the results that both of them offer become too obvious. Let us understand how.
What is Custom Software Development?
As the name suggests, getting software custom-built refers to the process of hiring a development firm that understands your needs, concerns, and expectations from a particular software and then tailor-makes each element to satisfy every single one of them. There are an infinite number of combinations that a developer may use to do the same. The most challenging part for any custom software development company is to combine the benefits of various programming languages and eliminate the problems that are accompanied by each of them.
How is Custom Software Developed?
In the process of conceptualizing designing to testing, every single step is done from scratch by developers while specially designing software for a firm. This is a major downside of the entire concept, yet it hardly affects the popularity that it enjoys. The idea of having a solution for every major and minor problem sounds lucrative but it may come as quite a surprise to you, that it’s not the primary reason why firms or industry professionals opt for custom software development.
Why Choose to Have Software Custom-Built?
When a firm or a company chooses to have software built especially for them, the need for addressing every single issue both major and minor comes secondary. The primary reason why a business wishes to have software custom-built is to have entire ownership of it. An added advantage of this is the fact that a firm can further sell or lease the software to another firm and make a profit from it. Some other benefits of custom software development are –
- Custom software provides solutions that cater to every problem unique to only your business, something most racks businesses lack.
- Once companies understand what their customers expect from them, they are able to get software developed that provide their consumer base with exactly that. This results in increased customer satisfaction, which automatically results in not only a loyal and retaining client base but also an increased one.
- For many companies, off-the-rack software would be able to perform the job just fine. However, they still prefer to have a custom one built. This is because most generic software use codes that are open source and hence easier to hack. To ensure a higher degree of security, custom-built software is preferred by companies.
- When it comes to technicalities, custom-built software is easier to integrate with any business, because they are not held back by the limitations of an arbitrary API.
- When it comes to custom software, business owners and firms are well aware of the fundamentals of the software and what composes it. Even if it is for a non-IT firm. This is what makes custom-built software more reliable than your average market software.
Things to Remember Before Choosing a Custom Software
What custom software brings to the table, most definitely justifies its price. So naturally, any brand rushes to get their hands on one, whenever they can. However, there are a few things you must remember before you commission software. They are as follows-
Getting custom software built is a time-consuming process. Your firm must be ready to dedicate the time and money a quality developer needs to create a satisfactory product.
Once you accustom your clients to personalized services, they would get frustrated if the same isn’t maintained throughout. Simply put, once a company provides custom software, it would not be able to go back to generic off-the-rack software even if it can’t afford it. If the business does, it must be ready to lose a major chunk of its consumer base and frustrate the remaining few.
Custom software development is hailed as the next big thing and every developer claims they can offer your company a miracle in the form of a program. However, as business owners, it is necessary you perform your due diligence and always act in a way that is not only beneficial in the short run but proves to be feasible in the long run as well.
