It’s expected that from 2021–2026, custom software development services’ revenue will grow by $38.15 billion. The trajectory comes as no surprise to those who have been looking at the software development trends in the last decade.
Many large- and small-scale businesses have switched to custom software solutions in the last few years. This is because of the wide range of benefits bespoke development offers in contrast to the Over-the-Shelf (OTS) commercial solutions.
If you are a small business owner or a startup, investing in a custom software development project may seem like a costly, unaffordable expense. But the truth remains that custom software development services offered by Vates have long-term monetary benefits for businesses that choose to go this route.
In this blog below, we’ll discuss in detail what a custom software solution is, 15 ways it can improve your business profitability, and the way forward. Take a look to learn why investing in custom software development is the right call!
What is Custom Software Development?
Before we rave about the numerous benefits of custom development, let’s find out what it is. Here’s the definition of custom software development to get you started on this subject.
Custom development is a software development service that allows businesses to outsource (or build in-house) tailored software for their needs. Custom software at Vates is developed keeping a business’s goals, its industry’s needs, and its employees’ usability in mind.
In recent years, custom software has become a popular choice against commercial over-the-shelf solutions. However, the debate between build and buy continues to confuse non-tech businesses.
Types of Custom Software
Here are the three most common types of custom software businesses invest in.
Employee-Facing Solutions
Employee-facing custom software is used for internal correspondence, business processes, and streamlining day-to-day activities. Internal accounting software, email software, or ERM software are some examples of employee-facing solutions.
Vendor-Facing Solutions
This custom software is used to streamline business processes with external vendors and increase efficiency. Invoice generation, order management, inventory management, etc., are examples of vendor-facing software.
End-Customer Solutions
Lastly, we have customized end-customer software solutions businesses customize to retain clients and improve user experience. E-commerce applications, data entry portals, and other customized mobile or web applications that customers use to interact with a business are end-customer custom solutions.
15 Ways Custom Software Development Improves Revenue
Not sure why your business should invest in custom software development? Here are 15 reasons to convince you!
Long-Term Cost-Saving
While it’s true that custom software solutions are more expensive than store-bought software, there’s a long-term cost-saving involved. When you invest in custom software, you pave the way for your business to spend less time on tasks, less money on managing operations manually, and increase your productivity.
In the long run, custom software offers a higher outcome if you compare the return on investment.
Streamline Business Processes
The biggest advantage of custom software development is that it helps organizations streamline their processes. From inventory to recruitment to production, all different segments of your enterprise are seamlessly managed and run. This also reduces the chance of human errors as you rely on custom software for most of the tasks.
Fulfill All Your Needs
Each of the over-the-shelf software overlaps in terms of usability. Therefore, in the end, every business is left with some unmet needs. When you invest in custom software development and hire an international software development company like Vates, you can decide what you want. Custom software solutions are made keeping you in mind and hence cater to all your needs.
Increase Employee Efficiency
Custom software development that is designed for internal correspondence increases employee efficiency. Your staff will spend less time working around over-the-shelf generic software and speed up its daily performance. Moreover, your team will have more productive hours than those spent figuring out how to solve a problem with generic software solutions.
Enhance Customer Satisfaction
Customers are most likely the biggest priority for a service-based business. But imagine if your customers are drifting away because of the lack of customer support or poor experience while using your application. Custom software development allows businesses to enhance customer satisfaction, promptly meet their needs, and reduce downtimes that may result in unhappy customers.
Allow Better Partnerships
And the third type of custom software, i.e., vendor-facing solutions, allow businesses to improve their partnerships. By automating the processes, catering to your vendors’ needs wholly, and always staying at the top of your operations, you are building long-term and fruitful partnerships. And who doesn’t know that vendor management is a core business need for modern businesses?
Competitive Edge in the Industry
Do you feel your competitors are rapidly scaling while you are sitting stagnant? Do you feel worried seeing your competition’s strengthening market position? Maybe, it’s time for you to hire a software development company like Vates. Investing in a Vates-built custom software solution will surely help you gain a competitive edge and improve your business’s profitability.
Higher Data Security
Data breaches are costing businesses millions of dollars every year. And every business is more cautious than ever to improve its data security. If you want to take your business’s data security up a notch, custom software development may work for you. Custom software solutions are customized with robust security protocols and enhance your data security.
Automate the Tasks for Productivity
Automation is at the forefront of business digitization. Organizations looking to make it big and improve their services, quality assurance, and customer retention are automating most of their processes. By investing in custom software solutions, your business can automate almost all tasks and increase overall productivity levels.
Scalable and Flexible
Another great feature of custom software development is that it’s scalable and flexible. Because you are developing custom software or hiring an expert like Vates, you can upscale or downscale your software’s capacity based on your needs. This flexibility of custom software makes it a lucrative and cost-friendly solution, especially for small businesses.
Easier to Integrate
If you are already running your workflow on legacy applications, it’s easier to integrate custom applications and software. This makes systems integration a breeze for your business, and all your software solutions cohesively work together on a single platform. Not only will integration save time and money, but it will also make the lives of your employees easier.
Faster to Deploy
You may think that custom software development services take a long time to develop and deploy a solution. While it’s true that the development process is a bit lengthier and time-consuming in contrast to buying software, the deployment is quick and easy. This is because the software development team is familiar with your needs and internal processes and makes a product that perfectly fits your existing ecosystem.
Always Ensure Business Continuity
Customizing software is a better solution to ensure business continuity in case of a data breach, downtime, or disaster. This is because the team behind the custom development has protocols that have considered BCDR strategies and allow you to get back on your feet quickly. However, if you have an over-the-shelf product, you might not be able to recover quickly in case of a disaster.
Hassle-Free Maintenance and Update
If you have outsourced your custom software development to a nearshore outsourcing company such as Vates, then here’s the biggest benefit. While you seamlessly enjoy your custom-built software, the experts at the backend look after your maintenance and updates as well. This means that you always have up-to-date software without having to worry about technical details.
Tailor-Made and Customizable Solution
Lastly, custom software development is popular because these are tailor-made solutions made to fit your business needs. In addition, the vast customization of features, add-ons, and processes you can enjoy with custom software development is unmatched by any other over-the-shelf commercial software.
How to Go the Custom Development Route?
Keen to try custom software development for your business? Here’s the way forward:
- Talk to an IT consulting service before you commence the project.
- Determine your business needs and industry-specific compliance.
- Opt for a workable solution that caters to your needs instead of a fancy software everyone else has.
- Prefer nearshore outsourcing over offshore companies as nearshoring will allow you to save time and costs and better manage the project.
Hire a Custom Development Service
Hire a custom software development service renowned for its solutions, agile software development, and industry reputation.
Get in touch with Vates. Our South American software development company is a nearshore software outsourcing firm offering custom development, software testing services, and systems integration services. Based in Argentina, we pride ourselves on having a global clientele.
Talk today to learn about IoT consulting services, data analytics, and many more IT services of Vates software development firm.