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What is Custom Software Development and Seven Reasons Why Your Enterprise Needs it?

Technology in 2024 is transforming at warp speed, and enterprises today are constantly looking to incorporate innovative solutions to stay ahead in the market. Even though the software-as-a-service industry is growing tenfold with around 20+ new products coming to the market every day, C-levels and CTOs consider these solutions, and commercial off-the-shelf software as cookie-cutters as they are not focused on meeting the specific business requirements.

What is Custom Software Development?

Custom software development entails the creation of bespoke solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of the business. Unlike off-the-shelf software that is distributed commercially, custom software is meticulously designed, developed, and deployed, by a dedicated software development team to meet the personalized needs of the business.

While developing a custom or bespoke software solution can improve efficiency and promote customer centricity, business leaders struggle to take the leap, considering the efforts involved in a custom software development project.

Wondering if you should really make the move and build a custom software solution that is tailor-made for your unique business needs? You are at the right place.

In this article, we have explored,

The differences between Custom Software and Commercial off-the-shelf software, and

The seven reasons why your enterprise needs a custom software solution.

What is the difference between Custom Software and Commercial off-the-shelf software?

Imagine, your company needs a new permissions management system. Or maybe your existing “collaboration hub” needs an overhaul and you’re looking for options. No matter what the scenario is, when you are looking for new software, you’ll need to make the custom software vs the commercial off-the-shelf software decision at some point in time.

A commercial off-the-shelf software or COTS is a premade software you can buy and use immediately. An easy-to-relate example of COTS could be the antivirus software you purchase and install on the go. This can be a great option when,

You don’t have any specific needs,

The readily available solution perfectly fits your existing needs and,

When your future plans don’t include growth or significant changes.

On the contrary, a custom software is a solution that is specifically designed for an individual enterprise’s needs. An example of this could be your enterprise trying to build its own comprehensive security solution that takes into account multiple aspects like specific vulnerabilities, threats, and strategic requirements of your business.

Now, there could be no possibility that you could find a commercial off-the-shelf software that aligns precisely with the unique security landscape of your business. And that’s why you should venture into building custom or bespoke solutions. It can be a great option when you,

Can’t find a solution that does everything you need,

Want to integrate with multiple systems that support your processes and,

Promote scalability to make significant changes in the future.

Getting started with a custom software development project can initially sound like a huge task and you might be constantly plagued with the “build or buy” question. However, understanding the key benefits it can bring to your enterprise can help you move forward with clarity. And in today’s competitive business landscape, venturing into a custom software development project can open the doors for a lot of growth opportunities.

Seven Reasons Why your enterprise needs a custom software solution

1. Easy implementation

Whenever you are looking forward to adopting a new solution, a custom software could be an ideal option, considering its seamless implementation process that allows for a tailored deployment plan, providing iterative testing and feedback that aligns immediately with your business process.

Also, with custom software development you can go for phased rollouts which will smoothen the learning curve and reduce the training requirements.

On the other hand, choosing COTS solutions might pose various challenges including extensive training needs, and unforeseen compatibility issues which will complicate the implementation process and extend your timeline for adoption.

2. Helps you integrate with as many programs as you need

Imagine your business likely leverages different applications within each department. Now you need to synchronize and string them all together to deliver the best possible experience for your customers. With custom software development, your development team will take into account all these factors including your existing systems, and create a comprehensive blueprint that ensures that all your integration needs are met.

Want to connect your custom application with your existing CRM or accounting systems? It’s as easy as creating APIs and enabling your business-critical systems to communicate with each other.

Contrary to this, commercial off-the-shelf software has limitations when it comes to integrating with your existing applications. As a result of this, you will be forced to invest further in purchasing COTS software that integrates with one, if not all your business-critical systems.

3. Enables you to scale according to your business needs

When you are adopting a new software for your enterprise, don’t forget to evaluate both your current as well as future requirements. One of the prime reasons why decision-makers consider custom software over commercial software is the scope for flexibility and scalability provided by the former. Your business needs will keep evolving and so should your software.

With custom software development, your development team will thoroughly assess your future needs as part of the “requirement gathering stage” and ensure that your software scales according to your growing business needs.

Whereas, the standard-off-the-shelf software available in the market does not provide options for scalability, leaving you behind your competitors.

4. Empowers you to automate processes and improve efficiency

The more flexible your internal system is, the better you will be able to automate processes and improve your workflow efficiency. With custom software development, you can build specific features that directly address your automation needs.

Want your team to spend less time on tedious and repetitive tasks? Custom software developers will fine-tune the solution, free up your time, and help your team focus on tasks that truly matter.

Unlike custom software, COTS are pre-packaged, standardized solutions that are designed to cater to a broad range of users with generic needs. Hence, they may not be the right fit especially if your enterprise wants to tap into the full potential of customization and automation.

5. Simplifies your maintenance and upgrades

If you are someone who grimaces at the idea of waiting for third-party vendors to announce the upgrades and release the features that you want, you should consider choosing a custom software development process.

With custom software development, you can perform upgrades independently and implement as many features as you want, depending on your unique business requirements. Also, you needn’t worry about the maintenance efforts as your custom software development team will take care of that for you.

But, when it comes to off-the-shelf software, you will have to wait for upgrades and chances are that you may not be getting your desired feature as part of that update, restricting your team’s functionality. This is because the system would accumulate legacy code and technical debt over time, which will further complicate the maintenance process in the days to come.

6. Prevents you from burning a huge hole in your pocket.

We all love to innovate and introduce new tech solutions to our everyday business processes. But this should not come with huge upfront costs. Since custom software is designed to meet the specific needs of your business, it avoids unnecessary features and makes your system more efficient and cost-effective.

As they are built with scalability on top of mind, you pay only for what you need and if required, you can scale up and scale down the system as per your changing business requirements. Also, since custom solutions are designed for easier maintenance and upgrades, you needn’t invest in long-term support costs.

On the flip side, off-the-shelf software often comes with licensing fees that can add up over time. Now, imagine the pain of paying for a yearly subscription to a streaming platform only to watch one specific movie. Similarly, with a commercial software solution, you will have to pay huge upfront costs for a lot of features that could mean nothing to your unique enterprise needs.

7. Bolsters enterprise security

No one wants to build a software solution that can be easily compromised. Especially when a huge amount of customer data is involved, you need to have secure systems that protect your enterprise data, as well as your customer data. When your customer data gets compromised, chances are that they might lose trust in your company, and it might take a long time for you to regain their trust, or probably never.

With custom software solutions, you can easily alleviate such security risks by building an ideal and customized security framework with as many security features as you need. Your custom development team will take into account various factors like how your customer data travels and interacts within your systems and fine-tune the software as per your unique security needs.

Apparently, with COTS alternatives, you will have to rely on the limited security features that will simply not cut through in the highly vulnerable security landscape.

Custom Software vs. Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software

Custom Software Vs COTS

Wrapping up!

Custom software development is a crucial tool for staying ahead of the curve in today’s competitive business environment. Even though it can be challenging and cost more at the start, eventually you will start reaping dividends as the systems will work exactly how it is supposed to work for your business.

But one thing you need to ensure before kickstarting a custom software development project is that you reach out to an experienced custom software development team who can communicate things clearly and ensure security and adaptability in the system.

Since custom software developers follow a clear-cut development plan with iterative testing and software development best practices, you can unwind your back and ensure a smooth adoption.

Have a custom software development need that you want to discuss with an expert? Our solution architects are just a call away.

Talk to us today!