How could your business benefit from customised software?
What is customised software?
Customised software is designed to address the precise needs of a business rather than the more conventional and widespread off-the-shelf software. Custom software is usually built with a specific business in mind by a third-party, after gaining an in-depth understanding of the company’s precise software requirements. Once built, the customised software is meant for use by one user: you.
As with any business decision, considering the pros and cons of custom software and doing your research is vital to its success. Here we take a look at the advantages and disadvantages in more detail…
The advantages of customised software
Better features
Custom software is designed to explicitly meet the needs of the company for which it is created, unlike off-the-shelf-software that may be overstuffed with unnecessary and idle features. With custom software, each and every function included is needed, making the software personalised and productive.
Easier to use
By having all the necessary features that you need included in your custom software, with none of the features that you don’t need. You’ll find your software can operate in the way that you’re used to working, which means it will be simpler for you to use.
Altered to enhance performance
The software can be changed as your business changes or altered to further improve its performance. Custom software can also be integrated with your existing systems and any future systems as required, which means it can scale and adapt as your organisation grows. On the other hand, no ready-made software does exactly what your business needs.
Adds value to your business
Having the ability to execute tasks that your competitors cannot through custom software gives your business a competitive advantage. Your competitors won’t have the same bespoke soft-ware, and therefore won’t have the same capabilities. Which means your bespoke software becomes an asset to your business, and adds value. Additionally, control and ownership of the software that runs your business is necessary as a strategic asset.
Increase productivity
Crafting an application with your company’s needs in mind implies an increased level of productivity. For instance, you may want it designed to increase productivity or address an internal need, and despite this costing more than off-the-shelf software, the increased productivity you gain, often ensures the cost is worthwhile.
The disadvantages of customised software
It’s more of an initial investment
Off-the-shelf software can be priced at a lower price point because the cost is being spread between multiple users, while custom software is created just for your company. It therefore requires significantly more resources to design and as a result comes at a higher price, making it more of an initial investment. That said, once in place, customised software is likely to cost you very little going forward. You’ll also find the cost is offset by the promise of increased efficiency.
It’s not a quick fix solution
The time it can take to develop customised software and implement into your business can be lengthy, which means it’s not a quick fix. In order to speed up the development process, you must have an in-depth understanding of your company needs and how you want the end product to address that need.
Ascertaining new needs during the development process isn’t unusual, and can result in added costs as more development time and effort is necessary. There’s also a risk that changes such as these can end in a loss of project scope, or a product different or deficient to your original needs.
Which software should I choose?
Having considered the advantages and disadvantages of custom software, you should now have a clearer idea about what it has to offer. But before making a decision, it’s important you first understand the needs of your business to ensure your chosen software solution is a good fit. For instance, if your company has a unique requirement, a customised software solution is likely to be a better suited solution as opposed to settling for off-the-shelf software.
Software Engineering Technologies
At Bitcube, our diverse team of engineers use established and cutting edge technologies combined with a South African work ethic to deliver world class products.
Our main objective is to deliver premium software that exceeds client expectations. We provide daily updates on work progress including bi-weekly demos, so you’ll know the project is going in the right direction.
The software engineering technologies we use are:
Back end and desktop: Ruby, Python, Node.js, C++ and C#
Mobile: iOS, Android
Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, JS, Angular, React
Databases: Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Azure, PostrgreSQL, MongoDB
IOT (Internet of things): Arduino, RaspberryPi, Custom Boards and solutions
Machine Learning and AI: Google TensorFlow
