Custom Software Development Services for Enterprises and Startups

In the constantly transforming landscape of IT project management, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer. By automating repetitive tasks, providing data-driven insights, and enhancing decision-making, AI is revolutionizing the way IT projects are planned, executed, and delivered. Here's how AI-driven project management is transforming IT project management from project initiation to closure and why it's critical for organizations to embrace this technology. 

COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on various industries. As a result, the economy is hitting the markets hard, and cash flow is getting slowed down. The software development industry is not an exception in this scenario. But just like every bad thing has a good side, this pandemic has brought a room for opportunities too. By offering custom software development services, software development companies can help many enterprises and startups during this crisis and create a win-win situation. 

In this pandemic, when everything is changing from the way companies function to how staff work and choices are made, a business must think of opting for something that can provide a better solution to both clients and customers. Custom software development is such a solution, specially designed to meet the specific needs of businesses and give them a competitive edge. In today’s post, we will discuss custom software development in detail. So, without further ado, let’s start the discussion.

So, What is Custom Software Development?

Custom software development is a process of designing a particular software application. Such software is developed for a specific group of users or an organization to ensure that all their needs and preferences are being addressed. Some of the most commonly used custom software are content management systems (CMS), customer relationship management (CRM), etc. In every business sector, the need for custom software application development is high. And especially during the current pandemic, companies prefer custom software development rather than off-the-shelf software development. Why? Let’s talk about it in the next point.

Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-shelf Software Development

Custom software is designed to meet business requirements, whereas off-the-shelf software needs a business to adapt to its competence. By understanding the pros and cons of both the software, you will understand what should be the right choice for your business. Let’s dive in.

Pros of Custom Software Development

• Developed to meet the unique needs of a business, custom software solves the problems that an organization or a set of users face.

• After mentioning the requirements in the development phase of custom software, it can be designed exactly that way to meet all of those requirements.

• Easy to modify, expand, and maintain the custom software.

• Custom software provides a competitive advantage to a business. With it, you can offer a custom solution that your competitors cannot. The more well-designed custom software you use, the better your business stands out from the crowd. 

Cons of Custom Software Development

• Custom software gets developed from scratch and offers unlimited customization options. Therefore initial investment of such software can be quite high.  

• If you want a software that can be fixed quickly, custom software is not the right choice for you. It goes through a time-consuming development phase that eventually delivers impressive solutions. That is why this may not be considered as a feasible solution in some specific situations.

• To get a custom solution, you need to depend on a custom software development company. In case the company is unable to continue providing service or fold for any reason or not a good service provider, your business will be affected.

Before discussing the pros and cons of using off-the-shelf software, let’s have a brief view of what this software is.

Off-the-shelf software is readymade and prepackaged, designed to give users a particular set of ready solutions. Customers can instantly start using such software. Vendors can buy such software and sell it to clients directly or with minimum modifications. Using off-the-shelf software can offer a few benefits, but it has drawbacks too. Let’s have a look at its pros and cons.

Pros of Off-the-shelf Software Development

• The development of off-the-shelf software requires less time than that of custom software.

• As off-the-shelf software can be produced in mass, the upfront cost is low.

• Reliable off-the-shelf software can have various user communities where you can check the feedback and reviews before choosing the software. Also, you can give it a test run before buying. Moreover, if there is any problem with using the software, you can have community support.

Cons of Off-the-shelf Software Development

• Off-the-shelf software does not always guarantee to meet all business requirements. As compared to custom software, off-the-shelf software can cost less but is half as efficient. Therefore eventually, you will lose all the money that has initially been saved.

• Mostly such software is not easy to customize. As a business grows or brings updates, the software can not always be modified or upgraded accordingly. 

• The compatibility issue is also a common factor. Not all off-the-shelf software can be compatible with the operating system or device you use in your business. As a result, the off-the-shelf software can make the existing business system unstable and inefficient.

• You do not get any competitive advantage by choosing off-the-shelf software. It is not a unique solution and can be available to your competitors as well. Thus, even if you have a pioneering business idea, it can easily be copied by your competitors.

• Off-the-shelf software can cost a lot when it is proved to be inefficient, and there are ongoing subscription and maintenance fees too. 

After going through the pros and cons of both the software, are you clear about the main differences between them? If you have not yet, let me differentiate these two terms according to their functionality, implementation support, maintenance, time used, and costing. 

Major Differences between Custom Software & Off-the-shelf Software

• Functionality
  Custom software offers a wide range of functionalities due to the customization feature. They can be customized and tailor-made according to almost all types of tasks. On the other hand, off-the-shelf software offers hardly any customization feature, resulting in limited functionalities. Mostly a user needs to use such software just the way it is.

• Implementation
  With custom software, launching an app and bringing it to terms with existing products is much easier because such software offers plenty of customization options. With custom software, you can launch and install a new app without disturbing any current process or losing any basic data. And as such software is entirely scalable, modifying its functions is quite more comfortable according to a company’s growth and expansion of the business into new markets.
  On the other hand, the off-the-shelf software’s integration process is a bit complicated. Such software does not have the adaptability to the unconventional requirements of businesses. Therefore, installing this software may cause damage to core data or lead to costly affairs.

• Maintenance & Support
  Custom software comes with a dedicated and proficient support team that always guides you throughout the development, implementation, and usage process, whenever needed. As this software is quite efficient and functional, maintaining it is not a costly affair too.
  Though off-the-shelf software comes with a robust support system, there can be a possibility of any developer not keeping tabs on regular updates or forgetting to fix something. As a result, further future updates can cost you a lot.

Read more: Custom Software Development Guide | IT & Startup Technology Solutions