Posted by Paul Anderson
A Detailed Outlook on Custom Software Development
In the present corporate landscape, there’s a sea change in the way businesses are required to function and manage their entire operations. With the emergence of trends like cloud computing and mobile and the convergence of mobile and cloud technologies together – businesses need to pull up their socks BIG TIME.
To maintain a competitive advantage now, experts suggest investing in cutting edge application solutions that lets entrepreneurs both run and change their business.
But is doing this so easy?
Often, the software that suits the specific business needs isn’t available in the market. And at this juncture, opting for Custom Application Development is the ideal option.
Mark Hencry, blog editor, Capsio states – ‘’in 77% of cases, “shrink-wrapped” packaged solutions aren’t sufficient or flexible enough for an enterprise. It is advisable for businesses to custom-build the applications from scratch. There are multiple enterprise software development companies available that can custom-build applications to the business specifications and deliver on its promise of certainty.’’
And it’s not just about one or two experts who advocate Custom Application Development.
International research bodies like Forrester have dispelled the whole conception of ‘Custom Applications being Dead’. In fact, in one of the recent reports, Forrester has mentioned about the Rise of Custom Applications in the Global Software Market
Brief look at the two salient keynotes from the report, (Ten Myths and Realities of the Software Market):
- Minor difference exists between the amount of investment made on custom apps and packaged software
- Packaged solutions account for 25.8% of software spending while custom application expenditures account for 25.6%.
And why wouldn’t these statistics be?
Unlike the previous times when, custom-developed applications have been associated with negative factors like – high costs, slow time-to-market, and low ROI, the perception has changed TODAY.
Be it small or big, local or global – practically every business at some level or the other has or is in the process of rolling out custom software applications. The benefits of doing so are colossal:
- Minimal Problems in User Adoption
- Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
- Enhanced Business Security
- Unparalleled Technical support
- Smoother integration with existing business systems/software packages.
So where’s the catch?
In choosing a Custom Software Development Company
Although service providers in this field are present in manifold – you really cannot blind foldedly pick and choose any one. Proper research needs to be made to ensure that the custom application is conceptualized, designed, and delivered by an experienced Enterprise Software Development Company.
FOUR Factors to Look For:
1. Breadth of Services: Choose a custom software development company that offers a range of services that include –
- Application consulting
- Application development
- Application re-engineering
- Application management
- Application integration and migration
- Application support and maintenance.
2. Quality Standards: Choose a company that adopts a modular approach to application development. Right from design, development, testing, rollout and after-support — it should essentially leverage the industry best practices, tools, and frameworks. Then only can the custom solution be potential enough to help you address functional gaps and achieve business goals effectively.
3. Human Expertise: Focus on the overall expertise of the service provider. Make sure the company you choose has a team of well-experienced design experts and technology architects. Remember, choosing a high-experienced team will always put you at a greater benefit. For instance, you’ll be ensured that the solution delivered to you will be scalable, robust, secure, and maintainable. Plus, the whole process will be much quicker and you’ll enjoy a faster time to market.
4. Improvement Practices: Choose a company that continuously invests in robust methodologies, tools, processes and technologies. In this way, you can be assured of your application getting build on the best framework and architecture possible. The whole concept of custom applications working as a competitive differentiator for a business will hold true for you.
