6 Benefits That Will Make You Choose Custom Software Development
Product-based technology companies advocate for off-the-shelf software solutions, citing lower cost as a key business driver. Indeed, implementing a ready-made application to address your business needs might seem cheaper due to its initial cost. But if we go deeper and add recurring fees, the total cost might be even higher than that of custom software development services.
Besides cost mitigation, custom engineering brings tangible business value that can increase your bottom line and enhance customer service in the long term. In this article, we outline just some of the key benefits.
Tailored Business and Tech Approach
With ready-made software, you can rapidly start a new business and solve on-the-spot challenges. But if your goal is to expand your business, improve the service offering, and increase customer satisfaction over time, an off-the-shelf solution might not be the right option.
Such products target generic market needs, which may not align very well with your business’ specifics. Conversely, custom software development always includes performing an in-depth business case analysis, defining major business needs and converting them into measurable goals and requirements, as well as creating a detailed development plan with the optimal methodology and tools. Only after that the company you hired proceeds to coding and deployment — all with advanced risk management, business-IT alignment, and business continuity.
Putting it short, custom development allows you to personalize your offering, making it more flexible and user-oriented.
Intellectual Property Ownership
A ready-made digital platform for managing your business might be a great starting point. But are you sure you’ll still be interested in a software license from a third-party technology vendor as your business grows and your brand strengthens?
Forced migration of a digital business from a vendor platform to an in-house one might bring business continuity problems, so consider building a custom solution for your brand from the very beginning. Accompanied by the corresponding agreements that stipulate a full intellectual property transfer at the end of the project, outsourced development will spare you any property-related problems in the future.
Rock-Solid Security
Off-the-shelf software is more prone to data leaks, and for a good reason. Hackers have already got into the ins and outs of all ready-made software options available on the market, and know for sure where to target their efforts when accessing sensitive data.
So if you want to keep your data out of bad hands as well as safeguard users and processes, build a tailored solution. Outsourced developers will examine your business case and the niche you’re in to come up with cutting-edge security features that will protect your brand reputation and save you millions of dollars. Besides, you’ll be able to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that will give you a good night’s sleep in terms of trade secrets security.
Outstanding Performance and Scalability
Users are changing their behaviors and becoming choosier than ever, so if you want to live up with their expectations, be ready to scale your business. A ready-made solution won’t allow you to move into new market segments and geographies as fast as you want due to lack of system scalability. With custom development, you can address this problem at the early stages.
From latency-driven architecture design and CDN strategy implementation to cloud scalability and performance-based ramp-ups, a custom development company will use cutting-edge techs and approaches to fully address your industry-specific performance needs, making your solution support a virtually infinite number of users as your business grows.
System Interoperability
No matter the industry, the digital business can’t exist in isolation. So that your software could timely address constantly evolving business needs, it might need integration with third-party solutions like eCommerce platforms, payment gateways, video conferencing systems, or data analytics apps.
To get flexibility in this regard, opt for custom development underpinned by prior business case analysis. Built with interoperability in mind, tailored solutions will guarantee you smooth, secure integrations through APIs and custom connectors.
Support and Maintenance
In most cases, custom development means personalized support of various levels. It might include real-time troubleshooting, software configuration support, server, and network monitoring, and even disaster recovery.
A custom development company will also provide high-class maintenance services, including adaptive maintenance aimed at iteratively deploying new functionality to adapt to changing client needs, as well as preventive maintenance that ensures increased software maintainability thanks to optimized software code and regular security audits.
Final Thoughts
When planning their digital transformation, many business owners face the build vs buy dilemma. At first, an off-the-shelf solution might seem a better option that saves much time and spares efforts. However, in the long-term perspective, custom development brings more value and increases the bottom-line.
About the Author:
Yana Yelina is a Technology Writer at Oxagile, a software development company based in the USA. Her articles have been featured on KDNuggets, ITProPortal, Datafloq, Techwell, and more. Yana is passionate about the untapped potential of technology and explores the perks it can bring businesses of every stripe. You can reach Yana at [email protected] or connect via LinkedIn or Twitter.
This article has been published in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.
