1. Introduction to Custom Software Development
Think back to some twenty years ago, the software development market back then had a completely different scenario compared to what it is now. The major difference that companies find now is the liberty to develop any type of application which in the IT industry is termed as developing custom software applications based on the desired technology stack, required skill-sets, expertise, and development methodologies.
To stay relevant, businesses nowadays are readily accepting changing trends of the digital market and software development companies are aid to it. A custom software development company can help businesses to exploit the maximum potential of custom software at their fingertips. For businesses looking for custom software development, this blog is a comprehensive guide to know the nitty-gritty of custom software development and will help you understand different phases of software development like requirements gathering, actual development, deployment and maintenance. In addition, this blog will also provide information on how to identify the right custom company, how to communicate with the development team, what aspects are to be taken care of while understanding the software development process. Also, we will take you through an insightful understanding of how vital NDA is, its needs and a comprehensive take on how to safeguard your IP rights, why project agreements are important and similar other information.
For businesses, might have a different outlook towards developing a custom software application or would rather prefer to buy off-the-shelf applications for their day-to-day business processes. But if you are looking for a custom application for your business, this blog will enlighten your thoughts on custom software development services by showing some valid points of custom software development and a completely different perspective. Not all businesses find custom software development suitable for their processes and scenarios against ready-made products. So this comprehensive guide will help you to choose the best tailor-fit company for your software applications and the deciding factors on whether you should go for it or not. Let’s start with the basics.
2. What is Custom Software Development?
Changing spheres of the consumer market has made businesses chase innovation like never before. Consumer needs are just getting complex and tougher every passing day and hence there is always a necessity to develop custom-made applications. It clearly implies that customized software solutions are best-suited for changing business needs. Do we really understand the term custom software development service or it is just an application development service that is used by many other businesses.
Definition: “Custom software development can be defined as the process of designing, creating, deploying and maintaining applications that meet the unique business requirements of a specific company.”
It is also widely known as bespoke software or tailor-made software. Software products available in the market are known as commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS). There is a lot of difference between commercial off-the-shelf applications and custom apps that need to be understood before deciding which one to use.
For more clarity let’s take the example of Microsoft office. It is a packaged application combined together with multiple features that meet the general requirements of millions of organizations or individuals. While on the other hand, if your business wishes to allocate work to contractors and manage specific workflows, an organization needs to build its own custom software applications. This need can only be served by custom software development companies. To more elaborately understand the difference between the two, we have researched both the topics from the grassroots level and created a table that shows the major differences between customized software development and off-the-shelf products
3. Custom Software Development: Benefits
Customized software development companies understand the change a tailor-made software can aid in the business yet there are multiple organizations reluctant about outsourcing because of lack of knowledge and unaware of the advantages it offers.
Here are some non-negligible factors of custom software development that contribute to making custom applications robust, future-ready, and performing.
- Higher efficiency
Customized software apps are specifically designed to meet business needs that can smoothen the haywire business process. Since the applications are already programmed the way business functions, they know their jobs and hence the businesses can achieve better productivity, efficiency and a competitive edge against their peers. - Faster Adoption
The developed custom application has tailored business solutions and features and so organization-wide adoption is faster and training time and cost is comparatively less. The organization implementing the custom-developed software solution doesn’t need to change the way of working according to the software but the software solution is developed according to the way they work. - Unlimited Customization
Businesses are free to develop whatever they want using the potency of custom software development. Custom apps provide unlimited customization facilities and various other benefits against limited customization options when compared to off-the-shelf products. - Better Integration
Application up-gradation or modernization with the development of custom apps strongly binds the existing IT infrastructure and integrates seamlessly with other applications and programs with minimal cost and time investments. - Data Access
Access to data through the developed application is complex, especially when the application is ready-made and doesn’t allow customization. While on the other hand, if we use custom applications, access rights can be easily managed from scratch at granular levels. - Scalability
Customized applications are considered the most stable and flexible applications. With the growth of the organization, custom apps grow equally by incorporating the latest features and enhancing the processes. In turn, if customized applications are developed suitably gives longer life and offers software scalability. - Cost-free Licensing
There is no licensing fee involved when the application developed is customized and owned by the organization. Any new features or users can be easily incorporated without any additional expenses. - Profitability
It’s possible for businesses to earn from custom app development. Depending on the terms and conditions of the customized project, businesses can license or sell their customized apps to other organizations and get large margins of profit based on how demanding their application demand is and how much the market needs. - Resale
Custom apps have certain intellectual rights that need to be adhered to by businesses before the development process is initiated. An organization that pays to custom software development firms for creating applications has full rights on IP, source code, patents, copyrights or trademarks. So, if they wish to resale the application for profit or business demands they can. - Vendor Independence
An organization that pays for custom app development owns all the rights and at any time they can shift their development from one custom software development agency to another. So they are not locked to a particular vendor. Vendors can never take advantage of software development platforms that organizations pay hefty costs.