The evolution of technology has reached a point where small businesses, even startups, can incorporate innovative solutions. The fruits of technological innovation are no longer limited to large corporations. Every day, more and more independent businesses are propping up and using contemporary technical advancements to gain a competitive edge.

Custom software development is one of those technological advances that have allowed startups and small businesses to optimize every step of their process. That has empowered newly formed businesses to compete alongside established players in the market. This David and Goliath scenario is happening across industries, and your business could be the next in line.

In this post, we are summarizing all the benefits that custom software development solutions can bring to your business. We will also compare custom software with off-the-shelf solutions on multiple different criteria. It will help you decide whether customized software is something that you would want for your startup. But before diving in, let's first understand custom software development.

What Is Custom Software Development?

Software designed for a particular set of users, a particular type of business, or a particular use case is called custom or bespoke software. The process of conceptualizing, designing, developing, deploying, and maintaining such software is called custom software development.

Custom software is developed to meet a certain specific set of requirements and needs. Usually, the generic software available in the market, also known as commercial off-the-shelf software or COTS, is built for widespread usage. These solutions work like an umbrella tool that provides many features but not necessarily the ones your business needs the most.

Even though an in-house development team could be hired, businesses often prefer outsourcing the development process. Handing over the task to a firm with expertise in building custom software means you will get quality services at an affordable cost. Most importantly, you will save yourself from the headache of recruiting and managing an in-house team of custom software developers.

Why Implement Custom Software Development for Small Business Enterprises?

Custom software development solutions can provide a significant leg up to small business enterprises. Below are the various ways in which custom software can benefit startups and small businesses:

1.  Fulfill Specific Needs and Requirements

Every business is different. Hence, your business will also have some specific demands, especially regarding software-related issues. Let's say you are eager to develop software that provides the highest level of security, or there is a functionality issue that has to be resolved immediately. Therefore, in these situations, you should select customized software to help you effectively address your problems and fulfill important requirements.

This kind of software development takes time and effort from skilled developers. It requires identifying the pain points and addressing them without disrupting your company's existing workflows and processes. It is the exact opposite of off-the-shelf solutions that just implement a set of generic features.

As a small business, you can gain the upper hand over your competitors by using customized software that offers special features and capabilities not found in commercially available products. It can help you stand out and deliver an exemplary user experience to your audiences.

2.  Reduce Cost

On the surface, it might seem like you are incurring a significant custom software development cost upfront. In comparison, commercial off-the-shelf solutions may appear to be the cheaper alternative. But a deeper look will tell you that the reality is quite the opposite.

Off-the-shelf solutions are not that flexible, especially for a growing business. Say you are a small business owner who wants to scale your enterprise. Then, working with a fixed set of features might feel restrictive, particularly in a high-growth setup where you are trying to optimize productivity. So you might have to make some customizations and modifications according to your needs. That is where it gets tricky.

You see, tweaking a pre-built solution is expensive. Every time you hire a third-party agency to make modifications, you will incur substantial costs. Not to mention, you will be paying the licensing fee to the off-the-shelf software vendor as well. These are not one-time costs. You will incur these costs on an ongoing basis. It means over time, these are going to pile up.

In contrast, custom software is developed keeping your specific business setup in mind. Hence, you can easily scale your business without worrying about whether the software will be able to adapt or not. Easily adaptability and scalability mean that the total cost remains in check. You won't have to keep spending on tweaks and changes. Hence, custom software development solutions have proven much more cost-effective over time than pre-built market solutions.

3.  Add Extra Features When Needed

As discussed briefly above, scalability is a major advantage of developing bespoke software. When selecting off-the-shelf solutions, you are constrained by the built-in features and are unlikely to be able to add new features unless the creator of the solution agrees to upgrade it.

Your demands increase as your business grows. Hence, it makes sense to use bespoke software development, as you can add new features to your application or platform. Even though it's a long-term investment, by doing it, you may prevent problems with regard to future scalability and customization.

4.  Automate Manual Operations

You might actively try to expand your business and its operations as a business owner. As complexity increases, you might face more challenges with regard to the manual management of processes and operations. That's where custom software can prove incredibly helpful.

Automation is required when manual management of operations becomes too hectic and overwhelming. Automating manual processes may save a lot of time and money, which eventually improves worker productivity. Suppose you are running a small business with many suppliers and products. Then your employees will have to spend a lot of time assessing product requests and balances.

Custom software development solutions can help you meet all the requirements in this situation. Not only will it help you manage your core business processes, but it will also facilitate communication between all of your business divisions.

5.  Ensure Data Security

A pre-built market solution is much more vulnerable to hacking and other cyber attacks. And there is a reason for it. Think about it; finding a key that can open many locks is much more beneficial. Breaking a single lock is not that enticing, given that depending upon what lies on the other side of the door, it might not be worth the time and effort.

This analogy fits perfectly here. Custom software is like a single, personalized lock that is hard to break and might not even be targeted in the first place by hackers. The reason is that the risk is too high compared to the reward. However, in the case of pre-built or ready-made solutions, it makes complete sense for malicious actors to go after them. If they can hack it, they can potentially penetrate hundreds and thousands of other such software.

Moreover, the in-built security features of off-the-shelf solutions are not that robust. Hence, they are much more vulnerable to cyber attacks than custom software. If you want to secure sensitive data, relying on custom software is much better. Not only will you get reliable data protection, but you can also implement a special security strategy that only your firm is privy to.

6.  Get Technical Support to Improve

Superior and highly effective technical support is one of the main advantages of a bespoke business application. You will get access to a professional support crew well-equipped to handle any operational difficulties or hiccups. Given that they are the ones who have built the software in the first place, they would be able to fix any problem that might arise. Hence, you will be able to fix every one of your issues effectively.

Using custom software may improve your company's operations and features more effectively. Custom apps not only help your staff members handle difficult business challenges but also boost general workplace efficiency by enabling them to do more work in less time.

Overall, bespoke business apps improve performance by streamlining operations and can assist your company in achieving its short-term goals.

Custom Software Development vs. Off-The-Shelf Software

All the differences between custom software and off-the-shelf solutions we have discussed so far are neatly summarized in the below table.

Conclusion

Small organizations may benefit greatly from custom software development. They can not only boost productivity and enhance flexibility but also can get access to better, more robust security and integration solutions. Not to mention, all of these benefits could be accessed cost-effectively.

In conclusion, small firms may boost their competitiveness and agility and prosper in the quickly shifting business climate by investing in bespoke software development. If you, too, are interested in building bespoke software for your business, get in touch with our custom software development consulting team. They would be happy to address your queries and provide proper guidance regarding how to proceed.