There comes a time when a company or a department within a company can no longer perform its functions with off-the-shelf software and needs specially designed software (customized software) to continue its normal processes.
Customized software should perform well both in the back end and the front end. As companies grow and as technology evolves, most companies find that off-the-shelf software can no longer support business needs.
How your company will benefit from using customized software
Improving business efficiency and accuracy through integration and automation
Teams and departments often need to often collaborate on projects. A system that doesn’t allow collaboration encourages operational silos leading to duplication of tasks, wastage of time and money.
Lack of automation can also lead to errors and a lot of time wasted on manual operations. Through better integration and automation of tasks, you’ll save time and eliminate mistakes caused by human calculation errors and multiple entries of the same data.
Get a current system that accommodates growth.
Growing data volumes that come with expansion require extra storage and data processing capabilities. If you’re using outdated software, it might not have access to cloud storage nor will it be able to capture and process data with speed.
Increased Security
Customized software, by virtue of being proprietary to your company, is a lot harder to hack because hackers are not familiar with it. Not to mention, additional security layers can be added to the software to make it more secure.
Greater ROI
Customization reduces costs in the long run while increasing profits. This is because unlike off-the shelf software,
- Payment of annual/monthly license fees will not be necessary,
- You’ll eliminate redundancies leading to better use of work hours and lower payroll,
- You’ll have access to better quality data which will lead to better inventory, marketing and sales decisions.
Gain competitive advantage
Software that is designed to serve your business unique needs will give you an edge over competitors since you won’t be using the same inefficient software that everyone else is using.
Receive dedicated support
Since you and the developer will be in direct communication, you’ll get ready answers to questions and dedicated support for addressing any performance issues. This is a benefit that you don’t get with out-of-the-box software.
Bottom line
To assess whether your company needs custom software, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are your current applications outdated, slow in performance and in constant need of fixing?
- Could your processes run better with new software?
- Do your software applications perform all the tasks you need them to?
- Are you looking for greater connectivity and information sharing in your departments?
- Are there tasks that are duplicated across different offices and can they be centralized if you get a new system?
- Do your competitors have better software?
- Are inefficiencies causing your company to bleed money?
The answers to these questions should give you an indication of how badly your company is hurting from using out of the box software and how much it would benefit from using custom software.
