Every business, no matter how large, needs software to manage data, improve customer service, and improve internal processes. Various marketplaces offer our customers a stunning range of software products and services. Which one to choose? To avoid mistakes, save time and money, here is an overview of these two options.

 

WHAT IS A CUSTOM SOFTWARE?

Custom Software Product Development solutions created from scratch for the needs of a particular business are always unique and specialized. They adapt to existing business processes and allow you to quickly implement new ones. There are no analogues in this case. Their interface is designed specifically for employees and customers of this particular company. All special software functions and tools are fully used, % of capacities – nothing superfluous, only useful. Of course, such custom-made software allows you to work as efficiently as possible.

Moreover, this type of software belongs only to the company that uses it. This means that you can add and remove features. If necessary, you can always develop an individual software solution in accordance with business requirements.

Individual software development provides full control over any changes and absolute independence from third parties. Therefore, Amazon, Uber, Netflix, McDonald’s, Google do everything for themselves to order.

Nevertheless, before drawing conclusions or making a final choice in favor of custom software development, let’s consider its alternative – ready-made software.

 

WHAT IS READY SOFTWARE?

Having a finished product means that the software is ready from the start. It is not unique. Ready-made solutions are universal. Standard software offers functions to optimize the performance of any enterprise.

Indeed, you can try to customize them for yourself, in the same way as we adapt, for example, Skype, Microsoft Office Suite, SAP, or Oracle.

Both of these options have their pros and cons. Let’s look into them.

 

CUSTOMIZED SOFTWARE PROS AND CONS

Here we look at the pros and cons of custom software development.

PROS:

• Individuality. All applications easily adapt to business processes, and not vice versa. Special software is convenient in design, so employees will quickly get used to it, and the client will save time and effort spent on learning how to work with new software. In addition to the necessary functions, custom software will have fewer errors and less time spent on work.
• Autonomy. With custom software, you don’t have to worry about some features not working. The software owner may terminate the software at any time. But with custom software this is not the case – its buyer is the sole owner of the software, and no one will take it away.
• Competitiveness. Your direct competitors are likely to use the same software, unless yours was custom. With it, you decide how your software will look and work, and thus be able to be more successful in the market. For example, you can make it more client-oriented, and your competitors use ready-made software with restrictions.
• Flexibility. You decide what and when you need to change in your software. Custom software provides control to add, change, remove features, and adapt to new business needs. Moreover, you do not need to transfer software – just transfer your work data to a new platform or expand on an existing one.
• Profitability. To expand access to the application, you do not need to pay (as is often the case with ready-made solutions). Also, you do not need to pay for additional features that you may need in your work.

MINUSES:

• High price. You will need to pay the full cost of software development. Depending on your needs, the price can vary from medium to very high. The starting price will be more than any monthly subscription. Faced with this, enterprises often implement this task gradually. At first they develop only the most necessary functions. But remember that in this case you will most likely save not now, but in the long run. To test this, you’ll compare the cost of your software to the subscription price of the software for the duration you plan to use it.
• Attentiveness. Custom software takes time and effort. First, you must develop a project, identify the desired features, budget and deadlines. The planning phase usually takes a full week. Next comes the development and implementation, here the terms can be different – on average from 3 months. To make a more accurate assessment, you need to take into account all the features and objectives of the project.

 

READY SOFTWARE: PROS AND CONS

Now let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of standard software.

BENEFITS:

• Availability. The cost of using existing software is several times lower than that of custom-made software. In addition, there are flexible pricing packages and free trial periods. Usually you pay only for the space or the number of accounts you use.
• Availability immediately. In the case of ready-made software, it is practically not necessary to develop it. All you need is to register and get started.
• Support. Many users have already worked with this standard software. Most likely, they have already encountered problems that you do not even know about yet and which you will try to solve when you start using it. This provides fast support for all questions. In addition, there are guides to the most popular settings, ready-made answers to the most frequently asked questions.

LIMITATIONS:

• The need to compromise. Whatever the features are, they won’t fully meet your needs. Thus, your company will need to adapt or even change its workflows to suit the off-the-shelf software.
• Addiction. You will be subject to software changes. Updates are not always for the best. It happens that the functions you need are removed or changed, and you have to look for a way out of this situation. Also, if a software company is experiencing financial difficulties, it may close the application. Or, in a less critical situation, there may be temporary application crashes as bug fixes and new versions are rolled out, and during this time you need to wait until everything works again as usual.
• Requires preparation. Standard software often includes many features and tools, 10% of which may be handy. Moreover, the user in this case will be generalized. If possible, be prepared to take the time to set up and learn how to properly use the off-the-shelf software. It is usually one trained person who prepares the manual and then trains the others.

 

CONCLUSIONS

Whichever type of software appeals to you, in whichever direction you work in, it’s a good idea to consider the nature of your business, scalability, long-term and short-term goals, before making the right choice for your business’ software needs!