A customized software is exclusively built and tailor-made for a particular business or a set of users.However, the COTS or Commercial Off-the-shelf Software are the software that are designed for the mass market.The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are initially cost effective but eventually become more expensive. One of the biggest disadvantage of COTS is that sometimes making changes or customization is not possible at all and even if it is possible it is very expensive. The commercial off-the-shelf software are also difficult to integrate with other third-party tools and databases. As their structure is rigid and is hard to customize so the integration is almost always challenging. The COTS are designed for mass markets, hence they provide generic solutions which sometimes is not fully compatible with the internal business processes. The businesses have to make changes in their internal processes or they will have to build intermediary applications to bridge the gap between their internal business process and the features & functionalities of the commercial off-the-shelf software tools. However the customized software doesn’t have any of such issue which make them far superior than COTS.
The customized software are exclusively developed for the business hence the business have full control and proprietary rights over the tool. However, in case of COTS the business doesn’t have any such control. The customized software are tailor-made for the business and are designed to meet their requirement hence the fully harmonize with the internal business processes and boost the work efficiency and productivity of relevant business functions. The customized software provide a personalized experience and can evolve as per the needs and demands. In the current market scenarios in Dubai and all around the UAE when the competition is getting tougher and the customer demands are continuously changing the future scalability and transformation is a key component of the customized software development which is absolutely necessary for sustainable growth. In this blog we will discuss a few common types of the customized software which can help businesses in enhancing and optimizing their productivity and performance to achieve their short term and long term organizational goals and objectives.
Customized ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Software Development
The ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning software is the most important software in any business or organization. The customized ERP software development provide a tailor-made, industry-specific and intuitive solution to maximize the work efficiency, data flow, connectivity and integration between different business functions and simplified data management tools. The customized ERP software are usually developed in a modular approach which allow the businesses to only develop the modules they need and it also provide them freedom to add more modules in future if demand arises. Commonly an ERP software have Finance & Accounting, HR, Operations, Productions, Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Project Management, Data Collection & Analytical modules. The customized ERP software provide businesses more freedom and allow them to hand-pick any of the module they need along with facility to add more customized modules as well. All the modules are designed as per the needs of the users hence a businesses doesn’t have to worry about making changes or updating its processes to align with the ERP software.
The commercial off-the-shelf software are also expensive to scale, however a customized ERP software can be scaled easily without any additional cost. Furthermore the customized ERP software is easy to integrate with other systems and tools which allow businesses to manage and maintain a single database hence there is no data redundancy. It also ensures instant information sharing which improves communications. Although the initial cost might be higher comparing to the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) but the long term ROI is much higher. Since the business has full control over customized ERP software they can expand it to several other regions without paying anything extra. Furthermore the business can also have full control over UX (user experience) / UI (user interface) which allow them to custom design each and everything as per their own needs and demands. This can boost the efficiency and have positive impact on the overall performance.
Customized Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software Development
The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software is a tool designed to improve customer experience and facilitate the sale process by optimizing all the touch points and interactions to establish a long term relationship with the customers. The biggest advantage of the customer relationship management (CRM) is that it capture business intelligence data throughout the customer lifecycle. This data is very helpful in decision making and strategy building processes. For any business having a good relationship with its customers is crucial for success. This help gaining customer trust and loyalty. Loyal customers are tend to stick with the business and provide repeated business which is excellent for profitability and growth. Studies have shown that acquiring a new customer could be 5 to 25 times more expensive than selling to an existing customer. That is why it could have huge impact on the overall profitability and growth. This makes CRM software one of the most important asset for the business.
Each business have its own unique value and brand identity which distinguishes it from the others. This uniqueness also reflects in customer interactions and customer experience. A standardized customer relationship management software which is designed for mass market would not support your unique methods and techniques to make your customers happy. That is why most businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are now turning towards customized customer relationship management (CRM) software. The customized CRM software not only help businesses to effectively implement their unique methods and strategies to improve their relationship with customers. The customized CRM software also provide more freedom, flexibility and control which help businesses to easily implement their evolved strategies and methods without worrying of any obstacle or additional cost.
Enterprise Content Management System (CMS) Development
Now a day’s for any enterprise it is extremely important to utilize online and digital channels to communicate with its customers and targeted audience. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the businesses are progressively adopting digital mediums and channels to enhance their brand exposure. A content management system or CMS is a software tool that allow businesses and enterprises to manage their websites. However, an enterprise content management system have already evolved into a very sophisticated and complex tool which allow enterprises to not only manage the website content but it also enable them to effectively manage customer engagement, customer journey and help them to establish a positive brand identity. The enterprise content management system (CMS) must also provide features that can help you optimizing various relevant business processes. For example, a document management module or data publishing modules are almost necessary for all enterprises. The customer portals, supplier portals, job portals and various other such portals can improve various internal business processes.
Corporate and enterprise website are very different from an ordinary business website. The enterprises and large businesses have to provide a lot more information which could include, financial statements, presentations, portfolio, case studies, press releases and much more. And there are usually several different departments and teams working on different sections of the website. That is what makes enterprise content management systems more complex. Furthermore there could be several registration processes, forms, document processing needs, and other publishing tools. Each enterprise have its own unique requirement and needs, a COTS or commercial off-the-shelf software solution is not enough. Only a customized enterprise content management system can help enterprises to truly unlock the potential of their website and online publishing platform.
Customized SaaS Software Development
The SaaS stands for Software as a Service. With the rise of cloud and its ability to provide excellent cost-efficiency with unmatched performance, businesses start aggressively moving on cloud based solutions and systems. The SaaS (Software as a Service) provides superior security, flexibility, mobility and save huge expenses of managing in-house software and hardware infrastructure management.The SaaS is one of the most popular and rapidly growing cloud computing platform, the service provider hosts an application, put it online and make it available for a group of users or business. Basically the cloud computing if currently offering three major models, SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). The SaaS is a full-fledge software application that is hosted by the service provider in online and the businesses and their users can easily access it through a web browser.
The biggest advantage is that the software itself, the data, the integration, middleware, and each and everything is located at the service provider’s servers who is not only responsible for ensuring the smooth operation but also the management and any expense of upgrading the hardware or OS related upgrades and security patches, etc. This means the enterprises and businesses doesn’t have to hire IT professional for all these tasks and they are free from managing and upgrading the infrastructure. Businesses and enterprises can hire a well reputed SaaS developer such as RSI Concepts. Who can build a customized software that can be integrated with existing and third-party tools with simple and secure API based integration methods. For example, ERP, Accounting Software, HRMS and CRM can be integrated via APIs.
Moreover the customized SaaS software can be used as an extension to any of the existing software to maximize its efficiency and usability without completely replacing the system or bearing huge customization cost. These benefits along with easy scalability and pay-per-demand types of business models the customized SaaS software development is gaining huge popularity in Dubai and all around the UAE.
Customized Self-service Software& POS Technology
Customers want instant gratification, they want freedom, more control and flexibility in their business transactions and interactions. This give rise to the self-service software and technology. The POS technology has also evolved side by side with the self-service solutions. Customers can make a purchase from their smartphones, they can send remittance all across the globe from mobile apps, and they can purchase from simple household to sophisticated business solution through online and e-Commerce platform. This all is possible with the self-service technologies. People want businesses to be available at any time of their convenience, they want to have a very convenient and quick interaction with their favorite brands, which is not possible without the self-service software and POS technologies. The self-service software and POS technologies make it possible to interact with your business at any time and the customers can also make a purchase at any time without even requiring any human interaction. This could significantly increase your sales and revenue.
Each business has its own unique business identity and a very unique way of dealing with its customers. Which can only be guaranteed with the customized self-service software. The self-service not only help you satisfying your customers and full filling their modern demands, but it also help you reducing expenses and expanding quickly. Whether you are a B2B or B2C model, the self-service software and the POS technologies can help you enhancing your customer’s experience, reducing operational cost while at the same time maximizing your sales and revenue. Most of the businesses opt for a customized self-service software and POS solution as it allow them to incorporate innovative features and exclusive customer experience which make them unique and help them stand out of the crowed. The customized self-service software and POS technologies are cost-efficient and produce higher ROIs in the long term. Furthermore the customized software are easy to scale and upgrade for the future.
Customized Mobile Apps, Web Apps and Dashboards Development
The smartphones and mobile applications are getting smarter and more important than ever before. In Dubai and all around the UAE almost 99% of the population owns a smartphone and almost the same amount of internet users have been registered too. My current smartphone is more powerful than my laptop of a few years ago. This hardware and software power of the smartphone have completely changed the landscape. People love to use them, they do internet surfing, make purchases, watch videos, and connect through social media networks all by using their smartphones. On an average a user spends almost 2 to 5 hours daily on their smartphone. That is why businesses have starting using the smartphones to improve their customer experience and customer journey. If you are living in Dubai or any other part of UAE you can access to almost any government service via dedicated mobile app. All banks offer mobile applications, web apps, and online dashboards. Even shopping malls, grocery stores and schools are encouraging people to engage with them via smartphone applications, web apps or dashboards.
Businesses can build the mobile apps, web apps, and exclusive dashboards to improve customer interaction and communication. For example a utility company can offer a mobile app, web app or an online customer dashboard that can provide all previous records and their current energy consumption and payment features. Without that a customer might have to call the help center or they might have to visit a customer center to enquire about these information which can now be provided to them within a few taps on the mobile screen or at their laptops/computers. Such features can literally transform the customer experience and boost their happiness. The dedicated dashboards and web apps can be built for the employees, suppliers, contractors too. No matter if you are a B2B or a B2C business model, the customized mobile apps, web apps, and dashboards can help improving user experience and several internal business processes while saving a lot of resources and minimizing the operational costs.
Conclusion
Businesses need digital solutions all the time. The IT is considered to be the backbone of any modern business today. Especially in Dubai and all around UAE businesses are heavily relying on digital tools, and solutions to boost their productivity, innovation and performance. Whenever a business needs a software solution, it has two choices, either it goes with a COTS (commercial off-the-shelf software) or a customized software solution. The pre-packaged or off-the-shelf software are quicker to deploy and initial cost is also comparatively lower. However, in the long run the COTS are not flexible and cost-effective. The off-the-shelf solutions are expensive to scale and difficult to customize or integrate with other tools. Furthermore the COTS software are designed for mass market, hence they doesn’t always fully comply with your needs. They could be industry-specific but still generic, hence the business will have to made several changes in its internal processes and methods to fully adopt the new software.
However, the customized software are tailor-made and 100% compliant with the user needs. Which makes them superior from COTS software. The customized software solutions help improving existing business processes without changing them and doesn’t require any change in the existing business process or workflow. That is why we always encourage our customers to go with a customized software development. The custom software solutions are also better future optimized, they can scale easily without additional costs, and they provide full control and even ownership to the businesses. In this blog we have listed some most common and most popular customized software types. If you need to learn more about those types or want us to help you with your customized software development needs, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.
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