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July 2, 2022

5 Advantages of Custom Software Development

In Dubai or anywhere else in UAE businesses need to offer an excellent experience to its customers and they will have to establish their brand very well. In competitive markets businesses will have to offer something special which makes them unique and genuine. Over the time businesses establish their internal processes, methods and unique approaches to handle things differently, which gives them a great competitive advantage. It is this unique experience that distinguishes them attract more customers. Businesses these days heavily rely on the software and digital solutions. Furthermore the businesses grow over the time and their internal needs for the IT infrastructure and software solutions also grow. The UAE market is very vibrant, the market trends are changing rapidly. This requires businesses to keep up with the market as well as manage scalability and in addition to that they also have to maintain a balanced productivity and efficiency. That is why businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are always seeking software and solutions to support their journey.

Whenever a business decide to acquire a new tool or software solution, the biggest challenge the management faces is to decide between the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) and the custom software development. These software and solution can have a huge impact on a business’s performance, growth, productivity and profitability. The commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) might seem fairly reasonable in terms of initial cost, however, in long term they cost more than the customized software. The biggest disadvantage of commercial off-the-shelf solutions is that it is designed for masses hence it is built to be a general purpose tool. That mean it would never fit in as per the expectations. The custom software development on the other hand offers a fully customized and tailor-made solution to your problems. Here are some key advantages of custom software development:

1. Custom Software are Developed Exactly as per the Needs of the Business

The biggest problem with COTS is that they are designed for a mass audience. However, the biggest advantage of the customer software development is that it is exclusively designed as per the requirements, needs and specifications of the business. The solution is designed precisely to address the issues of the business and it is not a general purpose, one fit for all kind of application. The customized software are extremely efficient as they are tailor-made to solve certain problem for a business only. There is no unnecessary or unwanted component, which makes employee’s user experience very pleasant and satisfactory. In fact the user interfaces are also exclusively designed to meet the needs of the users which results in great improvements in the performance and usability of the software.The biggest problem with the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) is that it is designed for a wide range of audience hence business usually don’t found all the features they need.

Talking about features, it is worth mentioning that the custom software development offer full freedom to include as many and whatever features a business wants and needs. This approach is very supportive for innovation and modernization. Business can gain a great competitive edge by including features which enhances their business process, produce better results and optimize the expenses. Whereas the commercial off-the-shelf software doesn’t provide this freedom. In fact they usually comes in pre-packaged format, different versions or plan type have different sets of features. The upgrading and modernization process is very slow and mostly it costs additional fees and charges. Most of the time it is very difficult to get all the needed features. Businesses always have to make compromises in order to keep the cost under control.

2. Custom Software Development offers Full Ownership Rights to the Business

The commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) are still owned by the vendor or service provider, the business doesn’t have any right or authority over it. The policies and protocols are not managed by the business who uses the COTS. So the business is just paying fees and using a product which is owned and controlled by someone else. Obviously the commercial off-the-shelf software does offer some value and control to their customers but the ultimate control is not in business’s hands. The custom software development on the other hand offers complete ownership rights, the software a business built for themselves is fully owned by them as well. Unlike COTS there is no monthly or rental fees. The business have to pay one-time to build the software and then there is just the running or operational cost. There is no additional cost. On top of that the ownership allow businesses to manage, update and scale the software as per their needs and requirements. Which provides them more freedom and control.

Here I would like to give an analogy of a rental and owned house. The difference between the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) and the custom software development is the same. Businesses hire a customer software development company in Dubai, UAE who build the software and deliver it to the business. The business is not even dependent on the same software development company for the maintenance, further customization and scalability of the software. Business in Dubai and elsewhere in UAE also kept in-house teams to manage their customized software, which significantly reduces the maintenance cost and allow them to keep updating and upgrading the software without any additional cost. For those who don’t or can’t manage in-house software development teams, they can always hire a third-party or the same vendor to manage and improve their software at a very reasonable cost. The ownership of the custom software also enables businesses to allow their partners, customers, and subsidiaries without any additional licensing or any other cost.

3. Customer Software Development Offers Higher Security

For any business the data protection and security is a matter of life and death. In the modern data driven world the data security and protection is at the at most priority. If a data breach happens, the first thing a business will lose is its reputation and credibility. It will can have a long lasting impact on your customers and reputation. Mostly businesses couldn’t fully recover from such incidents. The data threats are very abundant and there has been millions of attacks at corporate and other sectors each year. The commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) are not inherently insecure or less capable, it is the fact that they are widely available all around the world and their structure and technology is also well-known. The fact that thousands if not millions of people are already using the COTS solution which makes them easy target for these data pirates and internet hackers. These people usually target COTS to gain access to their customers, employees, and financial data which they can use for their own agenda.

However in case of custom software development, someone will only attach it if they want to attach a specific company or business which significantly reduces the threat level. However in case of custom software development, someone will only attach it if they want to attach a specific company or business which significantly reduces the threat level.Mostly the software structure, backend programing and various other technical details are concealed which makes it even more difficult to attack and breach it. On top of that it is only the business who have access to their data, there is vendor, technical team or anyone else can possible access your data. Your data will be stored on the servers of your choice, and only the business and its designated employees can gain access to the data. This makes customer software development more desirable for businesses. Businesses can always higher a cyber-security professional in-house or they can do cyber-security testing and analysis from a third-party company to further improve the security and safety of their precious data.

4. Customer Software Development Offers Flexible Integration with Third-Party Tools

Every business has multiple layers of digital and IT infrastructures. The accounts must be running a financial software, the production must be running their tools, and the marketing department would be using different sets of software and tools, and so on. There is always an ERP or a centralized information center which converges all these tools and software to a single unified data base which is utilized by the decision makers and the senior management. All these tools are linked to each other at some extent. This link is established using integration techniques and technologies. A commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) also provide data synchronization and integration, however, with a very limited scope. Usually it is very difficult and expensive to link the COTS with other systems. As they are built on a pre-defined structure which the business can’t alter and it means the desired or optimum level of integration can rarely be achieved.

Businesses always have to alter other tools too, which add up to the cost and make the integration a very costly and difficult task. Sometimes in order to achieve the optimum level of integration businesses might have to introduce intermediary tools which are commonly known as middleware. These tools took the data from one software or database and make it workable for the other and vice versa. That is also a costly endeavor and even then the desired level of integration is very difficult to achieve. However, with the custom software development businesses have a chance to build the application as per the requirements and limitations of the existing IT infrastructure to achieve the maximum level of integration. Furthermore it is very cost-efficient to modify the custom software and upgrade them to improve their compatibility. This provides businesses with a greater advantage and allow them to introduce innovative features to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the custom software without worrying about the cost.

5. Custom Software are Easy to Scale with Ability to Extend Lifecycle

The custom software are far superior then the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) in terms of scalability and longevity. It is all about the ownership of the software. The off-the-shelf software are developed by the service provider and the business have almost no control over it, if the service provider decided to pull the plug, business have no choice but to move on with an alternate. For example, Office 365 is a popular Microsoft tool for businesses, let say in coming 5 years, the Microsoft decided to replace it with a new one and within another couple of years they stopped support for the tool, the businesses who are using it, can’t do anything. They must have to switch. However, in case of custom software development the business owns the software, it have full control and authority over it. If the business wants to modify it or upgrade it they can do it and if they want to use for extended period of time, they can do that too. There is no barrier, limit or restriction.

The commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) offers good scalability but with a very hefty price tag. The custom software doesn’t require any additional cost and offer excellent scalability support. Each business is growing, for example, last year the business had 250 employees and now they reached to 300, they will have to acquire the licenses for the new employees which will cost them a lot. However with the customized software there is no such limitation, businesses can add as many users they want without worrying about additional fees or any such thing. Furthermore the customized software can be used for as long as the business wants. The biggest reason of changing a software is due to its limited features and over the time the usefulness of a tool also decreases. The COTS doesn’t address this issue seriously and eventually businesses will have to make a shift from one solution to another. But the custom software offers great value and businesses can easily upgrade and modernize them by modifying existing features and introducing new features which increase the lifecycle of the software to several more years and save a lot of cost and effort of switching to another software.

Customer Software and COTS Cost Comparison

Apart from advantages and features the custom software have excellent ROI (returns over investments) in the long term. It is a common misperception in Dubai, UAE markets that the custom software are expensive. However, that is not correct. The commercial off-the-shelf software’s initial cost is low and businesses can deploy them very quickly however, in long term the COTS are way too expensive, the scaling is very expensive, the integration is difficult which increase its time and cost. Sometimes intermediary tools or middleware are used to bridge the gap between the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) and other tools to improve the integration process which is fairly expensive and time taking task. It is very difficult to find all the required features, as the needs grow business will have to upgrade them. In some cases businesses hit the road block where the software can no longer support the needs and eventually they will have to move to another comer off-the-shelf software or customized software solution to meet the needs. This all have additional cost, efforts and even disruption in regular work flow which also tend to cost money and time.

The custom software development is a very flexible solution, it provides full control and allow much higher levels of customization, integration and scalability. Scaling doesn’t require package upgrade or additional licensing fees. The business have full control over the customizations and modifications in the software. The business owns the software, hence it is not dependent on any vendor. The businesses can even manage in-house software management and maintenance team which enables them to unlimited changes and modifications in the custom software. Businesses can also expand the software implementation to their subsidiaries, partners and even customers without any expense. The custom software have longer lifecycle and can be modernized and upgrade to meet the growing needs and changing trends which eliminate the need of migrating to a totally different software solution and save a lot of efforts, resources and money as well. Hence in the long term the custom software is much more reliable, cost efficient and useful comparing to the COTS and that is the reason it yields far better ROIs.

Conclusion

The Dubai and all around the UAE businesses are facing many challenges, one of them is related to their IT needs. The markets are doing well, the overall economy of the country is growing at a smooth pace, which attract more investors. Hence the competition is also getting tough day by day. Businesses need to perform very well in order to stay relevant in the market. The modern day businesses are heavily relying on the IT and digital solution for their regular operations. This is where it could make a huge difference and provide businesses with a great competitive edge which help them stand out among the rest of the competition. Growth and progress is the primary goal of any business. With growth the internal and external needs also grow, businesses have to scale at a much faster rate than that of their growth if they want to sustain a long term success. That is why businesses deploy different types of software and continuously upgrading their digital arsenal in order to boost productivity, performance and profitability. Whenever a new need arose or a business wants to replace an existing old system with a new one to boost the efficiency and to support the modernization and innovation, the biggest challenge for the management is to decide between commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) and the tailor-made custom software solution.

There is no doubt the custom software are far superior then the commercial off-the-shelf software in terms of productivity, adoptability, integration, performance and ROI. In this blog we have mentioned five biggest advantages of the custom software while comparing them with the counterpart COTS software solutions. If you need any more help about the subject or if you want us to help you build your next game changing customized software solution, 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.

Check out this: What is CXM (Customer Experience Management)?

June 30, 2022

Guide to Custom Software Development

The custom software development is a relatively new term for most of the small and medium sized businesses however, large companies and enterprises are rapidly adopting to this new innovative way of leveraging the IT. Earlier the physical store or office was enough to satisfy the customers. Large businesses were used to open several branches in a single city. However, things have changed rapidly in this part of the world. Especially the Dubai and the matter of fact is the entire UAE have witnessed a great transformation over the past two decades. The country mainly become the business hub for the entire Middle East, Africa and Asia as well. It also become a very attractive spot for the multinational businesses who want to expand in above mentioned regions. This results in huge growth in various business sectors. Hundreds of new businesses are registering on monthly bases in the different parts of the country. From having the busiest airport to largest sea port and some of the world’s largest and most famous shopping malls, the country is full of opportunities for new investors.

Millions of visitors and tourist are flooding the country every year. Whether it is IT, construction, real estate, eCommerce, multinationals, oil & gas industry, or whatever else, every market is growing on a rapid pace. Where this trend boosted the economy it also make the market a bit more challenging too. Businesses are facing a lot of challenges and the tougher competition is at the top. This requires from any business whether small or large to ensure customer satisfaction, highest efficiency and productivity. Higher efficiency, resource optimization, productivity and superior performance is a key to long term success. The world is getting more digital day by day. The modern economies, markets, and even our personal lives are heavily dependent on the IT (information technology). A business needs to have a great IT infrastructure if it wants to survive in the heavily data driven markets. For that businesses needs several software, tools and applications. In this blog we will discuss how a customized software development can help a business in achieving superior efficiency and greater competitive advantage which can ensure their long term success and continuous growth.

What is a Custom Software Development?

In simple words a custom software development is a tailor-made solution and the customized software are designed exclusively for a certain group of users or business. The difference between the custom software development and traditional software is that, the traditional software are off-the-shelf ready-made solution usually designed for generic use and are intended to be available for masses. The commercial off-the-shelf software or also known as COTS are designed for a large number of businesses, the chances are you and almost all of your competitor would be using a similar kind of software or even the same software supplied by the same company. This means all the features and advantages you can get from it are also available for your competitors too. However, the custom software development brings innovation and exclusivity which can provide you a great competitive advantage. There are several other benefits of the customized software development such as:

Great competitive advantage
Superior efficiency and productivity
Unique and innovative product
Intuitive user interface (UI) and user experience (UX)
Higher efficiency and great productivity
Easy integration with third-party software and tools
Simple and cost-efficient scalability
Proprietary and ownership rights
High return over investment (ROI)

The off-the-shelf software solutions are quick to deploy, in fact a business can start using the software immediately after acquiring it. However, there are so many advantages of the custom software development which is making it popular all over the world. Businesses are making transition from the COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) software to custom software development to leverage the information technology more effectively and efficiently.

When you Need Custom Software Development?

The custom software development is a bit more expensive than the commercial off-the-shelf solutions. That is why most of the time businesses are reluctant to go for custom software development. Sometimes businesses also need an instant solution. There could be many reasons however, here is a check list of all the important point that will help you decide if you should take the custom software development route or the off-the-shelf solution.

Go for Custom Software Development: If you need high-level security

Custom software development is considered to be the best for the high-level security. Most of the time the problem with the off-the-shelf software tools is that they are widely available and anyone can access them. Hence it is easier for internet pirates to exploit the flaws gain access to your valuable data. According to several market researches and studies the most affected software from hackers are the off-the-shelf software. As they are easily available and it easier to understand the structure of the software by using it. However, the custom software development is much secure as the software is not available for anyone other than the authorized users hence it is hidden from internet pirates or hackers. Furthermore the business can ask the custom software development company to include several security features which can make it more protected and secure against most of the threats. The data security and protection is extremely important for a business’s reputation. Any data breach could ruin the customer relationship and cause serious damage to brand’s reputation.

Go for Custom Software Development: If you need quick adoptability and modernization

The market changes very rapidly, this requires businesses to adopt to those changes more quickly and be more responsive. With commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) this is very difficult as usually the software vendor or service provider take a lot of time to push new features and upgrades. However, with the custom software development a businesses can make quick changes and update or upgrade it as and when needed. This not only help businesses to quickly respond to the ever changing market trends but it also provide them a greater competitive advantage. Furthermore the modernization is also a somewhat similar trait. Every business have to evolve with the market changes. The modernization is a must to have feature with your software tools and systems. Using outdated or older software and solution can prevent a business from adopting modern trends and full filling its user’s and customers’ needs.

Go for Custom Software Development: If you need high scalability

No matter if you are a startup or SME or a large enterprise, every business’s prime goal is to grow and expand to generate more revenue. Business keep growing and their needs also keep growing, the software or any other IT solution they are deploying has to be able to keep up with the growth. Rather being obstacle to it, the software should support and facilitate growth. This means that the software should be able to deal with the foreseen and expected growth scenarios. The commercial off-the-shelf software also support scalability but the process is complicated and expensive. As such software are meant to be used by a mass audience over different industries and regions, so it is hard to get the desired changes in it. Despite that fact the scalability comes with additional cost. However, a custom software development is more future-ready and provide flexible and easy solutions for scalability. Businesses can also plan for expected scenarios in future and it is easy to handle unexpected situations as well. The scalability and upgrades are also very cost-efficient with the custom software development which makes them superior to off-the-shelf solutions.

Go for Custom Software Development:If you want easy integration with other systems

A successful modern business requires quick businesses processes, highly integrated business functions and rapid fast data communication. That is why businesses tend to integrate different software and systems. Usually businesses have a centralized information center which serves as a mainframe or the common database for the entire business. Integration with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) is relatively difficult. As the software are design for a variety of different users, its structure is also generic, hence it is difficult to achieve very specific functionalities or features with the integration. Most of the times the COTS only allow a basic level of integration which is not always sufficient to obtain the desired features. However, the customized software development is done exclusively for a particular group of user and business, thus it doesn’t have any such barrier and it provide full support for high-level integration. Which not only improve business processes but also prevent common problems such as lack of information sharing between different departments, repeated work and difficult UIs for the users.

Go for Custom Software Development: If you want to Improve Internal Workflow

Each business evolves differently, businesses in the same industry could have completely different internal processes, workflow and operations. Each business develops a unique culture and have different situations than the other. In order to maximize the efficiency of each business function the business develops a very unique and distinct operations and internal processes. Each business develop those practices differently however, the off-the-shelf software are standardized and have a pre-defined structure, which requires businesses to make amendments and changes to their internal processes and work flow to align with the software. Thus such changes cause disturbance and result in low performance and efficiency. In some cases a business might have to develop some intermediate solution to be able to utilize the features of the COTS software which also comes with additional cost. However, the customized software development is designed to fully meet the needs of the customer, hence it not only boost the work flow but it also simplify internal processes and optimize resources. Furthermore the customized software can also evolve with the business and offer cost-effective updates and upgrades.

Go for Custom Software Development: If you want to achieve maximum ROI

The custom software development might seem costly and the initial cost is also higher comparing to the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) however, the operational or long term running cost is very less. The custom software is tailor-made for your needs and is also ready and very supportive for future development. The integration cost, scalability and compatibility with existing systems and tools make it even more cost-efficient. The custom software are also more flexible with unplanned or unexpected changes that might cost you huge amount in case of commercial off-the-shelf software. And even despite paying huge charges most of the time the business failed to achieve the desired functionalities. The customized software doesn’t have any such issue. It provide more flexibility and control. The business can have the ownership of the software, hence they don’t remain dependent on a single vendor either. They can have their in-house team to manage the maintenance and changes of the software or they can chose any other third-party vendor to do the same for them which can make a huge difference in terms of cost. That is why the customized software are far better in terms of cost-efficiency comparing to the commercial off-the-shelf software and produce much higher ROI.

How to Develop a Customized Software?

The custom software development have two key components which can make is successful. First is the research and software plan the second component is the customized software development company. Whenever a business needs a software solution and they consider customized software development the biggest challenge they face is the selection of a good customized software development company. Here are some steps that can help you finding and selecting a good customized software development company in Dubai, UAE:

Step 1: Search in the internet, ask colleagues, friends and anyone who can suggest a customized software development company
Step 2: Make a list of at least 10 companies and start scrutinizing them one by one
Step 3: Contact these companies, send them the NDA (non-disclosure agreement), consider the response time and talk with sales representative and explain them your problem
Step 4:Go through the websites of each short listed company, check their partners, portfolio, client’s testimonials, case studies on their website, and blog sections
Step 5: A good software development company in Dubai or anywhere else in UAE always manages their website very well, check how well organized the content is and arrange the list as per the quality, information, trust markers and attractiveness of their website
Step 6:Make a list of the top five and ask them to arrange a requirement gathering meeting
Step 7: Carefully analyze them during the meeting and see which company offers you a good solution to your problem and provide you suggestions and recommendations as per their experience in the relevant solutions
Step 8: Rearrange the list as per the performance of the company in the meeting and ask them to share the proposals and quotations
Step 9: Compare the solution’s technical features and the pricing, here the criteria shouldn’t be only the pricing but you will have to make a balance between what you are getting and how cost-efficient it is
Step 10:Short list at least three companies at this stage and start negotiation rounds
Step 11: By this time you would have already got several different solutions, try to add more features to the solution while negotiate for reducing the cost. Ask them to provide you detailed costing of managing, maintenance, upgrades and scaling in future
Step 12: Now you can easily judge which customized software development company is best for you, signup with them and initiate the project
Step 13: During the initial phase of custom software development the vendor will share wireframe and basic UIs with you, carefully go through each screen, understand workflow, make changes if you want and finalize the best UI as per your needs
Step 14: After finalizing the design and the UI the vendor will start developing your custom software, at this stage they will do the programming and develop algorithms, there is not much you can do at this stage, but it is better to ask the vendor to share the each module when it is completed so you can have an idea of the progress
Step 15:Conduct a brief UAT (user acceptance test), then go for beta launch or soft launch and gather as much feedback as you can and make changes if needed to make your custom software more user-friendly
Step 16: Hire a third-party digital security firm to do the security testing of the software and ask the development company to do the changes they recommend, once the software is passed through the security testing stage, it is ready for the launch
Step 17: Prepare to go live and arrange training sessions, provide user manuals and share support mechanisms with relevant users
Step 18: Go live, make the software available for every user
Step 19: Collect user feedback and prepare a plan for upgrade or changes in future
Step 20:Closely analyze the impact of your new customized software on relevant business processes and try to identify the area of improvement and keep it for the future upgrades

If you will follow the above mentioned step you can not only easily identify a best custom software development company for you but you can also make strategies for the future based on the impact of the software on your existing business processes and work flow. The annual maintenance contracts and the SLAs (service level agreements) are always beneficial and provide support to further refine the software.

Conclusion

In this modern age it is absolutely necessary for any business to utilize digital and IT technologies to boost their operational capabilities, productivity and to enhance their customer experience. When any such need arises the biggest challenge is to decide if you should go for a commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) or a custom software development. In this blog we have covered all the important points and key features of customer software development. If you are interested in any of these then you should go for the customized software development. Initially it looks slightly expensive than the COTS however, in long term the custom software development can yield excellent ROIs. Furthermore the custom software are exclusively designed for the business so the user experience and performance is remarkable. The scalability, future development and expansion is also the key traits of customized software development.

In this blog we have also included a step by step guide on how to develop a custom software from searching up for the vendor to executing the project and even after launch steps too. Hope this will you through the process. In case you want to learn more on the subject or want our help to develop a custom software solution for you which can boost your performance and operational capabilities to generate more revenue and optimize the cost, 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.

Check out this: Building the Customer Experience of the Future

June 2, 2022

Trends in custom software development in 2022

In the modern world the businesses have become more dependent on the IT technology and digital systems. The businesses are more data driven than ever before. This puts software and IT at the center point of any business. In Dubai and all around the UAE the markets are very competitive, the industries are very advanced and modernized. The customer trends are also changing abruptly and frequently. For any business with a long term goals and vision it is crucial to be prepared and responsive to all those changes. That is why businesses use a variety of software solutions to help them keep up with the ever-changing market trends. The software have revolutionized the businesses and their day-to-day operations. The automation is taking over gradually and the software and IT infrastructure have become a very valuable asset for any business. That is why the software development industry have also witnessed unprecedented growth across all fields.

From the HR department to strategy making, from manufacturing to supply chain management and from marketing to customer relationship management, all business functions require a software based IT infrastructure to support their daily operations and to maximize the output of the business processes. No matter how big or small your operations is or to which industry or sector you belongs to, the software based solutions are absolutely essential to compete in the market. All software can be classified as COTS (commercial off-the-shelf or ready-made software), MOTS (modifiable or modified off-the-shelf software), GOTS (Government off-the-shelf software solutions) and custom software development. For COTS, MOTS, and GOTS the software infrastructure is built for general purpose, however, it can be modified to meet specific needs of the customer in some cases. Whereas the customized software development is totally tailor-made software solution which is exclusively developed and designed to meet the needs of a specific group of users or a business.

Each software development type have its own merits and demerits however, the flexibility, control and excellent long-term ROI makes customized software development far superior than the others. That is why businesses in Dubai, UAE and all around the world are realizing the effectiveness and convenience of the customized software development resulting in huge growth in the market. When it comes to customized software development most of the time the businesses outsource them due to the limitation of the in-house IT department. That is why businesses need to acquire knowledge about customized software and the latest market trends to be able to build a great high-performance software solution. Here are the latest trends and most disruptive technologies in customized software development in 2022 and most likely these all trends& technologies will remain relevant for the 2023 as well as for several more years in future.

Cloud Technology

The cloud computing or virtual computing has proven to be one of the most disruptive technology which restructuring the IT landscape all around the world. According to a press release by Gartner the worldwide cloud market is expected to reach to USD 480 Billion by the end of 2022 which is almost 22% growth from the USD 396 Billion in previous year. With the increasing deployments of 5G technology all around the world, the cloud computing market is set to explode in coming years. The main reason for cloud adaptation is the rising needs of computing power, rising expense of traditional data centers and flexible and cost-efficient plans for the cloud computing. The biggest advantage of cloud computing is on-demand based services. Businesses can get the infrastructure as per their needs, and they have to pay only for what they need, no more bundles and packages or rented servers. Which makes cloud technology more cost-efficient.

Furthermore it provide huge storage capacities at a very cheap rates and the computing resources are also far superior then the traditional hosting.

Software Integration

There was a time when businesses were demanding only standalone systems and software. The integration was not as that popular because the standalone systems were enough. However, since past decade the markets have become more dynamic and changes are more abrupt. This requires excellent communication and quicker data processing. The market trends and the growing demand from the customer pushed businesses to develop inter-connected systems and more robust IT infrastructure. The integration enables different software to communicate with each other that also includes real-time data synchronization. The modern customer experience and customer expectations also demand interconnectivity at the user touch points. This compelled businesses to innovate more integrated and connected software solutions. The data that was previously stored on multiple isolated databases, is now available for all business functions instantly.

Some businesses use a centralized information center which gathers data from all connected systems and make it available whenever needed and wherever needed. This all is only possible with software integration. This trend is gaining more popularity in 2022 and in fact in some cases multiple organizations also integrate their software to enable automated and instant data communication across different organizational networks. The software integration will soon evolve from a popular trend to industry standard in coming years.

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

The progressive web apps are a based on certain technologies that can utilize both the website and the native app features. It can be viewed in a web browser like a simple web app or website and it can also be installed on the supported operating system and can also work offline. Furthermore the Progressive Web Apps are built on advanced software platforms that can enhance user experience by providing them both an app and a website like experience. The Progressive Web Apps can support push notifications, alerts and they can access the device hardware too which enable businesses to offer advanced features that add value and convenience to the user experience. Studies have revealed that the modern day consumers put user experience equal to the quality of the product. This makes customer experience a crucial aspect of the customer satisfaction strategy.

The PWAs are created using multiple technologies that allow them to provide excellent cross-platform compatibility without any trade-off or losing user experience. The progressive web apps are software that are designed to enhance the efficiency and user experience but this doesn’t make them expensive and sophisticated, in fact with just a small investment a business can gain huge advantages for its customers and employees which eventually translates to higher productivity and profitability.

Artificial Intelligence Based Software

The rise in cloud computing and super-fast and efficient hardware development and need to process huge data is encouraging businesses and corporations to adopt to Artificial Intelligence (AI). That is why businesses all over the world are funding research and development in the field of artificial intelligence. The use of Al (artificial intelligence), Smart Algorithms, Machine Learning and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is increasing all around the world. But unfortunately in Dubai and other parts of UAE or in fact all around the world there is a common perception about the Artificial Intelligence (AI) that it is very expensive. The matter of fact is it really is very expensive, but still software developer can utilize them within their apps. The each business uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) as per their needs most commonly the AI based solutions are used to enhance user experience and to analyze large data more quickly.

The AI and algorithms can be programed to help businesses understanding trends, patterns and even making future projections on the bases of historical data. The latest hardware is capable of delivering lightning-speed data transfer rates, which makes it possible for the AI based software to work efficiently. The artificial intelligence has become essential part of the search engines, social media, communication and digital marketing platforms. Businesses can now develop intelligent software on very economical costs and with greater efficiency.

IoT Based Industrial Software

The IoT or internet of things is a network of things, which are physical objects. These objects are also referred to as smart things or smart equipment. These things can be connected to a mainframe where pre-programed algorithms control them and take decisions, the smart devices have ability to communicate with other devices as well as to work on their own or by the instructions from the mainframe or server. These devices are usually equipped with smart software, sensors and other mechanical features. The IoT is also known as smart home or office automation but its industrial application is rapidly increasing in 2022. We will see rise in IoT compatible software applications for both public and industrial sectors in the coming years. The use of IoT based devices in the industrial software and tools increase the work efficiency by automating data collection, processing and data analysis. Without the help of software these tasks require a lot of human resources with lesser accuracy.

Since upgrading an entire industry is a very expensive task and businesses often don’t do that. This compelled big technology manufacturers to develop intermediary devices which can act like a bridge between the older technologies and the newer ones. That is why the IoT based industrial software development has raised in 2022 and we are anticipating that the trend will increase in the coming years.

Blockchain and Web3 Based Software

The Blockchain and web3 is offering an alternate to the classical technology with more agility, transparency and security. Although the technology has been introduced in 2008 but in past few years it gain rapid adaptation by financial sector and many industries. It provide a de-centralized, secure and completely transparent platform which businesses have started using to upgrade their internal echo systems. Obviously when we read or hear Blockchain the first thing that came to our mind is Bitcoin, however, the Bitcoin, Etherium or any other crypto currency cannot exist without the Blockchain. Especially the application in the cyber-security and commerce are endless. Furthermore the financial sector, logistics, corporate sector and research institutions are heavily utilizing the potential of the Blockchain and web3 based custom software development.

Regardless of the industry the Blockchain and web3 are used to transform the business models and offering decentralized solutions with added benefits of security, transparency and ability to create more revenue streams. The technology is still in its infancy however, since the beginning of 2022 we are witnessing a huge increase in demand and the trend could continue for many coming years in future.

Low-code or No-code Custom Software Development Platforms

The low-code or no-code custom software development platform are gaining huge popularity since past few years and since the beginning of 2022 these tools are becoming more popular as the awareness about such tools has also increased all across the cyber world. The biggest advantage of utilizing a low-code of no-code custom software development platform is the independence and cost-efficacy. As hiring an in-house software development team or hiring a custom software development company is a very expensive feat. Businesses are diverting their attentions to the low-code or no-code customer software development methods and technologies. Again thanks to the advancements in the cloud computing and the artificial intelligence (AI) the low-code or no-code custom software development platforms become a possibility and also available for anyone worldwide.

Rather building a custom software from scratch and doing programing and source code the businesses can chose an appropriate platform that allow them to create customized software with the help of a very intuitive UI (user interface), mostly the drag and drop is enough to create a basic level web app or mobile application. The process is extremely quick and cost-efficient which is another reason of the increasing popularity of low-code or no-code custom software development platforms in 2022 and the trend will increase in coming years, even some market analysts are suggesting that almost 60% to 65% of the custom software could be done using these platforms by the end of 2024.

Conclusion

The custom software development provides much more flexibility, control and freedom comparing to the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions. That is why more and more businesses are now investing into customized software development instead of acquiring an off-the-shelf solution. However, many businesses and organizations in Dubai, UAE are not as that familiar of the potential of the customized software development. In this blog we have mentioned a few popular trends in the customized software development. These all trends are most likely to remain popular throughout the 2022 and for many more coming years in future. With the ability to tailor-made a solution 100% as per your needs can boost its efficiency and impact. That is why businesses can utilize the customized software development to bring in innovative solutions and ideas that can provide them much needed competitive edge. Competitive advantage and exclusivity could be a game changer for any business.

RSI Concepts is a leading brand name in customized software development in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more or if you want us to help you with your next customized software development project, 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.

Check out this: How to Develop Customized Enterprise Performance Management Software?

May 19, 2022

How to Develop a Custom Property Management Software?

The Dubai and several other part of UAE are considered to be the most attractive places for real estate investments. Thanks to the government policies and supportive measures the real estate industry is booming, despite the fact the past few years were not so good due to the pandemic, the Dubai specifically and several other parts of UAE have witnessed record high sales and rental stats. Where the market is rapidly growing more and more investors are investing into real estate and property management, it means the competition for a property management and real estate business is very high. There are tons of ready-made off-the-shelf solutions for property management which provide very advanced features for landlords, tenants, hotel guests, management and all staff as well. However, if you really want to stand out of the crowd then you must have to do what others are not doing. That is why any good real estate business would chose to develop their own custom property management software.

The customized property management software allow businesses to build the system as per their existing business processes. The off-the-shelf property management systems are designed for a large user group, which means all of the users will eventually end up changing their business processes and methods as per the software, else they will have to do a lot of manual work or in some cases they can’t even do it manually due to the magnitude of the work. However, a custom property management system is tailored to aid the existing business processes and methods, it doesn’t impose any change as it is completely designed as per the needs, so it can significantly boost the performance and productivity. That is why for real estate and property management businesses a tailor-made custom property management software is always the best choice.

But the question is how to develop it? Most of the time the biggest hurdle that any business owner or manager faces is the hesitance about developing a custom software as it involves technical details, programing, source codes, etc. That is the reason we are writing this article to help our audience understand how they can have an excellent custom property management software in Dubai, UAE.

Make a Plan! And Set Goals

Without a good plan you can’t get what you want and the project could get very messy. Here by good I don’t mean a high-level professional IT plan type of plan, but just a simple plan which covers all important aspects. Being a business owner or a manager you will have to do some research. Talk with your sub-ordinates, sales teams, accounts, operations, and all heads of the departments and ask for their feedback. Draw a map of the existing business processes and work flows, a simple flow chat would suffice. Enlist the features you are currently needing and also think about some things that you might going to need in future. Try to take feedback from your customers about all the user interfaces you are providing them and you want to provide them. Have a detailed look at your competitors and industry leaders. This will draw the blue prints of your custom property management software.

Think about what you want to achieve by implementing this property management software. For example, you think currently your customer service and complain mechanisms are lagging, and you want to improve that area and so on. Try to compile everything in a single document, this document can be later used as the requirement to be shared with the IT Company who will be developing the custom property management software for you. You don’t have to worry about technicalities, just try to keep it simple, as simple as any ordinary person can understand and make sense of it. This can serve as your plan very well.

How to Find a Software Development Company in Dubai?

Finding a good software development company in Dubai, UAE is very tricky. There are hundreds if not thousands of custom software development companies in Dubai and in entire UAE. However, there are only a few who could deliver. As you already have a document and your goals are documented, you can share it with different software development companies in Dubai. The search/Google is the best place to begin with. Search for the software development companies in Dubai, make a list. Ask your friends and colleagues and if anyone of them suggest any company add it to your list. It is safe to have at least ten custom software companies in the list to start. I will explain later how you can short list and finalize one of them. But at the initial stage it is good to have at least a list of ten companies. Then start with their website, go through their website, try to find their customers, look up for testimonials and their business partners. Check their blog and see how active they are at their blog. It is very simple. Now rearrange your list and put which you think is good at top and arrange them all.

From now on I will list the scrutinizing process in steps, try to follow them as per the order:

Contact the listed custom software development companies via Email or Contact Form
Ask them to sign the NDA (Non-disclosure Agreement)
Share your requirement document with them and let them revert back to you
Schedule a short call or an online meeting to initiate the process
They will definitely ask you several questions, try to answer them all
At this stage you would know which one of them are more interested and capable
Make your list shorter and cut it to at least five
Ask those five custom software development companies for a meeting and presentation
In this meeting try to evaluate the representatives, their presentations, and discussion, etc.
Ask them to submit their initial proposals, offers, credentials and also ask them for references to their existing customers
Evaluate those offers on the bases of technical and commercial aspects, try to contact their customers and ask them for their opinion and experience
Take at least three out of these offers and negotiate the technical and commercial proposals
Ask them to share project plan and full technical scope of work
Ask them to offer you guarantee, warrantee, maintenance and SLAs and compare them
Now you can easily chose any one of them
Sign Agreements and Kick Start the project

Here in UAE we always find customers who are unhappy from off-shore service providers, which is why we always recommend our readers and customers to go with a company who is based in Dubai or anywhere in UAE. It is very difficult to set disputes with the off-shore company. A well-reputed custom software development company like RSI Concepts will always deliver good projects. Such companies always help and support their customers and they are also bound by the local laws, hence the customer’s rights are well protected.

How to Execute Custom Property Management Software Development Project?

Any software or IT system development project is executed in several phases. All software development companies in Dubai, UAE or in fact all around the world works on the project in different phases, because that is the most practical and efficient way of doing it. Before even starting the project you should ask the software development company to provide you a detailed scope of work and a project plan. If you already have experience or if you are totally new to custom software development, here are some important steps that will help you in executing a custom property development software project:

Step 1 – Wireframe: Any software development project starts with a wireframe phase. The custom software development company provide a wireframe which is a demonstration of the user interface (UI) and it also explains the user experience (UX) in great details. You can ask the software development and design team to make amendment at this stage. As it is easier and usually there is no additional cost of making changes at this stage unless you are asking for a big change or you deviate from the original scope of work. The wireframe explains each and every screen of the software so be careful at this stage and make sure you get everything as per your need and expectations.
Step 2 –UI Design: Once the wireframes are finalized the next step is to design the user interface. The user interface will be the final look and feel of your custom property management software. Since it is a custom property management software development so the business will have the full ownership and rights over it. It is good to ask the design team to make it aligned with your brand and use your logo and branding to design the UI and UX.
Step 3 –Development: After completing the UI/UX designs the project now enters into the development phase. This is the stage when the custom software development company will write the source code, build algorithms and functionalities in your custom property management software. Mostly the software development companies share the progress after completing the development phase but some companies also provide regular updates and share the incomplete software too. For example, if the tenant management module is complete they ask you to test it while they are working on the other modules in parallel. The better approach is to let them finish the complete software and then test it this will save a lot of time and hustle.
Step 4 –UAT: After completing the development phase the project enters into the test phase. In the testing phase both the custom software development company and the business does the testing. At UAT (user acceptance test) stage you must have to check each and every functionality to make sure everything is as per the previously agreed scope of work. Any feedback or changes can be made at this stage, but it is better to stick with the actual scope of work.
Step 5 –Launch: At the UAT stage the project is still in the test environment, after passing that stage the project is deployed in a live environment, whether it is a cloud, online server, or local/in-premises server. The launch also have two stages. First stage is beta launch. In the beta stage the customer property management software is made available to a selective audience which includes users from all user groups. At this stage businesses can take feedback and suggestion and make amendments too if needed. After the beta launch is successful a training program is executed to make all employees familiar with the new software and then the project is fully commissioned and made available to everyone.
Step 6 –Post-Launch: The post-launch includes all the marketing efforts and an active user feedback collection campaign. This provides businesses an idea about the effectiveness of the custom property management system. Businesses can also collect feedback and suggestion and consider them in future updates or revised versions of the software.

These steps are a general overview of the software project execution. Businesses and the software development company can establish a different understanding and project plan to ensure better results. However, it is better to do one thing at a time and complete the entire project in multiple phases and stages.

What are the Important Features of a Property Management System?

The features of any software determines its usability and the value it can add to the user experience. For a customized property management software it can have and it should have all the necessary features that a business wants and that are required to help business in achieving their short term and long term goals. A custom property management software have different application in slightly different industry sectors, hence for each the features and specification could differ from one another. Here are some application of a property management software:

Real Estate Management
Residential Facility Management
Industrial Facility Management
Hotel Management
Shopping Mall Management
Centralized Information Center
Multi-branch & Multi-location Management

There are many more but the common thing is that each property management software have similar kind of user groups so each one have almost similar user interfaces. Apart from the user interface there are several other modules that are common too. So, here we will list some key features and modules that can benefit all different types of property management software.

Web Interfaces of a Custom Property Management Software

The web interface is the most common feature of property management software and such systems. The web interface is designed to allow users to easily access the system using a simple web browser. The web interface should have a few key features that will make it more efficient and user friendly:

Intuitive User Interface with adequate helping material such as (tool-tips, help icons, etc.)
Allow online access from outside the organization as well
Should have responsive and cross-platform compatibility features
Simple and easy to understand navigational structure
Ability to prevent user from accessing unauthorized information and functions
Ability to offer different color schemes and allow users to arrange their dashboard

The web user interface is a very important aspect of any software tool. For property management software the web user interface should be very user-friendly. A good user interface (UI) can speed up different tasks and have significant positive impact on user’s performance. The web user interfaces are designed for both the internal and external uses. Internally the employees, sales teams, customer support and service teams, maintenance teams, management and all other business functions use it and externally the interface is made available via online for the customers.

Smartphone Applications and Mobile Interface

These days the smartphone applications are getting very popular and more common than ever before. Businesses are offering mobile applications and continuously trying to improve them. The biggest reason of the popularity of the smartphone applications is that users can get a very personalized experience. Here are some key features that your smartphone application should have:

Dedicated interface for different user groups (landlords, owners, tenants, maintenance teams, office staff, management, etc.)
Compatible with Android and iOS Mobile Phones
Single Time Sign-in with additional security features
Ability to download, upload and scan documents through the device camera
Online Payment Features to allow users to make instant payments
In-App alerts and news along with Push-notifications
Real-time access to the central information center
Ability to search for content, information and communication
Ability to look up for branch or office with navigation
In-built communication module (chat with staff, complaint center, feedback and suggestions, etc.)
Appointment booking and integration with queue management system

These are some of the most commonly used features in a property management software mobile app. Businesses can add more innovative features to enhance the user experience and to improve the productivity.

Internet Interface or Website

The internet interface or website of a property management business is available for everyone to access via online. It has to be perfect as it had significant impact on the overall digital brand identity of the business too. Although some property management businesses consider websites separate form their core property management application, however a property management business’s website is also just an extension of their core property management software as it heavily rely on it. Whether you already have a website or are upgrading your website along with your custom property management software, it is better to have the following features in your website:

Simply Navigational Structure and Well Organized Menus
Multimedia content such as Photos and Videos of the property, hotel room, etc.
Smart search with multiple filters to facilitate the property searching
Real-time data synchronization and updates from the central information center
Simple and user-friendly user interface and design theme
Customer centric content and provide additional information along with all listings
Dedicated search result page and property listing pages
Responsive and cross platform compatibility
Super-fast page loading speed on both desktop and mobiles
Simple user registration and dedicated user dashboard to improve personalized user experience
Integration with CRM and complaint management systems
Visible contact information, appointment booking module and simple contact forms
Online payment gateway integration to provide multiple online payment options
Simple and easy sharing features with social media integration
Online chat module or WhatsApp integration
Ability to download and share the property in PDF format

These are just a few most important features of a property management business’s website. You can also add more features and request your website development company to help you adding more interactive and engaging features on your website.

Customer Portal

The customer portals are designed for providing customers service and information. The modern day property management system offer a variety of features that can help improving customer experience and customer journey. Your custom property management software should have all key features to facilitate customer interactions and to make them happy. Here are some important features that your customer portal should have:

Simple and easy online registration
Multiple channels to communicate and share documents, contracts and details
24/7 easy access to the information center, customer support and complaint centers
Dedicated maintenance module to expedite the maintenance request processing
Simple and easy in-app communication and customer feedback module
Good payment gateway service integration to provide multiple easy payment methods
Preferences and customization to provide a personalized customer experience
Similar user journey and user experience across all platforms and channels
Online Directory for various departments and concerned staff members

Businesses can should offer all the important features that they think could help their customers and improve their experience. The customer experience is crucial for customer satisfaction which is a key to long term success.

Sales Team Portal

A dedicated sales team portal can help property management business in boosting sales and revenue. The portal allow simple and easy management of the sales staff. It also record various stats and KPIs which can help management in monitoring and improving the sales department. Each business have different methods and internal processes. That is why a custom property management software can help businesses improve their sales department’s efficiency and performance as it supports their existing processes and help them make improvements. Here are some key features of a sales team portal for the property management software:

Real-time data synchronization and integration with central information center
Instant notifications, alerts and facility to set reminders and follow ups
Smart property visit scheduling module to increase customer visits
Sales Performance and Target Comparison and other Performance Matrices
In-built features to share contracts and process documents to expedite the process
Integration with CRM module and ability to push feedback and surveys to the customers
Ability to send customized notifications, reminders and alerts to the customers
Ability to communicate and share files with other team members through the dashboard
A full-fledged document processing and work flow management module

Each business have different requirements and establish different processes over the time. So, the custom property management software development will allow them to make the software as per their needs which will improve the performance and productivity of the sales department.

Maintenance Requests and Complaints Management

Each property management business knows that this sector receives a huge number of maintenance requests and complaints too. That is why businesses often use a separate complaint management system or they use CRMs and other specialized tools to handle and manage customer complaints and maintenance requests. Most of the modern property management system have maintenance requests but not the complaint management module, or in some cases both are merged and treated as the same, which is not right. A good property management system should have separate maintenance requests and complaint management modules. Here are some key features that you should consider while developing a custom property management system:

Dedicated and separate Maintenance Request Management and Complaint Management Modules
Facility to segregate the maintenance requests on the bases of priority and importance
Facility to segregate different types of customer on the bases of their categories (regular, VIP, Premium, Residential, Commercial, etc.)
Automatic complaint distribution mechanism and notifications/alerts for the concerned staff
Automatic customer feedback or review collection after completing the maintenance
Intuitive complaint management module with ability to forward and escalate the complaints
Complaint escalation and forward should trigger pre-programmed alerts and notifications
Direct communication with the complainant and ability to share their contact details through the dashboard/portal
Active customer feedback collection and ability to close the loop

For any property management system or facility management system proactively managing the complaints and maintenance request is extremely important. It requires a strong communication network and the custom property management software allow you to automate various processes, set alerts and notification which makes it a lot easier and quicker for the staff to deliver good quality service.

Dedicated Modules for Each Business Function

A custom property management software allow businesses to create dedicated modules for each business function (sales, marketing, operations, maintenance, procurement, maintenance & service, etc.). The businesses have full control over the work flow, data sharing and administrative mechanisms. The customization allow them to make the software as per their needs, hence after commissioning the custom property management software the business or any of its functions doesn’t need to make changes to their processes and routines. In fact the software help them to improve their current processes and methods they follow. This could significantly boost the overall productivity and profitability of the business. As in case of a ready-made or off-the-shelf solution the businesses always have to make adjustments and even big changes in their internal and external business processes and methods they are following, which in long term also impact on their strategy. So, it is crucial that the new software is just helping and making improvement in the existing processes.

Work Flow Management and Administrative Hierarchy

For any property management businesses the work flow and administrative hierarchy is very important. Each businesses have different internal structure and over the time they tend to develop and evolve into a very unique and distinctive eco-system. A stock or off-the-shelf solution can never meet the needs of a growing organization. So, a custom property management software is always remain superior in this regard. It provide more flexibility and control over internal processes, assigning and defining job roles and setting up administrative hierarchy. This enable businesses to gain full control over their strategic and tactical processes and enables them to alter anything anytime as per their needs without making any change or customization in the existing system. It also makes regular administrative tasks simpler and easier. With just a few clicks a manager can appoint someone on a job role, or even assign them additional charge of two positions. Within a few clicks, a business management can change the access and control of any employee. Such things are very helpful for the management and keep them focused on their primary tasks and goals.

Business Intelligence Data Collection

Collecting valuable business intelligence data is extremely crucial in the modern data driven world. For any business it is crucial to have a good understanding of their customers, the market trends, and of course their own weaknesses and strengths. Make sure you custom property management software is capable of collecting valuable business intelligence data and system usage information. That is not all, the data collection, system stats, user activities and such details could be very helpful in certain scenarios. Businesses do whatever they can to improve their customer’s experience and to make them happy and satisfy. Businesses also invest heavily in systems and solutions which can help them to boost the performance and productivity. Here is a short list of some key data points that every property management business should consider monitoring and recording:

Login activity and task activity record
Workflow and approval records
Performance matrices and employee KPIs
Customer happiness and customer satisfaction matrices
All kind of trends and customer purchase patterns
Customer and visitors details and their demographics
Performance matrices for each department and business functions
Ability to conduct customer feedback surveys and ability to process the feedback data
Accounting and Finance KPIs and performance matrices
Customer support center and complaint management department’s performance data
Website analytical and social media statistics

These are just a few key areas which will help you to focus on more details which you can ask your software development company to include in the reporting and analytical modules. This data can help management and heads of the departments to make better strategies and take informed decisions.

Future Scalability and Maintenance

The custom property management software should be able to handle scalability. The problem the off-the-shelf solutions is that as the business grow and its needs grow the cost increases, whether it is just adding more users or up-scaling the server and IT infrastructure, the cost also keep increasing as the needs increase. However, in case of a custom software the business holds the full ownership rights and the customer property management software developer will have to transfer each and every bit of source code, resources and any other ingredient they use to build the software application. Which provide businesses a great advantage and allow them to scale as much as they want without bearing additional cost. Moreover, the business doesn’t get dependent on the development company and they can easily do the maintenance at in-house or they can acquire the services of another third-party. This not only provide more control but also keep the cost under control.

Conclusion

In Dubai and in fact all across the UAE the property management and real estate business is booming. The market is very competitive and the customers are very savvy. In such conditions a business will have to offer excellent services and a unique kind of customer experience which can help them retain their customers and build their reputation and credibility in the market. There are several options available for the property management software however, having a custom property management software which is tailor-made as per the needs and requirements of your business could be game changer. It can boost efficiency and performance without disturbing any existing business process or methods a business is currently following. It can also integrated easily with the existing systems and tools. The customer property management software is much more flexible, offer great control and independence and it is also much more cost-efficient with greater ROI in the long term.

RSI Concepts is a leading customer property management software development company in Dubai, UAE. The purpose of this blog was to give our audience a better understanding of how a custom property management software is built. If you want to learn more about the topic or if you want us to help you building your property management software, please feel free to reach us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this: Why Queue Management Systems Are Essential For Modern Businesses?

April 14, 2022

Why custom software is more cost efficient in UAE?

A modern day business in UAE and in fact all around the world couldn’t survive for long without integrating the digital and information technology in their business functions. Whether you are a small or medium size business (SME) or a large production factory or a multinational enterprise, these days the emails have replaced the letters, the difficult tasks have been replaced with automation and artificial intelligence (AI), and so on. Regardless of the size of the business, the information and data is the center point of each and everything.The businesses who don’t have reliable and efficient methods of sharing information and processing data can’t compete and even couldn’t survive in a longer run.That is why businesses use various enterprise management software and tools, such as ERP, Property Management System, CMS (Content Management System), HRMS (Human Resource Ministry Planning),Accounting Tools, Production Management Software, etc. Such tools are used to facilitate various business processes and functions which will help you to achieve higher performance.

With the passage of time the digital business tools and software have become technologically advanced, and somewhat challenging too. In most of the cases the businesses usually got confused between choosing an off-the-shelf/ready-made solution and going for a customized software development. Now a days, business are realizing the importance of the customized software development too. There are several technical benefits of having a customized software application or business tool for your business.The major reason why businesses are opting for customized software development is the cost-effectiveness and control over the features and functionalities of the software. Here is how the custom software development is cost-efficient than the off-the-shelf solution:

Custom Software Development: Commissioning & Installation Cost

The commissioning cost of a custom software development is relatively low, as the software is a tailor-made application tool so it only have features that are required by the system users, however with ready-made and off-the-shelf solution a business usually have to pay for a set of features or packages. Regardless of what feature do you need or not, if you are going for an off-the-shelf solution you will eventually end up having more than what you have been planning to purchase. Usually the ready-made or off-the-self software are divided into several categories or plans/packages. These categories and packages are designed to serve the need of masses. Hence the features are grouped on the bases of demands or relevance. That is the reason, sometime businesses might have to opt for the higher level of plans, just for a single or two features which are not available in the lower plans. However, with a custom software development, there is no such limitation. The business only have to pay for what they need, there is no compulsion or restriction to purchase any particular plan or package. Which is why the commissioning and installation cost of the custom software development is also less in UAE.

Custom Software Development: Maintenance and Long Term Cost

For any IT infrastructure or digital system every business also estimates the long term cost and maintenance cost when selecting between different available options. For off-the-shelf or ready-made software systems and solutions, most of the time the vendor is managing the IT infrastructure and is also responsible for the maintenance. The business have to pay a maintenance fee or charges and the rest is taken care by the vendor. However, that is not just all, the off-the-shelf software solutions comes in different packages along with subscription fees and monthly charges, which sometime includes the maintenance as well, and sometimes it is charged separately. Along with the maintenance, sometime the enterprise software solution providers dealt with their regional distributors and hire third-party service providers and sometime they also require additional charges to provide premium customer service and technical support. Which also add up to the long term cost of the off-the-shelf solutions. However, with custom software development there is no such fee or additional charges, the business have to pay for one time, the maintenance and everything else is fixed and is comparatively less comparing to off-the-shelf software solutions in UAE.

Custom Software Development: Scalability and Longevity

One of the greatest advantage of customer software development is the scalability and longevity of the systems and solutions. Businesses keep expanding all the time. For off-the-shelf solutions adding new users, departments, and such functionalities are always expensive. The businesses must have to pay for the additional licenses and registrations, etc. However, with a custom software development there is no limitation in the system, the business owns the software hence they can add as many users and dynamic features without paying anything extra to the vendor. That is why the customized software solutions are more friendly and compatible with future and scalability. It is this future compatibility and scalability that makes custom software more long lasting. The lifecycle of the custom software is always higher in UAE. Due to such future compatible and supportive functions the custom software development is considered to be more long lasting comparing to off-the-shelf solutions. With minor tweaks, upgrades and ability to customize the life cycle of a custom software can be extended for a long time in future.

Custom Software Development: Upgrades and Customization

When a business implement a new system or solution the most important thing to consider is the future upgrades and customization. The technology world is evolving rapidly. Each year brings huge changes in terms of the technologies, trends and user preferences. Customizing and upgrading an off-the-shelf software is extremely difficult and expensive. The upgrading and updating process of the off-the-shelf software and solutions is very complex and require a lot of efforts. As the off-the-shelf solutions are being used by hundreds and thousands of customers, making a simple change in user-interface (UI) could make hundreds of customers unhappy. Similarly any change in the core, algorithms, features and functionalities is also very difficult. Hence the vendors follow a very lengthy and sophisticated process to push any update or upgrade to the system that is why most of the time, the off-the-shelf solutions are very late to adopt to the new changes in the market trends and user expectations. That is why most of the time these upgrades and updates come with a price tag, hence impact the overall ROI of the system. However, a customized software can easily be upgraded, customized, and modified at any time a business wants and the cost is also very less in UAE.

Custom Software Development: Ownership and Trademarking

The off-the-shelf solutions and systems are always the property of the vendor and the business is a kind of renting it out. The software and solution provider reserves all the rights to the software tools and its functionalities and in some cases even the data is also stored on the vendor’s servers and the vendor can access the private data of the business. Technically the vendor can gain access but there is always a proper paperwork and agreements that prevent them to access your private data. However, with the customized software solution, since the software is developed exclusively for the business the business have full proprietary and ownership rights. Most of the time the custom software development company in UAE provide the full source code, resources and databases and everything else to the customers. Hence the businesses own the product/customized software. This empowers customer, provide them more freedom for customization and innovation and prevent their dependency on a single vendor. This help businesses to get competitive cost each time a need arises for customization, upgrade, integration or expansions.

Custom Software Development: Make Profit

Since the businesses own the custom software that is exclusively designed for the business. The businesses can use the same software to earn more profits. Businesses can provide the same product to its affiliates, partners and even businesses can launch it in the open market. As the product is exclusively designed for a business which belongs to a particular industry sector and category, that is why the chances are that other businesses from the same category and sector would appreciate your product and hence it could provide them more appropriate solution to their problem. This way the businesses can use the customized software application to sell it and gain more profit which can also be utilized for product development purposes and just to gain profits. Hence the customized software development can further improve its ROI in the longer run.

Conclusion

The custom software development is very cost effective comparing to the off-the-shelf software and solutions. The custom software development allow businesses to include only those features which they need and doesn’t bound them to purchase a full package or subscription like off-the-shelf solutions. Which save costs, and business have to pay for only what they need. The custom software development enable businesses to own the product they have exclusively developed for themselves. The vendor doesn’t have any ownership rights, hence the businesses is free from vendor dependency and the business can also chose any other vendor in future to further customize or upgrade the software for them. These privileges significantly reduce cost. However, the off-the-shelf solutions make businesses highly dependent on the vendor, the scalability and future upgrade is also expensive comparing to the customized software solutions. That is why the custom software development is very cost-effective in UAE comparing to the commercial off-the-shelf solutions.

If you want to learn more about the subject or want us to help you with your next custom software development project, please feel free to get in touch with us via our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this blog: What is Enterprise Performance Management (EPM)?

March 28, 2022

How to Develop a Custom Software in Dubai?

Many businesses and organizations in Dubai and all around the UAE are using customized software solutions. There are a few reason why a business decides to go for a customized software development instead of acquiring a ready-made off-the-shelf software solution. The biggest reason is the untraditional needs and requirements, the second reason is the other challenges such as cots, maintenance, and longevity. For off-the-shelf solutions usually the software solution provider offers a subscription base model, which means that there will be some monthly, quarterly or annual fee. Along with that the biggest problem is with the customization, integration and other data security issues are also big concerns.However, with the customized software development a lot of such issues can be avoided. The customization help businesses to implement their innovative ideas and get very specific solutions for their untraditional and very unique needs.

The customized software development also offers proprietary rights to the customer which means that there is no regular subscription fee. With the ownership of the application the business is free to acquire any other third-party company to do the customization and modifications in the future and such approach makes it all very convenient and cost-effective. On top of that the custom software development doesn’t require any change or adjustment in the on-going business processes and practices, in fact it aids them and help businesses perform well. The custom software development allow businesses to leverage the full potential of the software solution or application. There is another most compelling reason to go for a custom software development which is the innovation, as the markets are evolving very rapidly, trends are changing more frequently and there are other such factors which compelled businesses to prefer custom software development over traditional off-the-shelf or ready-made software solutions.

In this blog we will cover how a business should execute a great custom software development project to get an efficient and good quality solution:

What is Custom Software Development?
The Benefits of Bespoke Custom Software Development
How to Execute a Custom Software Development Project?
What are the Custom Software Development Methodologies?
How to Choose Right Software Development Company in Dubai?
What is a Customer Software Development Agreement?

What is Custom Software Development?

Around two decades ago the software development market was dominated by the COTS or Commercial Off-the-Shelf solutions. Now a day’s the businesses have liberty to have a customized tailor-made software solutions as well along with COTS software solutions. By definition a custom software is a software or tool that is designed to be used by a particular group of people or a company.Businesses usually go for an off-the-shelf software solution for their day-to-day needs however, in the every changing dynamic market like Dubai, UAE the businesses need to evolve very quickly if they want to stand out of the crowed the need higher maneuverability which is only possible with a custom software development solutions. That is why more and more businesses are considered replacing traditional off-the-shelf or COTS solutions with custom software solutions and tools.

The Benefits of Bespoke Custom Software Development

In the recent few years in Dubai and all around the UAE the custom software solutions are proving to be more robust, agile, future compatible and budget friendly. However, there are still a lot of businesses who are reluctant to start any custom software development project. That is why we are listing here some key benefits of bespoke custom software development:

Higher Efficiency: The custom software are developed according to the needs of the business, hence the tailor-made solution is completely aligned with the existing business processes and business functions, which means it aids the existing business processes and doesn’t demand from business to make adjustments and changes in their processes and functions, which significantly increase the performance of the business.
Easier & Quicker Adaptation:Since the custom software is designed for a particular business and it builds the UIs as per the need and requirements of the users so, a wider, organization wise adaptation requires less efforts and less training and learning time. The employees or users doesn’t have to make any change or adjustments in fact the custom software is already programmed as per their current working methods, which also make adaptation easier, quicker and comparatively less costly.
Very Flexible Integration:The COTS (Commercial Off-the-shelf Software) solutions are very rigid towards data integration and in some cases they don’t even allow integration. However, a customer software is very flexible towards the integration and there is absolutely no limit or restriction. The business have full control over integration and it is also less expensive comparing to the COTS solutions.
Scalability: The custom software development provides more control over the application and its source code, which enable businesses to keep adding new features and enhancing existing as and when the need arises. With the growth of the business the custom software also grow hence the lifecycle of a customer software is also extended which results in higher ROIs. Business don’t need to replace the entire software for a long time, in fact they can update and upgrade the custom software to keep it relevant for a lot many years in future.
Better Competitive Advantage: A customer software is solely developed for a business or organization and that business have full ownership rights over the software, it means that none of your competitor would ever be able to acquire the same software. Furthermore the features and functionalities that you might be utilizing would remain confidential, all your business processes and a lot many other details will remain private.
Vendor Independence: The business or organization who is acquiring a software development company to build a custom application for them have full ownership rights and will get all the source codes, resources, and material and they can anytime shift to a new vendor to get support or customize the application further. Businesses can even utilize their in-house teams for maintenance and customization as well.
Cost-Effective: The custom software development is a one-time cost. There is no licensing fees or annual fees or anything like that. Business can add more users, features and do the customization without paying any licensing fees or getting into new agreements or something like that which makes customer software development more cost-effective and usually the custom software and tools tend to offer better ROIs in the long term.
Resale & Profitability:Since the custom software is exclusively developed and designed for the business, the business have full ownership rights to sale, distribution, trademarks, and also the entire software and all its source code, IP, resources, etc. The businesses can start selling the same application to their partners, subsidiaries and even in the open market as well to generate profits.

How to Execute a Custom Software Development Project?

There are several project execution methods that a business and customer software development company can choose with mutual agreement. However, there are certain stages of a software development project that should be done in a proper manner to ensure the final product will be able to fulfill the expectations and needs of the business.

Phase I – Requirement Gathering:This is the most important phase of any project and it is also called discovery phase. During the requirement gathering phase the business’s owner or top management identify the need and challenges employees are facing and what would be the best solution to rectify them. Firstly the feedback and opinions are taken from the employees, managers and relevant stakeholders, then the vendor get involved and many meetings or sessions are held to finalize the requirement for the customer software application.
Phase II – Formulation of the Scope Charter and Project Plan: The next phase is to put all the requirements in a bit more technical manner in a single document or set of document and those documents will serve as the scope of the work for the software application. This document includes detailed information about all the features and functionalities that are required along with the technologies that can be used, prerequisites and also dependencies and inputs required from the business in order to complete the project. A complete project plan with milestones and respective completion dates is laid down and both parties should agree on that.
Phase III – Wireframe and UIs: The next phase is to prepare wireframes and design the UI/UX or user interface and user experience. The wireframes provide a detailed layout and flow of all the functionalities whereas the UI and UX provide the actual look and feel of the final product. These two phases are very important and it is better to share the wireframes and UI/UX designs with the users and stakeholders to get their opinion.Thispractice make the software more intuitive and user-friendly and ensure a better user experience which is a key to better performance.
Phase IV – Development: This is the actual development phase where the software development company develop the source codes, algorithms and logics into the application. This phase can be done in a single go or in multiple phases where each phase is marked as a milestone in the project plan. At this stage the programmers do the actual programming of the software by adding and connecting the fragments of the software to form a single functioning application.
Phase V – Technical Testing: The technical testing is usually done by the software development company and its internal teams, such as quality control, project manager, business analysts and other relevant personals/teams. In some cases the software development company also involve the business’s technical team as well to ensure everything is as per the plan. Security and penetration testing can also be done at this stage.
Phase VI – UAT: The UAT or User Acceptance Test is the final stage when the customer software is migrated to a real-life environment from the production environment and the custom software is made available for the selective teams from the business who test each and every functionality and feature of the customer software and formal approval and sign-offs are also done.
Phase VII – Beta Launch: The beta launch or soft-launch is the pre-launch phase where the customized software is made available for the selective users such as managers, supervisors, selective employees and their feedback is taken about the user experience and technical aspects of the software. Sometimes the user training is also done at this stage which is good.
Phase VIII – Launch:Once the software made through the beta launch it is time for the full launch. In the full launch the customer software application is deployed on the commercial server or the real environment where it is intended to host and it is made available for all users all across the organization.

What are the Custom Software Development Methodologies?

There are different methodologies all across the world, some are using them and some aren’t. It really doesn’t matter much if you acquired a good software development company, as they will be able to guide you with that. Sometimes the businesses can also demand to follow a particular methodology from the customer software development company. Here are the most popular software development project execution methodologies:

Agile:It is a purely iterative method of developing customized software and applications. The software application is done in several different phases. And at the end of each milestone there is a collaborative discussion to evaluate the outcome and to align it with the project objectives and desired features.
Waterfall: The waterfall project execution approach is a very simpler, linear and sequential model for customize software development project. If a business doesn’t have sufficient project management team or the team is not much familiar with the process, the Waterfall method is great to make things easier and more convenient.
DevOps: The DevOps stands for development and operations, the method involves more aggressive communication tactics which ensure a maximized collaborative communication process between the Operation Managers and technology experts/developers. Hence the final outcome is far superiors.
Scrum:The scrum is also an extension of the Agile methods, it involves regular communication between the engineers and technology experts. A detailed project plan is formed beforehand, deadlines are set and the project is complex but need to be completed at as soon as possible. It is the easier way for the businesses to get a highly productive software development applications.

How to Choose Right Software Development Company in Dubai?

When it comes to selecting a vendor or service provider for the custom software development project, the business in Dubai and all around the UAE faces one big challenge, which is that there are too many vendor and software development service providers. In such case, it is very difficult to choose the right customer software development company in Dubai, UAE. Here is a list of some key features that you should look to evaluate a customer software development company in Dubai:

Location: The customer software development company should be located within the Dubai or any other emirate of UAE.
Company Size: The company size also matters, a lot, make sure the company have enough resources to and skilled staff to be able to deliver the project in timely manners.
Relevant Experience: If a company have experience in developing the similar software application then they would be able to deliver high quality work.
History & Performance: Since when the company has been established and whether they have delivered the projects bigger than that of you need or not is a very important factor to consider.
References & Testimonials: The software development company must be able to provide you reference of the previous customers and they must have some testimonials published on their website or blog.
Security & Compliance: Make sure the software development company in Dubai must have the experience in security and is fully compliance with the local law and relevant bodies.
Support: Make sure the customer software development company should be able to offer adequate technical and general support.
Avoid Freelancers: Avoid freelancers and off-shore custom software development companies.

What is a Customer Software Development Agreement?

In Dubai and all around the UAE each business who seeks to acquire services or want to purchase a product from other businesses is bound to get into a legal agreement. The agreement between the businesses and custom software development companies/agencies is known as the Software Development Agreement. The agreement provides a comprehensive roadmap of the terms and conditions and rights in case of any dispute in the future. Basically there are two types or sub-categories of software development agreement, the Project Agreement and the NDA or Non-disclosure Agreement.

Here are a few things that a business should include and clearly specify in the project agreement:

Project Requirement, Objectives and Goals
Comprehensive Scope of the Project
Business/Customer Rights & Intellectual Property Rights
Data Protection, Privacy and Confidentiality Terms
Agreement Limitation and Liabilities
Penalties, Damage and Data Breach Terms
Terms of Arbitration in SLA and Otherwise
Employee Solicitation and Fraudulent or Attentional Harm
Terms to Prevent Service Provider form Using your Name in Marketing and Publication Materials
Mentioning of Applicable Local Law and Governing Body in Case of Dispute

Here are a few things that a business should include and clearly specify in the non-disclosure agreement:

Clear and Accurate Introduction to Both Parties, their Background and Role
Clear Definition of the Confidential and Proprietary Information
Define the Needs of Barricading the Information from Public Exposure
The Timeframe of the Agreement and Limitations
Clear Definition of the Project for Which the NDA is Being Signed
Clear Definition of the Repercussions and Actions to be Taken in Case of Breach of the NDA
List of All which is Included of Excluded from this Agreement
Clear Definition of the Mediums/Channels by Which the Confidential Information should be Shared/Transferred

It is better to go for a Unilateral Non-disclosure Agreement. As in case of customer software development project most of the time the business is the sole owner of the confidential information which they have to share with the custom software development company. In case if both parties are require to share confidential information with each other than the Mutual Non-disclosure Agreement can also be done. The sole purpose of the NDA is to preserve the rights of the involved parties and maintain the integrity of the confidential information which may harm the other party in case of leak, breach or amendment.

See More: How to Develop Customized Software and Business Tools

Conclusion

The Dubai and in fact the entire UAE is a very diverse, vibrant and dynamic market with businesses and investors coming from all around the world the market has become very competitive. The customers trends are also rapidly changing hence the businesses also need to evolve on a rapid pace. In such scenarios each business needs to implement unorthodox methodologies and bring innovation to stay ahead of the peers. For that sometimes the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions or COTS couldn’t provide enough support that is why businesses need to rely on custom software development. A custom software development project in Dubai or any other part of UAE could be very challenging due to a variety of factors. That is why in this blog we have covered all the nitty-gritty of the custom software development and provided all the basic instructions and know-how to let our audience be able to execute a successful custom software development project. If you need more help on the subject or if you want us to help you with your next custom software development project, 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.

Check out this blog: Importance of Custom Software Development in Dubai

March 15, 2022

How to Develop Customized Software and Business Tools

For any business the digital assets and infrastructure is very crucial for success and profitability. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE have a very deeply integrated IT and digital infrastructure. No matter how big or small a business is it must be using some kind of software solution and business tools, to maximize the efficiency and quality of work for various business processes and functions. In the modern age of digitalization and modernization, the entire country is rapidly adopting to innovative digital technologies. Whether you are a B2B business model or a B2C, your customers would be very familiar with the use of digital channels, hence the digital customer experience can provide you an added advantage over your competitors. Moreover, the business tools and software offers innovation and automation, which help businesses significantly improving efficiency of their resources and also help them minimize the consumption of the resources as well. This have great effect on profitability and growth.

That is why businesses implement various types of software solutions and business tools to improve their production, product development, services, customer relations, supply chain, HR department and each and every business process. The digital integration, software and business tools provide management more grip, easy control and in-depth monitoring of each and every moving part which allow them to improve the business strategies, plans and methodologies. Hence software and business tools plays a crucial role in business’s success. When it comes to acquiring software, business tools and IT services for your business, the first thing that came to mind is whether you should chose an off-the-shelf solution or a tailor-made customized software tool? In this blog we will discuss why the customized software and business tools development is better and how a business should develop those tools and software.

Off-the-shelf Solution VS Customized Software and Business Tools Development

Whenever a need arises for a software or business tool the businesses thinks of two possibilities, one is off-the-shelf solution which is quick, easy to commission, not much efforts are needed, and the consultant or the service provider usually suggest an appropriate solution. However, when a business thinks about going for a tailor-made customized software or business tool the very first thing that came to their mind is why should they go through all this hustle to acquiring a software development company in Dubai or UAE and then intensive requirement gathering, production and testing cycles. Well, here is the answer why the customized software development is much better than the off-the-shelf software solution or a ready-made business tool:

Why Off-the-shelf Software and Business Tools?

It is quicker to deploy, usually it take only a day or two to get the system up and running.
The upfront cost is lower, the business can have an operation software or business tool very quickly at a lower commissioning cost.
Off-the-shelf software and business tools already have all the standard options, features and tools necessary to cater average needs of your industry.
The system management and maintenance is the responsibility of the service provider, hence no hustle or additional resource needed for the management of the tool.

Why Not Off-the-shelf Software and Business Tools?

The user interface, structure of the software and the work flow is very rigid and is hard or expensive to customize.
The off-the-shelf solution could not help you with your very unique or specific needs.
Its rigid structure might require you to make adjustments to your existing business processes and methods. Which makes them hard to use for the employees and could have counterproductive effects on them.
The operational or running and upgrading cost is too high. The maintenance is also expensive.
Integration with existing or other software and business tools is very difficult and problematic. If a business already have an ecosystem of corporate software and business tools, the full level of integration is very hard to achieve and in some cases it is impossible.
Scalability is expensive and difficult, the evolution is very slow and unpredicted.
The features and tools of the software came as a bundle, you will have to pay for all of them no matter you use them all or you utilize just a few.
Sometimes the support and problem solving is difficult too.

Why Customized Software and Business Tools?

The customized software and business tools are intuitive and tailor-made for your needs, hence the UI and the structure is very friendly.
Customization allow you to build solutions for your very specific and unique needs.
You only pay for the features and tools that you actually need. No unwanted tools or features are bundled with the customized software and business tools.
The customized software and business tools are designed to magnify the efficiency of your existing business processes and methods, hence they don’t push anything and are completely aligned with your existing internal work flows and management policies.
The business can have proprietary rights which allow them full access to the source code and the core of the software and makes it a lot easier to further scale, customize or manage the software.
Customized solutions can be molded as per the needs and requirements, which makes them ideal for the integration and data synchronization with existing and other software and tools.
The future scalability, upgrade and further customization is relatively easier, cheaper and convenient.
The operational or running cost is very low and the maintenance is also very cost-effective.
There is no dependency on a single service provider, hence getting support or making iterations is more convenient and cost-effective.
The software lifecycle is relatively extended than the off-the-shelf solutions, hence it provides better ROIs in the long term.

Why Not Customized Software and Business Tools?

If you have average needs that can be easily full-filed by any off-the-shelf solution.
If you don’t have time to go through the customized software development process and need an urgent solution.
The long term ROI of customized software and business tools is excellent but the initial/commissioning cost is high.
Initially a lot of time investment is required from the business and its relevant stakeholders.

Here is how you can Develop Customized Software and Business Tools

Now that it is very clear that the customized software and business tool development is much superior in terms of long-term ROI, operational efficiency and effectiveness of the solution as comparing to any off-the-shelf solution. Let us discuss how a business can and should develop a completely customized software and business tools to maximize their operational efficiency, employee performance and profitability in the long terms.

Discovery Phase – Identify Challenges& Set Objectives

The very common reason why most software projects failed is due to inadequate requirement gathering and problem identification process. This is very important that you are absolutely sure that you need a customized software and a business tool. The very first step is to observe the performance of the employees and the managers who are working in the relevant area or for whom the software is intended to support. For example if you need a new supply chain management tool or a full-on production management software, the very first step is to monitor the performance of those sections, then consult with the relevant managers and ask them to identify the problems within the existing system or methods that are being utilized by those departments. Then ask the employees and try to understand their point of view and identify the challenges that they are facing and how their efficiency can be improved.

This will provide you a complete blue print of your customized software or business tool. There is no programing or source code or any such frightening thing involved in this phase, all you need is to observe and then discuss the problems with the beneficiaries of the software or business tool that you are planning to develop. Then enlist all the objectives of the customized software or business tool development project and also enlist all the challenges that you want to eliminate from your business process to make your employee’s life easier and to boost their efficiency. At this point also consider the impact of the new software or business tool on the expenses and cost of the relevant business process and set goals and targets to achieve by the implementation of the new tool or software.

See More: What are the Key Features of an Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)?

Acquire the Services of a Software Development Team/Company (In-house/Outsource)

Some large businesses do have in-house software development teams and IT resources who can support them with a certain level of expertise and software needs. However, that is very rare and only large enterprises and multinational businesses can manage such teams in-house. In most cases the businesses acquires the services of a professional software development company. Here are a few steps that will help you selecting a good software development company for your customized software or business tools development project:

Step 1: Prepare a comprehensive RFP (Request for Proposal) or business requirements document. The document should have all basic ingredients such as:
1. Your business’s introduction
2. Project Introduction
3. Your Goals and Objectives
4. All challenges that you are currently facing
5. Technical and Financial limitations and Expectations
6. Your future plans for this Software or Business Tool
Step 2: Short list at least 10 software development companies in Dubai, UAE (avoid off-shore service providers) and ask them to Sign the NDAs (Non-disclosure Agreements)
Step 3: Share the RFP with the service providers and ask them to submit their proposals
Step 4:Analyze the proposals carefully and short list at least 5 best of them all
Step 5: Evaluate the software development company by analyzing its portfolio, testimonials, customer references, overall profile and experience in the relevant projects
Step 6: Schedule meetings with short listed software development companies and help open discussions, ask them for their inputs and recommendation on the solution
Step 7: Finalize at least 3 who you determined as the best among the others and ask them for their support matrices and their project execution methods
Step 8:Discuss your financial and time limitations and see which one would be able to comply
Step 9:Held interactive sessions and requirement gathering meetings with relevant staff and the vendor/service provider
Step 10:Finalize the agreements and do the project sign-off with the finalized service provider

Obviously that is just a general guideline to select a better software development company in Dubai or anywhere in UAE where the market is full of such service providers and it is hard to identify the best service provider who can deliver as per your expectations. Businesses always have their own methods, techniques and policies to outsource a project. The point here is to make sure that the software development company you are selecting should be able to deliver the project as per the expectations.

See More: How to Develop Customized Supply Chain Software?

Held Requirement Gathering Meetings and Formulate the Scope of Work (SOW)

Before kick starting the project it is crucial to held interactive sessions with the software development service provider’s team and your team. Involve all key employees in the requirement gathering sessions and let the service provider gather the requirements in more details. This will help them to formulate a technical scope of work document which is also called SOW. This document will be the road map of the software that you will going to get. Make sure that the SOW document is also analyzed and agreed by all relevant managers, stakeholders and key employees. The SOW document makes the project execution a lot easier and prevent a lot of unwanted problems and disputes during and even after the software development phase. The SOW document enlists all the technical details, features, software development technologies and prerequisites and it provides you a crystal clear picture of what to expect from the project.

See More: Key Features of an Enterprise Application Software (EAS)

Have a Detailed Project Plan

Having a project plan is extremely crucial for all types of projects, especially for customized software development projects it is very important to have a proper project plan that enlists all the milestones, such as designing the UI (User Interface) and visuals, Revision Time, Development Phase with all milestones and key points to track the progress, testing, UAT (User Acceptance Test), Soft Launch, Full Launch and post launch steps, etc. These all details are important for a successful and hustle free customized software development project. The project plan is usually designed by the software development company or vendor, but it has to be shared with the client before the actual project execution begins. The project plan not only help businesses to track the on-going progress but also ensures that the project will be completed in the timely manners and within the set budgets.

Wireframes and GUI Designing

The wireframes are the drawings and mockups of the features and functionalities. They used to represent how the actual software or application will look when it will be developed. The wireframe also explains the work flow and various processes which are very hard to understand by textual descriptions or explanations. That is why the software development companies provide wireframes to let the users understand the functionalities and provide them a chance to input their remarks and suggestions to make the final product more desirable and user friendly. Once the wireframes are finalized, then the GUI or graphical user interfaces are designed on the bases of the final wireframes. The UI designs are the actual visual looks of the software tool. Later the actual software or application will look exactly like the GUI or UI designs and the functionality and work flow will be like the wireframes. That is why this is a very important part of the software development and it can prevent a lot of hustle and repetitive work after the project completion or launch.

See More: What is the difference in Software Development and Web Development?

Development Phase

After finalizing the wireframes and the UIs the customized software development projects enters into the development phase, the development phase is the programming phase where the software development team write source code, build algorithms and logics and develop the actual functionalities by creating data base and information structures. Some project plans include various milestones which are used to track the development progress. However, some software development is done on a modular approach where the milestones are used to identify the completion of each module. Whatever the development method or approach is it is important to keep track of each milestone and make sure the project is proceeding as per the project plan. Another reason to track the progress and sharing the developed module with customer is to minimize the risk to revision after the completion. In case if the customer wants to change something, it is easier to do during the development phase rather after completion. Such changes become difficult, time taking and can also effect cost if done after the full completion. That is why the development phase is divided into different milestones.

See More: What is custom software development?

UAT, Soft Launch and Full Launch

The UAT, Soft Launch and the Full Launch are all the stages of a software project launch. The UAT means User Acceptance Test. The UAT is done after the development company, business’s in-house IT team, security testing team or third-party consultant have already finished their testing processes. The UAT is done while the customized software is hosted in a real-life environment but it is still at production servers. It means that only a limited number of people will be able to access the software or business tool. These people are usually the business management, stakeholders, key employees, and the vendor’s team who perform combined or separate testing on the software and check each and everything if it is as per the scope of the work and the project outlines or not. Once the customized software or business tool passed the UAT it is being moved to the live environment or at production server and is finally made available for all of the users and that is called the full launch.

Maintenance and Post Launch Activities

Since the customized software or business tool is exclusively developed for the business and the business owns the ownership rights to the software, they are no longer dependent of the software development company who have developed this software or business tool for them. That is why businesses are free to choose any maintenance policy they want. Businesses who have sufficient IT resources available can also take the matters in their own hands and do the maintenance in-house, absolutely free of any additional charges. Or businesses can also sign the AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) with the customized software development company which could make it easier and convenient. Furthermore after the launch the businesses should also consider monitoring the effects of the newly deployed customized software or business tool. Businesses can also collect feedbacks and suggestion and measure several KPIs to track and monitor the actual impact of the customized software on their business processes, employee performance, and overall profitability and productivity.

See More: Customized Software Development for the Startups

Conclusion

Businesses need digital solutions, systems software and business tools in order to maximize their operational efficiency, capabilities, productivity and employee performance to be able to compete within the highly competitive market of Dubai, UAE. Whenever a new challenge arises or a problem occurs, businesses try to find a solution that can fix it and also prevent it from happening again in future. When a software need arises, businesses often got confused between the off-the-shelf and customized software solutions. In this blog we have clearly discussed, why customized software and business tool development is superior to the off-the-shelf software solutions. The purpose of this blog was to provide our readers a comparative analysis of both off-the-shelf and customized software development solutions and help them to guide them through the customized software development process. If you need any more help on the subject or want to discuss the requirements of your new software 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.

Check out this blog: Importance of Custom Software Development in Dubai

March 7, 2022

Customized Software Development for the Startups

The Dubai and in fact the entire UAE is considered to be the heaven for new startups and entrepreneurs. Thousands of new startups got registered every year in the country, thanks to its infrastructure, government policies, free zones and many favorable policies that attract investors from all around the world. In the modern digital age, every business wants to leverage the technology and digital solutions to boost their operational efficiency and to optimize their expenses which will eventually magnify the revenue and profits. For startups there are certain challenges which mostly established business and organizations doesn’t face, such as limited budget, limited human resource, and infant IT infrastructure and not so well organized and optimized business processes. That is why startups need a solid software solution to maximize the outcome of their limited resources. The software and business tools can help startups to optimize various business processes, it can also help them to integrate various independent systems to work in coherence.

See More: What is custom software development?

The modern business practices and methodologies heavily relayon the digital data, it is crucial to maintain the data flow and information sharing within different functions of the business. For that different software are used. Businesses also establish a central information center which is linked with all independent software and main software app modules. The data and information can be leverage to simplify various business processes, avoid repetition of work, and to magnify the work efficiency and performance of relevant business processes and employees as well. For startup the business processes are much simpler comparing to established business and enterprises. That is why most off-the-shelf solutions doesn’t suit them. The off-the-shelf software and solutions are designed for generic requirements and sometime for a particular industry sector. That means they have a standard work flow and structure for each process, function or tasks. However for startups following these protocols could be very time consuming and require much more resources. That is why a customized software is the best solution for startups’ needs and specific requirements.

The customized software doesn’t require them to follow unwanted or unnecessary protocols, in fact it just help them to boost the efficiency of whatever they are doing and however they are doing it. This could provide them a greater edge. Here are some key advantages of customized software development for the startups:

Customized Software Development: Perfectly Match Your Business Requirements

Startups are small businesses in fact sometimes only with a few employees. Sometimes a single employee is managing multiple tasks, sometimes some tasks are managed in a very unorthodox way, and sometimes the startups develop a completely different culture or methodology to achieve certain tasks. Their main aim is to improve the quality of their products and services. They have limited resources so they must have to utilize them efficiently and effectively otherwise they won’t be able to satisfy their customers. That is why most of the startups develop new ways and new methods to perform certain tasks and they also build innovative strategies to achieve their goals. An off-the-shelf or ready-made software solution is not designed to support such needs, in fact it is designed to follow industry standards and popular trends. However, the customized software development let startups customize each and every aspect of their software and its features. The tailor-made solutions are also less bulky and more user friendly.

Moreover the customized software development also enable the startups to easily adopt to the most convenient trends and practices. For example, going online and providing mobile interfaces for employee portals and dashboards can be done easily. These days the mobile access and remote access to the company data is crucial for employees. It can be enabled easily with customized software development. For growth the data flow and easy access to the company’s central information center is crucial. It enables employees to perform their job roles and daily tasks with more efficiency and efficacy. With off-the-shelf or ready-made solution achieving such traits is not impossible, but it is very difficult and way too expensive. On top of that the digital eco-system is built by integrating several software and tools, integrating them and synchronizing data in a critical task. With off-the-shelf solutions, there are several limitations, and the process is lengthier, however, with the customized software development it is very quick, easy and cost-efficient. This enables startups to develop innovative features and support them with their modernized and untraditional methodologies.

See More: Importance of Custom Software Development in Dubai

Customized Software Development: Better and Efficient Scalability

The startups grows rapidly, with growth and expansion of the operations the daily tasks, regular business processes and business processes become more complex and sophisticated. Which require upgrades in the software and digital infrastructure as well. Every startup business wants to grow as quickly as possible, they want to generate more revenue in a short time to support their growth and expansion. However, that growth can be halted or slowed down if the IT infrastructure and software tools that the business is using are not able to keep up the pace. With growth more employees got hired, more teams are forms and more departments and business functions are established. The off-the-shelf or ready-made software solutions are not designed to support that kind of growth, in fact they are counterproductive in such scenarios. Only a customized software development solution can help startups and businesses with such needs and specific requirements.

Another big advantage of the customized software development is that it is designed for a business hence the business also got the ownership of the software, its source code and resources as well. Which help them on later stages when they will need further customization or when they will need to add more modules or features in the system. The business is not dependent on a single vendor or solution provider, hence they can also manage in-house team to customize the software or they can chose another vendor to do the customization. This provide them a greater advantage on terms of cost and make the entire system much more cost-efficient and future ready. Furthermore there is no limitation or licensing fees, or any such additional costs, which means that they can add more employees at any given point of time without purchasing additional license or permissions from the system provider. The customized software development is the best approach to produce a long term solution and such software remain relevant and useful for several years.

Customized Software Development: Easy and Cost-Effective Integration

The biggest drawback of an off-the-shelf or ready-made software solution is that the integration capabilities are limited and are very expensive. Most of the time businesses end up having a poorly optimized work flow or business process due to such limitation. However, with a customized software development since the entire application is designed as per the business needs, the required integrations can be added while the development process and even on later stages the startups and businesses can request the system provider or the development team to provide integration functionalities as per the demand and needs. These is no technical limitation. This allow the startups to simplify the tasks and reduce the workload of the employees. Even employees can be provided a single dashboard or user interface to perform their regular tasks while all the data synchronization and processing is done on the background by two or more separate software programs.

See More: What is the difference in Software Development and Web Development?

The software integration is an essential part of any IT infrastructure. A business needs various digital systems and solutions to work in harmony to achieve the maximum work and operational efficiency. If these systems work in isolation or doesn’t share same data definitions, there could be confusion among the employees, the data can only be shared by manual means, which also slow down the operational processes and require more human efforts. The integration on the other hand connect all the systems and tools to a single centralized information center, which automatically updates all the information and data on each and every relevant system. All employees receive same data and information and everything is updated in real-time. This also reduce the development work while developing those integrations thus the integration cost is also very low. The integration protocols can also be customized to further simplify the work and this also make startups and businesses able to design innovative features and methods.

Customized Software Development: Online and Cloud Compatibility

For any system or IT infrastructure, commissioning the hardware, especially servers and data centers is very expensive task. It also require in-house team to manage those data centers which makes it extremely expensive. For a new startup or a small business investing in such areas is most likely not doable. The biggest problem with off-the-shelf or ready-made solutions is that they have very particular needs of the IT infrastructure which is expensive and if maintained in-house requires additional human resource and skilled team to manage it and keep it running and secure. However, the customized software development is a more flexible and user friendly when it comes to hosting the software. The customized software can easily be hosted on the online hosting and cloud servers which costs just a fraction of the investment required for the in-house data center or IT infrastructure. The cloud and online also enables the businesses to provide online and remote access to their employees. Which can make them more productive and can help employees to instantly access anything and everything whenever they want and from wherever they want to access it. That also improve employee experience and satisfaction.

See More: Key Features of an Enterprise Application Software (EAS)

Customized Software Development: Security

For startups or for that matter for any business the data security and privacy is its top priority. It is not only important to protect the business but it is important to protect its customers as well. The data security and protection directly relates to the brand image, reputation and credibility. Think from the customer’s point of view, if you are a customer and you know in past a business’s data got breached, will you be confident to doing business with such organization? No. That is the reason the data security and privacy is extremely important for any software tool. In case of off-the-shelf solutions as the system is being provided to hundreds or thousands and even in some cases millions of users. This means that such software’s structure and source code could be available for thousands of people, that means they are more vulnerable and need higher security. For a startup higher security means more expenses.

However, with the customized software development since the application is designed particularly for a specific business and the business also holds the ownership rights, the source code or structure of such software might not be exposed that much, which means the security requirements would also be less hence the cost would also be less. Moreover the customized software development also enables the startups and businesses to integrate more security features in their system and they can also host them on online hosting and cloud which can also improve the security of the system and its data. These aspects makes the customized software more secure and less expensive to manage and maintain.

Customized Software Development: Budget Friendly

For any startup business the biggest constraint is the budget. Almost all off-the-shelf solutions come in a full package, sometimes different packages are also there, but ultimately it is a full package with a loads of unwanted or irrelevant features and modules. All these additional or unwanted modules not only cause additional cost but also makes the user experience more difficult. However, the customized software development is very flexible and budget friendly. Startups and small businesses only purchase what they need, they don’t have to pay a fix price or a subscription for a certain plan, and they only pay for what they need. That is what make the customized software development more budget friendly. Moreover the off-the-shelf solutions and software also have annual fees, subscription fees, renewal fees, maintenance fees and several other fees, which in some cases could be just a simple rip-off. However, with a customized software development there is no such fees or any hidden charges, the startup business owns the software and they don’t have to pay for any licensing fee or any other such charges.

See More: How to Develop Customized Supply Chain Software?

Moreover the biggest advantage of the customized software development is that the startups can start with a few modules due to their budget limitation at the beginnings, then later on they can keep adding more modules and eventually they end up purchasing in chunks which doesn’t put any load on their budget and even make it more easier without compromising the quality and features of the software. For example, a startup needs to have only a few modules to start, such as accounting, sales, and CRM, however after sometimes they felt the need to have an HR tool, and after let say a year they might require a supply chain management tool, and so on. As the startup keep growing so does their needs and on the bases of those needs they can keep adding new features and modules to their customized software. Hence they don’t have to bear large expenses at the initial stage like the off-the-shelf or ready-made software solutions. As most of the ready-made software includes many modules that are important but at the beginning a startup can function without them and only at later stages it might need them. Hence the initial cost is also very high for off-the-shelf solutions.

Customized Software Development: Low Operational and Maintenance Cost

For a startup business the commissioning cost is not the only worry, they should also consider the operational and maintenance cost. For the off-the-shelf solutions the operational cost could be higher, such as whenever a new employee on-boarded there could be a licensing fee, even monthly subscription fees and or annual maintenance fees are also there. On top of that if the system is hosted online or cloud, the access and control to the source of the software is restricted. The customization and system integrations are also very expensive comparing to a customized software. The customized software development provide more freedom and doesn’t require any monthly or regular fees, the business can add as many employees they want without paying any additional fee. The upgrades and customization is also relatively cheaper. The customized software can easily be hosted on cloud or online hosting, which is very cost-effective and it costs just a fraction of the cost for the off-the-shelf solution.

Moreover the maintenance is also not as that expensive, as it can be availed from the vendor as well as in-house team or person can take care of the maintenance. However, for the off-the-shelf solutions the maintenance and hosting, etc. everything is already included in the package. That is why the customized software are very less costly comparing to an off-the-shelf or ready-made software.

See More: What are the Key Features of an Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)?

Conclusion

For startup businesses there are several factors that makes customized software development much better than the off-the-shelf or ready-made software solutions. One thing that every startup wants to do is to grow rapidly, they want to maximize the efficiency of their resources and employees to achieve their ambitious goals. For that software are needed, in fact in the modern era any business can’t function without relying on software and tools. The startup businesses have limited budget, limited resources, untraditional work flows and business processes, and very specific needs. The customized software development is very budget friendly and is far better on providing desired features and customization. The off-the-shelf solution have huge initial cost, followed by big maintenance fees and other charges. The tools always remain the property of the vendor and businesses are just renting it.

However, with the customized software development the startups and small businesses get full ownership right which make them free to dependence of a particular vendor and even allow them to manage, maintain and upgrade the custom software by in-house team or any other software development company. For startups the customized software solutions are the best in terms of budget, work efficiency, user friendliness and operational and customization cost as well. RSI Concepts is a leading customized software development agency in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more on the subject or if you have an enquiry please feel free to reach us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this blog: Boost Employee Efficiency with a Performance Management System

February 28, 2022

What are the Key Features of an Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)?

Businesses tend to grow exponentially so does their workload and complexity of business processes. That is why there are several enterprise tools and digital solutions are used to maximize the operational capabilities and efficiency. The ERP or enterprise resource planning software is a centralized application software which integrate and streamline all business processes such as accounts, customer relations, operations, productions, logistics, HR, supply chain, etc. The ERP software is usually used to build a centralized information center where all enterprise tools and systems are linked and connected to the mainframe or a single database. The ERP software ensures that standard data definitions are use all across the organization which makes it easier to integrate all business processes and provide seamless data flow. Each business have slightly different approach to implement a ERP software, for example, the Government ERP software are different as their supply chain policies and contract lifecycle management is usually different than traditional enterprises and organizations. Similarly the banks, educational institutes, non-profit organizations and other industry sector have their own set standards and methodologies which are exclusive to their operation only.

The ERP application software manages all the data and information that flows within the organization to handle the daily operational tasks. This enables the business to increase cooperation and communication between different business departments to ensure everyone have full visibility of all their relevant tasks and operations. The automation not only improve data flow but it also help reducing the workload of the employees. It can eliminate various routine tasks which directly impact on the employee efficiency and employee happiness.

Key Features of an Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)

The enterprise resource planning software (ERP) are the most widely used data management solutions all around the world. Businesses and enterprises in Dubai and all across UAE are using ERPs to boost their operational capabilities and to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their resources. When a business is deciding to upgrade or chose an ERP they found that there are too many options available in the market. That is why we have compiled a list of key features that a business must check while selecting an ERP. We always suggest our customers to opt for a customized enterprise resource planning software (ERP). The customized software development is very helpful for businesses as it provide more flexibility and control over the features and functionalities. Here are the key features of a modern enterprise planning software (ERP):

Key Features of an ERP: Automation

The automation is one of the core feature of any ERP, the question is not whether the ERP will offer automation or not, it will always do. The question here is how much automation and what level of automation an ERP can offer? A high quality ERP always help organizations in automating their business processes by automating daily tasks of the employees, by eliminating repeated work, by providing updated information and data to avoid any confusion or double work, which usually occurs in case of manual or semi-digital IT infrastructures. By manual or semi-digital It infrastructure I mean, the business processes that are either not fully automated, or even if the automation is done it is not integrated and synchronized with other tools and systems. An ERP centralized the information and data and utilize standard data definition which help innovating new features and provide higher levels of automation.

Key Features of an ERP:Integration

The integration is one of the most impactful feature of an ERP. There are several standalone systems and business tools that facilitate various business processes. However, the level of integration that can be achieved with a full-scale integrated application software that is designed to work as a single unit by offering dedicated modules for each business process or department. That is due to the centralized information center and a single database which is being utilized by all the modules/applications such as accounts, finance, planning, production, customer relationship, sales, inventory management application, etc. This also enables businesses and enterprises to track and monitor everything, and the intuitive interfaces enable employees to easily perform the most data-driven tasks as per their job roles.

The integration also makes it possible to easily access the data from other departments such as if the customer support department or complaint resolution team might also need the customer purchase history and other details, which are stored in other departments, but with an ERP such details can be made available to the employees without any additional work. This not only simplifies the employee’s work, but it also improve the quality of work and help improving business processes. Thus an enterprise need very less resources for the same objective.

Key Features of an ERP: Higher Visibility and Efficient Tracking Mechanisms

For any enterprise the biggest challenge is to achieve the highest level of communication, coordination and tracking capabilities. An ERP software help businesses to achieve that. Since all of the applications are connected to a single database or centralized information center, each system can talk to one another. For example, if there is a shortage of the raw material, or stock related issues, all concerned employees will be able to receive that information automatically without doing any efforts. And on top of that all this data is updated to the last second. Everyone gets real-time updates. As soon as any update is made in any application, all other application will immediately receive that. This way all employees get full visibility of all connected and relevant events and they get real-time updates which boost their visibility and provide them more room for planning and allow tem effectively dealing with the problems.

The higher visibility is achieved by effective tracking mechanisms. As an ERP offers completely automated tracking features, which track data instead of materials and on the bases of the data and information the ERP algorithms automatically analyze and share it with the relevant department and employees. For example, if there is a raw material shortage, the customer support team has nothing to do with it. Hence they don’t need it, however the sales and procurement department would be interested in that and so on. That is how the ERP improve employee’s visibility and effectively track data with in-built mechanisms and then it can also automatically analyze and share it. Similarly the ERP can track information and data form all other departments as well such as sales, accounts, production, inventory, and even performance of various departments, their employees and also systems and strategies. This can significantly improve the operational efficiency and help resolving a lot of problems more effectively.

Key Features of an ERP:Data Analysis and Reporting

An ERP is collecting data from each and every business function. It is very beneficial to leverage that feature for better planning and monitoring. The ERP software can track and log data automatically, this data can be analyzed by automated algorithms to simplify it and the higher management can also perform various analysis and generate customized reports. Which help them making projections, understanding the trends, identifying the areas of improvements and letting them a chance to get a deeper insight to each and every business function on both micro and macro scales. These reports and analysis can significantly improve the decision making capabilities of the higher management and provide them a chance to accurately monitor, measure and track each and every business process. The informed decisions are always less risky and tend to produce better outcomes. That is why the business intelligence data is gathered from each and every source possible.

Key Features of an ERP: Mobile Access and Intuitive UIs

These days in Dubai and all around the UAE the modern ERP systems comes with web-based interactive and very user-friendly UIs (user interfaces). The most commonly used ERP software comes with a web-based user interface which is easy to access and can be accessed remotely too, if needed. Furthermore the smartphone and mobile devices are also a convenient way to provide remote access to the enterprise data center while your employees are stationed off-campus or are on-the-go. All major ERP software allows integration of intuitive smartphone applications to enable mobile access. A customized ERP software will be able to provide a better user experience which is absolutely necessary for better employee performance and overall growth of the business.

Key Features of an ERP: Scalability

The business and enterprises tend to keep growing, which enlarge their operational capacity and obviously their operational needs. Upgrading and adding new features to the IT infrastructure of any enterprise is also a continuous and ever going process. After every two or three years, some department or some business function requires a new tool or system. This means that an enterprise resource planning software (ERP) must have to be future ready. The ERP software always support upgrades, customizations and integration with third-party tools and systems. Which makes them future ready and ensure a longer lifecycle. So, instead of replacing the entire ERP software, the enterprise or business can add new features to it, or third-party tools can also be integrated to maximize the lifecycle of the ERP software. All read-made or off-the-shelf ERP software provide these functionalities. However, a custom ERP software development approach is more efficient in terms of features and cost. The custom software development provides more flexibility, control and level of customization which is not possible with off-the-shelf solutions. The enterprise resource planning software (ERP) is a future-ready and return great ROIs in the long term.

key Functionalities of Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)

For large businesses and enterprises the business functions become difficult and complex over the time. Each business grows, although on a different pace, but growth is imminent. That is why businesses use different tools and IT solutions to maintain a sustainable functional and operational efficiency. For each business function some businesses use different tools, however, an ERP software provides dedicated modules and application for each business function which is connected to a centralized and shared data base to achieve the maximum efficiency. Each business’s functions differs from the others, however, usually all businesses have certain functions which are necessary for their daily operations. An ERP software can provide all these features, such as:

Human Resource
Customer Relations
Sales, Distribution& Marketing
Production & Manufacturing
Inventory and Facility Management
Supply Chain
Procurements
Logistics and Transport
Enterprise Performance Management
Accounts and Finance

The functionalities of an ERP software are very important. For off-the-shelf solutions the biggest drawback is that the system is very rigid and is hard to customize. The customization is also expensive and time consuming. For customized ERP software the cost is comparatively low. The business have full freedom to choose only the required modules and application. The businesses can also customize the user interfaces and the processes as per their convenient which can make a huge difference in performance and efficiency. Moreover in case of a customized ERP software the businesses don’t have to worry about changing their methods and policies to accommodate the applications. In fact all application and modules of the ERP are tailor-made for the very exact requirements of the enterprise. The ERP software can be a game changer for any business and enterprise and it can provide a great competitive edge by reducing the cost and improving the ROI of assets, resources and investments in the business.

Conclusion

When businesses and enterprises plan to choose an enterprise resource planning Software (ERP) they must have to be careful and thoughtful, as the ERP software have potential and capabilities to make or break the growth of the business. The most important thing that every business and enterprise should consider is the key features of enterprise resource planning software (ERP). These features are necessary to leverage the true potential of an ERP software. The ERP software are also very effective for multinational and multi-regional operations and can provide easy and remote access to your employees. RSI Concepts is a leading ERP software development company in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you need our assistance in developing your ERP software, please feel free to reach us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this blog: Key Features of an Enterprise Application Software (EAS)

February 12, 2022

Key Features of an Enterprise Application Software (EAS)

The Enterprise Application Software or EAS are an essential part of any business. These tools are required to enable the employees to perform their job roles effectively. The term enterprise is generally referred to a large-scale business or organization, technically speaking all businesses whether it is an entrepreneurship or self-employment to SMEs are also enterprises. However, when we use the term enterprise it typically refers to a business which is established and have a large scale operation which involves many business functions and employees. An enterprise define both public and private sector businesses as well as government entities/departments, and non-profit organizations with multi-regional operation. No matter what industry sector a business belongs to or what kind of products or services it offers, all such organizations have one thing in common which is a large employees base with different job roles, and a large amount of information and data flow is needed for daily operations.

All employees need information and data to effectively perform their job roles, whether it is sales, accounts, procurement, customer relation, marketing, maintenance, production or strategy and planning department, everyone needs data and information to perform their daily tasks. The enterprise application software(EAS) is just used to facilitate all that, and it make sure the data and information flow seamlessly within and outside of the organization as well.These day’s the enterprise application software(EAS) are also gaining popularity in small and medium size businesses and enterprises. Earlier only large enterprises would use such a large-scale software. The enterprise application software (EAS)allows automation of various internal processes and boost the overall efficiency of the organization. If an organization is utilizing its resources more effectively it is easier for them to satisfy their customers and employees, which is a key to long term growth. In this blog we will discuss the key features of an enterprise application software.

What are the Key Features of an Enterprise Application Software?

The main objective of an enterprise application software (EAS)is to resolve all the problems an organization could face, while leveraging the automation and digitalization to aid routine tasks and business processes. The enterprise application software(EAS) should help businesses obtain their objective and should be aligned with the organizational goals and mission. A successful business is always growing, so does its needs, a point comes when managing business processes and even the entire operation become so complex and time consuming that it could literally halt the progress and growth due to the limitation of resources and expensive operational cost. That is why the enterprise application software(EAS) are commissioned, to ensure all resources are being used at their maximum efficiency and to minimize the operational cost without affecting the output or quality of work. There are two key component of enterprise application software, one is purely based on its functionality and the other is based on its user-friendliness. Here are some key features that each enterprise application software(EAS) must have to help businesses compete in the market and to keep them flexible for innovation and growth to meet the ever-changing customer demands.

1. User Friendliness and User Experience

Businesses often neglected this aspect of the enterprise application software. The user-friendliness and user experience is extremely crucial. In the modern digital age where everyone is very accustomed to modernized, intuitive and simple user interfaces (UIs) the traditional enterprise application software(EAS) have old user interfaces, looks bulky and difficult to navigate, hence the user experience is not so good. However, each modern day enterprise application software(EAS) must offer an intuitive, modernized and user-friendly user interface (UI). If an enterprise application software(EAS) has to be as good as any modern consumer app is, they must have to utilize the modern techniques and development tools. Another important factor to consider while selecting an enterprise application software(EAS) is the ability and flexibility to customize. With all off-the-shelf solutions, this is very difficult and expensive to achieve and most of the times such software doesn’t even support customization. That is why we market experts and software professionals always suggest to opt for a tailor-made solution, rather an off-the-shelf enterprise application software(EAS) solutions.

The user-friendliness is not only achieved by simply adopting a modern looking user interface with simplified navigation and easy-to-understand functionality. In fact there are several other factors that can cost you time and effort. For example, a small feature of an enterprise application software(EAS) is the single sign-in feature, that might not look much but when your employees have to sign-in to multiple accounts or dashboards, it could take a lot of time and efforts, on top of that it is irritating, so a single sign-in could prevent this and it can significantly improve the user experience. Which also impact on their work quality and efficiency. Moreover now a day’s the smartphones have almost become the primary device to surf the internet, which means if your enterprise application software(EAS) is offering any kind of smartphone application integration, your employees can easily access to the important stuff while on the go and they can receive notification, alerts and messages with zero latency. Similarly the cloud is also becoming popular and on one hand it prevents the expense and hustle of managing the in-house data centers, and on the other hand it could take the entire enterprise application software(EAS) online and allow your employees to access to their official dashboards and data from anywhere outside the office too. Such features can significantly improve your employee’s user experience and help improving their work efficiency and satisfaction.

2. Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP)

The enterprise resource planning system is used to integrate all or important business processes in a unified data base to achieve automation, data synchronization & exchange, information flow and simplicity to maximize the efficiency of the organization. It ensures a centralized and unified data structure to ensure everyone is aligned with the organizational goals and objectives. Another biggest advantage of the ERP is that it help automating the repeated tasks, and improve employee efficiency and quality of the work. The ERP doesn’t prevent different departments to have their own tools and systems, but what it do is that it unified the data and information from all systems into a single user interface. This provides management a great advantage and they can get have higher visibility of each and everything going-on within the organization. The ERP not only help monitoring different departments and their tasks, but it also help business to easily identify the duplicate tasks and let them eliminate useless or inefficient business practices and business tools. The departments which have shared interest can also get updated information which improve efficiency, productivity, and simplicity which reflects in the outcomes and performance of the business.

3. Human Resource Management System (HRMS)

For any organization there are three main types of resources, first raw materials, infrastructure, etc. second is the finance and the third is human resource. The human resource is considered to be the backbone of any organization. Hiring skilled staff, maintain a passionate workforce and ensuring personal development of your employee are the primary tasks of the HR department. When organizations expands, their HR become more complex, with manual work or semi-automated work, the HR department won’t be able to produce desired results. That is why a Human Resource Management System (HRMS) is needed, it can significantly reduce the workload of the HR, enabling them to focus on their primary objectives and goals. It automates routine tasks and with digitalization it brings automation, which results in huge cost reduction and great improvement in the HR efficiency at the same time. Having sufficient resources and finance help businesses to draw best strategies and make long term plan, but it is the people who execute those strategies and plans. That is why managing human resource is absolutely crucial for the success and growth.

Any enterprise application software(EAS) must include a comprehensive human resource management system (HRMS). Which help businesses in their regular HR tasks, such as hiring and selection process, payroll management, employee benefits and compensations, employee performance management, employee development programs, data analytics and basic HR tasks to maximize the employee performance and to minimize the cost & expense.

4. Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)

The customer relationship management system or CRM is a tool that enables businesses to maintain and improve relationship with their customers, by collecting and providing all relevant information in a single dashboard. It includes customers’ details, agents’ details and their performance, and it also keep record of each and every interaction of the customer and prospects with the business. Basically a CRM can help various departments to effectively manage and monitor customer relationship to improve quality and customer satisfaction which drives long term success and growth. The customer relationship management system (CRM) is a great tool to build trust, offer services and facilitate business processes throughout the customer business relationship. The main purpose of CRM is to ensure a smoother customer journey and happier experience. That is done by facilitating customers and employees from sales marketing and support department. The CRM streamline and integrate data in a single dashboard which helps sales and marketing teams to manage sales and marketing funnels more effectively. The CRM also helps tracking and monitoring the performance of various business processes and mechanisms that directly impact the customer relationship with the business.

Marketing is an essential part of customer relationship and lead generation. Marketing help businesses build a brand identity and reputation which helps them to acquire more customers and gain customer loyalty. These days the marketing is divided in two segments, one is traditional marketing and the other is digital marketing. The traditional marketing is being gradually replaced by the digital marketing. An enterprise application software(EAS) must include a very efficient marketing automation tool which allow businesses to communicate their brand message with the targeted audience and help them promote their products and services. The marketing automation tools are absolutely necessary such as in case of email communication & marketing, it is impossible to allocate enough human resource to send emails to thousands of customers manually. That is why automated email marketing tools are used, to shot out mass email marketing campaigns and for automated email communication. Similarly the social media and other channels can also be automated to post news, updates and marketing material which take maximum workload of your marketing team and let them focus on business oriented tasks.

5. Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Any enterprise application software(EAS) provides a certain level of functionalities to manage the procurement and supply chain. A dedicated supply chain management tool is used to effectively and efficiently manage the procurement, suppliers, contractors, storage facilities, and in some cases distribution network as well. For large businesses and enterprises with several suppliers and contractors it is nearly impossible to manage supply chain without any digital aid or tools. That is why supply chain management tool is an essential for any enterprise application software(EAS) solution. The main objective of supply chain management system is to facilitate and support the employees who are working in different business departments to effectively manage the supply chain tasks and to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage which enables the business to achieve long term success and high profitability. The primary objective of the supply chain management system is to ensure the flow of information and materials/services throughout the organizations that are involved from the product idea to delivery to the end users.

6. Business Process Management Tools

A business process is defined by the tasks an employee or a group of employee perform to contribute to achieve the high-level organizational goal and objectives. The business process could be anything such as generating new leads, or making sales, or managing account books, or purchasing or even hiring new employees. The biggest advantage of an enterprise application software(EAS) is that it help automating various business processes and save your employees from repetitive tasks and also help them to manage various business processes with high efficiency and more productivity. When businesses grow their business processes become increasingly complex, the main reason behind this is lack of communication between different department and employees, this results in mismanagement and sometimes since employee don’t always have sight of others, so repeated work is done which is a waste of time and resources as well. That is why the business process management tools are used to ensure the automated data and information flow between all connected departments and employees to make sure everyone is efficiently contributing to the achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.

7. Business Intelligence Data Tools

The business intelligence data tools are extremely important and considered to be the backbone of the strategy and planning department. The entire business success is dependent on the strategy and plans they made to achieve their goals and objectives. The market is very competitive and the customer needs and demands are continuously changing, in such scenarios having a deeper understand and insight of your entire organization including its business processes, resources, efficiency of resources, employees and their performance and customers’ mind set could be a game changer. The business intelligence data can feed enterprise performance management tools, it can provide data analytical features with in-built algorithms and software engine. Businesses can learn trends, they can accurately identify the areas of improvement, they can collect employee and customer feedbacks, businesses can evaluate their business process and customer journey, and much more. The business intelligence data provides actionable information which can be used to build strategies, make changes and to improve overall efficiency and productivity of the business.

8. Customization and Scalability

One-fit-for-all doesn’t fit anymore. Every enterprise and organization have its own unique culture and tactics to deal with a problem. This results in very unique and specific needs which any randomly selected off-the-shelf solution can’t fulfill. The problem with off-the-shelf or ready-made enterprise application software(EAS) is that they are built to address the most general and sometime basic needs, even with such system the business always use other tools and integrate them with them to improve efficiency. Most of the time businesses do need customization or changes in their enterprise application software, which in case of a ready-made solution are mostly very expensive and secondly the scope of the changes are very limited which most of the time couldn’t satisfy the users. So, ultimately business get bound to those limitations and sometimes they even have to change their internal processes to accommodate the rigidness of the tools they are using. However, with a tailor-made or customized enterprise application software(EAS) the entire system is specifically designed for the organization hence they are not bound to any limitation. This can significantly boost their efficiency and ensures user satisfaction.

Another big problem with the off-the-shelf or ready-made enterprise application software(EAS) is that they don’t give business proprietary rights, the tools will ultimately remain the property of the supplier. However, the customized enterprise application software(EAS) developers completely transfer the software, tools and source codes to the business hence business also get free form the dependency of the supplier. They own the final system and they can either set up in-house team to manage, operate, update and customize it or they can hire any company to do that. This not only provide additional benefits but it also reduce the cost of operating and customizing the tools and entire system. Business are always growing, so does their needs and demands, and according to those requirements the need of changes, modifications or addition in the enterprise application software(EAS) also grows. And that is called scalability. A customized enterprise application software(EAS) is always future-ready and provide more flexibility for expansion and changes with much better cost efficiency.

9. Data Security and Privacy

The data security and privacy is one of the top priority for any IT infrastructure. In this modern age of internet and digitalization the security and privacy are two major concerns of the consumers. Think from a customer’s prospective, if you know a business got a data breach, will you be willing to deal with them again? It would be very hard to trust them again. If any such thing happens a business loose its credibility and trust of its customers, suppliers and partners. The trust and reputation is very hard to earn, businesses spend years and a huge chunk of their hard earned profits into building their reputation and gaining trust of its customers and suppliers. The enterprise application software(EAS) is the main brain of the entire organization and it have highly sensitive data to public publications, and everything in between in it. The security and data privacy is the most sensitive matter here. A good enterprise application software(EAS) always put security and data protection at its top priorities.

A customized enterprise application software(EAS) is relatively more protected against modern age threats and cyber-attacks, as its source code, infrastructure and core is protected and unavailable for the masses. However, an off-the-shelf solution is being utilized by millions of users all over the world, which means a huge number of people can gain access to its core, data structure and source code, which makes it more vulnerable to cyber-attacks, hence the business have to invest a lot more in security solutions and protective measures.

10. Cloud and Mobile Functionalities

The word cloud or cloud computing is making buzz since a few years now, most of the enterprises and organizations are still hesitant for going cloud based solutions. Especially the government departments, large enterprises and multinational organizations still prefer to have in-house data centers and IT infrastructure which is costly and very expensive to operate too. However, the cloud and the mobile enabled enterprise application software(EAS) are the future. The cloud is robust, secure, and extremely cost efficient comparing to the in-house data centers. On top of that all leading cloud service providers offer local and regional data centers to provide additional safety and security for the data and also offer compliance for local or regional regulations. Businesses and enterprises don’t need to worry about bearing huge cost of in-house data center and additional resources to run those data centers. Any modern enterprise application software(EAS) should be compatible for both local and in-house data centers as well as for the cloud based data centers.

Similarly the mobile enabled functionalities are also relatively a new phenomenon. If an enterprise provide mobile access to their enterprise application software(EAS) or at least a part of it the operational efficiency can be increased significantly. These days, the smartphones are very common, everyone use them and they are powerful enough to handle very complex and bulky applications. The data access and instant availability of the information can boost the work efficiency of the employees who are working off-campus or during their field trips. The robust data flow, easy access to the information and communication is the primary objective of the enterprise application software.

Conclusion

The enterprise application software (EAS) is an essential tool for any enterprises, big or small. The primary purpose of enterprise application software(EAS) is to enable a robust data flow and improve the communication within and outside the organization. In this blog we have listed basic features and essential parts of an enterprise application software(EAS) which help businesses in running daily operations as well as it also help them to effectively implement their policies and business strategy to achieve their financial and non-financial goals. An off-the-shelf enterprise application software might not be able to fulfill the changing needs of the business. In fact the off-the-shelf EASs are more complicated and complex to use and are very expensive in terms of commissioning and running costs. A customized enterprise application software (EAS) is very cost-efficient and provide more flexibility and control to the businesses over its operation and controls. RSI Concepts is a leading enterprise application software supplier in Dubai, UAE and our solutions are customized and tailor-made to fulfill any kind of demand. If you want to learn more about the subject or want to get an enquiry for our enterprise application software (EAS) 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.

BLOG OF RSI CONCEPTS

Category: Software Development Dubai

1. Custom Software are Developed Exactly as per the Needs of the Business

2. Custom Software Development offers Full Ownership Rights to the Business

3. Customer Software Development Offers Higher Security

4. Customer Software Development Offers Flexible Integration with Third-Party Tools

5. Custom Software are Easy to Scale with Ability to Extend Lifecycle

Customer Software and COTS Cost Comparison

Conclusion

What is a Custom Software Development?

When you Need Custom Software Development?

Go for Custom Software Development: If you need high-level security

Go for Custom Software Development: If you need quick adoptability and modernization

Go for Custom Software Development: If you need high scalability

Go for Custom Software Development:If you want easy integration with other systems

Go for Custom Software Development: If you want to Improve Internal Workflow

Go for Custom Software Development: If you want to achieve maximum ROI

How to Develop a Customized Software?

Conclusion

Cloud Technology

Software Integration

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

Artificial Intelligence Based Software

IoT Based Industrial Software

Blockchain and Web3 Based Software

Low-code or No-code Custom Software Development Platforms

Conclusion

Make a Plan! And Set Goals

How to Find a Software Development Company in Dubai?

How to Execute Custom Property Management Software Development Project?

What are the Important Features of a Property Management System?

Web Interfaces of a Custom Property Management Software

Smartphone Applications and Mobile Interface

Internet Interface or Website

Customer Portal

Sales Team Portal

Maintenance Requests and Complaints Management

Dedicated Modules for Each Business Function

Work Flow Management and Administrative Hierarchy

Business Intelligence Data Collection

Future Scalability and Maintenance

Conclusion

Custom Software Development: Commissioning & Installation Cost

Custom Software Development: Maintenance and Long Term Cost

Custom Software Development: Scalability and Longevity

Custom Software Development: Upgrades and Customization

Custom Software Development: Ownership and Trademarking

Custom Software Development: Make Profit

Conclusion

What is Custom Software Development?

The Benefits of Bespoke Custom Software Development

How to Execute a Custom Software Development Project?

What are the Custom Software Development Methodologies?

How to Choose Right Software Development Company in Dubai?

What is a Customer Software Development Agreement?

Conclusion

Off-the-shelf Solution VS Customized Software and Business Tools Development

Why Off-the-shelf Software and Business Tools?

Why Not Off-the-shelf Software and Business Tools?

Why Customized Software and Business Tools?

Why Not Customized Software and Business Tools?

Here is how you can Develop Customized Software and Business Tools

Discovery Phase – Identify Challenges& Set Objectives

Acquire the Services of a Software Development Team/Company (In-house/Outsource)

Held Requirement Gathering Meetings and Formulate the Scope of Work (SOW)

Have a Detailed Project Plan

Wireframes and GUI Designing

Development Phase

UAT, Soft Launch and Full Launch

Maintenance and Post Launch Activities

Conclusion

Customized Software Development: Perfectly Match Your Business Requirements

Customized Software Development: Better and Efficient Scalability

Customized Software Development: Easy and Cost-Effective Integration

Customized Software Development: Online and Cloud Compatibility

Customized Software Development: Security

Customized Software Development: Budget Friendly

Customized Software Development: Low Operational and Maintenance Cost

Conclusion

Key Features of an Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)