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Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions: Which is Right for You?

Whether you are a small business or large enterprise or a private organization or a government entity, these days software solutions are backbone for day-to-day operations. No business can function without relying on any software application. Even if you are just using emails or WhatsApp, you are still utilizing these software. This blog is not to discuss the emails or WhatsApp, in fact we will briefly discuss about the business solutions, like ERP (enterprise resource planning software), CRM (customer relationship management system), Customer Feedback System, Customer Portals, Intranet Applications, Web-Portals, and core business applications.

Now a day’s a business’s digital eco-system consists of multiple software solutions, some are commercial off-the-shelf solutions (COTS) and some are custom software development solutions. All working in a perfect harmony to drive efficiency, performance, quality and profitability. Businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE are very eager to optimize their operational efficiency and expenses by leveraging the inherent properties of software applications, such as business process automation, digitalization, analytical data collection and super efficient information flow via advanced communication channels.

The digital technology is evolving at an unprecedented speed, so does the market trends, and customer demands. In order to be more competitive, businesses need to adopt to highly efficient software application. With the growth corporate data and increasing demand for operational excellence also grows, and the decision between commercial off-the-shelf solutions and custom software development has become more critical and difficult. In this blog we will do a comparison between custom software development and off-the-shelf solutions to give you a better perspective of the subject.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions: Which is Right for You?
Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions: Which is Right for You?

What is Custom Software Development?

The custom software development is a process to design software application precisely as per your needs, the customized software are tailor-made for a single business or group of users at an organization. This is what makes them far more superior, efficiency and effective. Unlike commercial off-the-shelf software, which are generic solutions, the custom software applications are design from scratch, which perfectly positioned them as the most effective solution for modern business who strive for efficiency and performance.

The simplest way to understand it is to think of building house, if you commission a professional architect, you can make the house the way you want and need, you can control each and every minor aspect of literally everything. But what if you bought a built house, you don’t have much room to make changes, even if you hire someone, you will still going to have certain limitations. This is how the custom software development is different from the off-the-shelf solutions.

The custom software development process starts with in-depth analysis of your organization’s existing infrastructure, operations, internal processes, workflows and challenges that you are facing. This processes greatly improve the efficacy, efficiency and alignment with your operations. Then all key elements are carefully crafted to minimize the adoption and integration expenses, while ensuring all goals can be achieved seamlessly. With the custom software development you can design the software by keeping your goals, challenges, resources and limitations in mind.

The custom software development also tend to delivery exceptionally higher ROI over a longer period of time. But the thing most organizations doesn’t realize is when do they need a customized software application? The simplest rule to consider is to “don’t reinvent the wheel”. Your email client, such as Outlook or Thunderbolt both are off-the-shelf software, do you need to build one for your organization? Absolutely not!

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

What is Custom Software Development?
What is Custom Software Development?

What are Off-the-Shelf Software Solutions?

The off-the-shelf software solutions or COTS, are the pre-built software application, which businesses either purchase or subscribe to. Same like Outlook and Thunderbolt, there are ERPs, CRMs, HRMS, and various other organizational tools which are pre-built, and are designed for a specific industry sector. Moreover what off-the-shelf solution you are using, the chances are very high, your competitors would also be using the same. This undermine your competitive advantage. The biggest advantage of off-the-shelf software solutions is that they are ready-to-use.

The time you purchased them, you will be provided access instantly, and even if the on-premises deployment is required, these solutions can be setup up in a few days. Unlike the customized software application which require a lengthy period of development and testing. For example, Microsoft Office, QuickBooks, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, all are commercial off-the-shelf software solutions. The big-data software market is dominated by off-the-shelf solutions, but businesses are gradually shifting towards customized big-data and AI-powered software applications.

One of the biggest reason businesses opt for commercial off-the-shelf solutions is quick deployment and very low upfront cost. Most of the off-the-shelf software solutions come with a subscription plan, the payments are done on monthly, quarterly or annual bases. The biggest disadvantage in implementing off-the-shelf software solutions is the lack of customization. Most of the off-the-shelf software doesn’t offer any customization, some large-scale application do offer customization but with very limited scope and the customization cost is also very high.

Usually these software solutions are divided into various packages and modules. Sometimes just for a single features, businesses might need to upgrade to a 20%-40% expensive module or version. Which can significantly increase the operational cost in longer run. That is not all, businesses often end-having tons of unwanted features which not only increase cost, but also tend to harm the efficiency of the staff who will be using these solutions.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

What are Off-the-Shelf Software Solutions?
What are Off-the-Shelf Software Solutions?

Comparison Between Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-shelf Solutions

Now that we clearly understood the major differences between the custom software development and off-the-shelf software solutions, let us compare various aspects which will help you decide which solution could be more effective for which needs and requirements.

Cost Comparison: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Cost is one of the most crucial and in most cases the deciding factor when business choose between the custom software development and off-the-shelf solutions. However to understand the costing of both solutions, we have to be very careful. Like I have mentioned earlier, you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. This means, for certain needs, you will surely go for commercial off-the-shelf solutions, such as Microsoft Office, Emails, Teams, Zoom, etc. However, when it comes to accounting, for example, the Quickbooks or Slack might cost you very less, but will never going to align and adopt to your emerging business needs.

There would be costs associated with upgrades, new modules/features, third-party integration and so on. Above all, if you are dealing with sensitive customer data, you will always be at risk, since your data has been stored with the vendor and technically they have full control and to some extent authority over it. The initial cost on the other hand for the custom software development could range somewhere from a few thousand dirham to several hundred thousand. Which might seem staggering comparing to COTS.

However, with the customized software application, you will have full control and authority over your data, you can customize them the way you want, you can add new features down the road, and on top of that these software has capabilities to scale, adopt and evolve along with your business needs. There would be no operational inefficiencies due to mismatching of software structure and your internal processes and workflows.

You will most likely never stuck in vendor-lock situation, and instead of replacing the entire solution, you can simply add new features, upgrade it or customize it as per your new needs. You can also easily integrate customized software with other third-party tools, databases and solutions without bearing large expenses. This makes custom software development superior than the COTS.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

Cost Comparison: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions
Cost Comparison: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Flexibility and Scalability: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

I would rather consider flexibility and scalability comparison as direct cost comparison. Because this has huge impact on your long-term cost. Growing businesses often end-up outgrowing their commercial off-the-shelf solutions and end-up paying huge for the replacements. The important and most crucial thing to understand is tha the commercial off-the-shelf solutions are designed for masses, and are designed as per best industry practices and standards. This means a large number of businesses would be using them, hence upgrading an application which has millions of users, and all users can have their own preference, needs, and challenges.

Under such conditions, making huge change in the software could impact millions of users, which will also impact the revenue of the vendor as well. Hence whenever a vendor will decide to upgrade or add more features, or remove some, they will have to be very careful. Therefore the development and growth is extremely slow with commercial off-the-shelf software solutions. The custom software development on the other hand is synonymous to flexibility. The customized software solutions are tailor-made for your business needs, and have potential to keep on evolving with your emerging needs. Adding a new features, removing or customizing an existing features in in your hand.

Moreover, you can do whatever you want to do, there is no restriction or limitation as far as the customization concerns. This level of customization and personalization is invaluable for businesses who want to grow and stand out of the crowd. The customized software keep on evolving with your emerging needs, challenges and growth. Your in-house developers or the outsourcing partner can customize and optimize the features whenever you need them. You can always patch your software or upgrade them to optimize the performance and impact. This way rather ending up replacing your off-the-shelf software solutions, you can keep on using the same application for decades.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Flexibility and Scalability: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions
Flexibility and Scalability: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Maintenance and Support: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Whether you chose commercial off-the-shelf software solution (COTS) or a custom software development, both requires upkeep and maintenance. Businesses often overlooked the maintenance and support while deciding between these two, but it is a very crucial factor to consider. Especially in a fast-paced world, where the time is money, any downtime in a software application or a minor issue could significantly undermine your entire operations. Some issues need to be addressed at immediate bases, as these could have dominoes effect, where one problem or inefficiency lead to another and so on. When it comes to support the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions always lag, no matter how great the application is, the support would usually be limited to general queries and for complex issues, you might have to wait in long queues.

Moreover the support resources for off-the-shelf software are shared and depends on your licensing agreement and in some cases you have to pay extra for premium support. The customized software on contrary comes with dedicated support, the team that built them also offer dedicated support. Another great advantage is quicker problem resolution and timely patches or updates. The software development team that build your application would understand all intricacies of your software hence, they can quickly resolve issues, eliminate bugs, and even made iterations for better user experience and efficiency. You will always prioritized, and in cases of show-stoppers your support team will readily available.

The upgrades, updates, security patches, and iterations can be scheduled aligning with your operating hours, to minimize any impact on your operations. Businesses often do such activities in off-hours or at weekends, to eliminate any downtime. Since you are the sole customer, your requests are always prioritized, moreover you can have direct interaction with the developers which eliminate any communication barrio and ensures quick results.

See Also: Emerging Trends in Custom Software Development

Maintenance and Support: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions
Maintenance and Support: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Security and Data Privacy: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

In this modern day and age the data privacy and cyber security is one of the greatest challenge. We have witnessed many multinational businesses get completely destroyed after data breaches, most of them still haven’t recovered to their formal glory. Now a days customers are very savvy and aware of the cyber threats, on top of that the media, news and social media also played their role in spreading the awareness. Businesses too are way more conscious about the cyber security. One of the biggest drawback of off-the-shelf software solutions is that your valuable data is stored on vendor’s servers, and even if it is stored locally (which is very rate), the vendor still have full access to it.

Moreover, the vendor is almost fully responsible for the security, but you might also have to take certain measures to ensure maximum data privacy and protection. The off-the-shelf solution are more likely to get targeted due to known vulnerabilities due to the fact that millions of people all around the world have access to these solutions. However, the custom software development enable businesses to adopt to advanced security practices. In fact the security can be prioritized throughout the development lifecycle. A secure development lifecycle help adding multiple layers of security and protection.

Unlike commercial off-the-shelf software solutions, businesses have full control and ownership of their data. They can choose where and how to store their data and no one can be given access to it, outside of the organization. Since the applications are built from scratch in custom software development, your software structure and design is fully confidential and no one knows it. Moreover businesses can have frequent and regular security and vulnerability testing which help them instantly apply security patches, keep the source code up-to-date and keep on adding new security features down the road. These are the reasons the customized applications are considered to be more protective and superior than off-the-shelf solutions.

See Also: Security Best Practices in Custom Software Development

Security and Data Privacy: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions
Security and Data Privacy: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Conclusion

Choosing between off-the-shelf solutions and custom software development is always difficult. Businesses have to consider multiple factors, and majorly it depends on your needs, budget, and long-term strategy. Both off-the-shelf solutions and customized software applications have their unique advantages and disadvantages, but in most cases the custom software development tend to offer extremely higher ROI. Even on technical grounds, the customized applications are technically more superior, advanced and future-ready. For example, if you need an email client, what would be more beneficial? Developing a new email client or opting for Outlook or Thunderbolt? Obviously your needs are the major driver here, but if you need a complex application or tool, then the custom software development is much better choice. The off-the-shelf software solutions have many limitations, the application lack in offering any competitive advantage, and tend to grow at a very slow pace.

Businesses who consider the upfront cost and deployment time only, often end up replacing their off-the-shelf software solution with a more expensive and complex software application after some time. Because the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions tend to grow and evolve very slowly. The custom software development is a comprehensive process, which let businesses build their software from scratch, hence the software fully aligns with your unique and exclusive requirements. Moreover the customized software have potential to evolve along with your business needs. You have full control and authority over the source code, data and security aspects, which is a great advantage. There are no hidden fees or hefty charges for very limited customization. The custom software development is far more superior in every aspect and could be a game changer for businesses.

In this blog we have briefly discussed a few crucial aspects of software development to compare both off-the-shelf and customized software. If you want to learn more or if you want our help to design a bespoke software application for your organization, 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.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai


Integrating Customer Feedback Systems with CRM for Enhanced Customer Relationships

The customer relationship management is a strategic process businesses utilize to manage and analyze the customer interaction throughout the customer lifecycle. The customer feedback is a source of highly valuable insight which help businesses align themselves with customer needs and expectations. These two are most important and vital component of any business’s growth strategy. Without nurturing customer relationship business can never achieve their long-term goals and without understanding customer needs and expectations, businesses can never strengthen their relationship with customers. The customer relationship management system or CRM is a technological framework which help businesses to automate and synchronize various crucial business processes such as sales, marketing, customer service and support.

These four are the fundamental components of customer relationship, no matter what industry you operates in, you need these processes to build long-term customer relationships. Businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE knows how competitive the markets are and how diverse and dynamic the market landscape is. Such market conditions require a strong, loyal and dedicated customer base, which requires proactive customer relationship management. Same like any other relationship the communication is the key to success.

The customer feedback system provides a crucial source of direct communication, where the customers can freely express themselves and share their suggestions. In this blog we will discuss how businesses can leverage a customer feedback or survey system along with a customer relationship management system to strengthen the customer relationships.

See Also: What is CXM (Customer Experience Management)?

Integrating Customer Feedback Systems with CRM for Enhanced Customer Relationships
Integrating Customer Feedback Systems with CRM for Enhanced Customer Relationships

Understanding the Basics of CRM (Customer Relationship Management System)

CRM or Customer Relationship Management is an integral part of the modern businesses, it is a strategic process, usually managed by a dedicated software application which provide management and analytical tools. It provides a centralized system which host the customer data, providing an in-depth and intuitive understanding of every customer journey from first interaction to ongoing support. The modern CRM solutions also include tools to manage the leads and potential customers. The customer relationship management software (CRM) is used to streamline processes between various front-facing business functions. For example, when a salesman closed a deal, the customer service and support team is notified, the CRM do this in fully or semi-automated way, it records the interaction, conveyed the required information to the relevant team informing them of customer’s needs and expectations.

The biggest advantage of CRM solution is that it reduce errors, provides more wholesome data to the relevant teams and personals, eliminate the need of manual work, and it can manage large number of customers with extremely high efficiency. These features not only enhance operational efficiency, but also drive productivity which results in better quality services and satisfactory customer experience. The CRMs are excellent at enhancing communication and information flow within the organization and these tools can also automate communication with customer, which help businesses save a lot of resources, while instead of compromising quality or performance, boost both of them. That is why businesses tend to rely on customer relationship management (CRM) software to manage and nurture customer relationships. The CRM also keeps everything organized, well-tracked and recorded without any delay.

See Also: Why customized CRM Software is better than Off-the-shelf Solution?

Understanding the Basics of CRM (Customer Relationship Management System)
Understanding the Basics of CRM (Customer Relationship Management System)

Understanding the Basics of Customer Feedback System

The modern market landscape has become very customer-centric, businesses who failed to align themselves with customer needs, expectations and preference couldn’t compete. Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE has a very diverse and highly competitive market landscape. Customers have multiple choices, a single bad interaction could led them to switch to your competitor. That is why it is crucial to understand what is in your customer’s mind and heart. The customer feedback system provides a window into customer’s mind and heart. The customer feedback data help businesses acquire a deeper insight to customer’s needs, challenges, issues, expectations and preferences. The customer feedback system provides a systematic framework which streamline customer feedback management, provide advanced data collection and analytical tools, which help producing actionable insights.

The customer feedback system is a digital tool based on a very powerful software application. This tools help streamlining multiple channels to collect feedback data from broader audience. Furthermore the customer feedback system has capabilities to automate the feedback management process. It also offers real-time feedback and automation which greatly improve business efficiency and reduce the human resource. The feedback data helps management understand the customer needs, identify trends, and identify the areas of improvement. Furthermore businesses can also leverage the customer feedback system to assess and evaluate the changes implemented. The customer feedback system plays crucial role in improving service quality and product development. Businesses can make informed and highly effective data-driven decisions leveraging the customer feedback data for higher success and growth.

See Also: Understanding Customer Sentiments by Implementing a Modern Customer Feedback System

Understanding the Basics of Customer Feedback System
Understanding the Basics of Customer Feedback System

Why We Need to Integrate the Customer Feedback System with CRM?

Both the customer feedback system and CRM or customer relationship management system plays a crucial role in managing and improving customer relationship. Integrating both can exponentially raise their efficacy and efficiency. Integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM) can provide a unified platform where the customer voice meets the actionable insights. This integration has another great benefits, it provides a more in-depth understanding of customer feedback in context to their history and help personalizing customer service and experience. Personalizing customer experience and services can greatly improve customer satisfaction and help businesses increase customer loyalty. The loyal customers tend to be good brand advocate not only giving repeated businesses, but also helping businesses in establishing good reputation.

Here are some key benefits of integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM):

  1. Enhanced Insight: Combining CRM and customer feedback system provides a 360 degree view of customer preferences, choices, pain points, complaints, service history, customer persona, demographics, and much more.
  2. Better Customer Retention: Requesting feedbacks after every interaction, closing the feedback loop, and regular feedbacks help building trust and strengthening customer relationship which improve customer loyalty and increase customer retention.
  3. Personalized Customer Experience: Combining customer relationship management data and customer feedback data help identifying patterns, preference and customer expectation which help businesses personalized their offering for elevated customer experience.
  4. Streamlined Communications: Businesses can leverage the combined data from customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM) to establish a fast and automated communication framework.
  5. Proactive Problem Solving: The customer feedback data and CRM data help businesses identify reoccurring problems, issues, complaints and customer suggestions which help businesses proactively solve problem and even identify issues which can later become a problem.
  6. Data-Driven Decision Making: In the modern business landscape where the technology is infused deeply into our personal and work lives. It is extremely important for businesses to have correct insights to take data-driven decision which can ensure long-term success and growth.
  7. Build Customer Trust: One of the most overlooked features of a modern customer feedback system is the closed-loop feedback, where customers’ response/feedback is acknowledged and they are informed of actions taken against their suggestions, this help building trust.
  8. Improve Product Development Process: The CRM data combined with customer feedback data help businesses perform in-depth analysis of their products and services, with this insight in hand businesses can develop the products that can perfectly align with customer needs.
  9. Quick Issue Resolution: The real-time customer feedback can be provided to all relevant teams such as customer service agents, technical support team, etc. This will help them quickly resolve issues, take timely actions and escalate problems that are reported regularly.
  10. Increased Sales and Cross-Selling Opportunities: The customer feedback data and CRM data combined can unlock various up-selling and cross-selling opportunities. The inbuilt AI algorithms and analytical tools help identifying such customers.
  11. Strengthening Customer Relationship: The advanced analytical tools provide in-depth insight, the automation help enhancing communication. Acknowledging customer feedback gives them a sense of importance, by valuing customer businesses can strengthen the customer relationships.
  12. Smart Resource Allocation: Every business has limited resources, in order to maximize the efficiency and outcome, businesses need smart resource allocation. The feedback and CRM data suggest the areas where the efforts can be most impactful.
  13. Enhanced Marketing and Communication: For every business the marketing and communication is a key to success. The integration of CRM and customer feedback system help projecting the communication and marketing campaigns in right direction yielding higher profits and sales.
  14. Comprehensive Reporting: For any business actionable insights are crucial, the AI powered analytical tools can combine both feedback and CRM data to produce highly effective actionable reports, the reports can also be automated for swift action and decision making.

These are some of the key benefits of integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM). Businesses can leverage this integration for long-term improvements as well as leveraging it for proactive problem solving. This can greatly improve customer relationship and you gain more loyalty and build customer trust. These features can help businesses gain a great competitive advantage which can be a game-changing in such a dynamic and highly competitive market landscape.

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

Why We Need to Integrate the Customer Feedback System with CRM?
Why We Need to Integrate the Customer Feedback System with CRM?

Conclusion

Integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM) could be a great strategic move. Especially if you are operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and elsewhere in UAE where the business landscape is highly competitive. These markets are subjected to change at a very rapid pace, the customer trends keep on changing frequently. In such business landscapes it is vital to have a deeper and most accurate understanding of customer behavior. Businesses should know what their customers like/dislike, what they need, what bothers them and what do they expect form their favorite brand? Businesses tend to rely on multiple digital tools, business solutions and software applications. Most of the time, these different solutions have different user group, the information and data gathered could remain in silos, which cause latency and lag. The integration empower these solutions, eliminate lags, and streamline information and data flow.

The customer feedback system is a modern software-based solution which help collecting multi-channel feedback and enable businesses to implement modern feedback strategies such as continuous and real-time feedback, closed-loop feedback, etc. Similarly the customer relationship management system (CRM) is also a digital tool which is used to streamline various operations at sales, communication, customer service, and technical support, etc. Combining both the valuable insight form a customer feedback system and extraordinary data-driven capabilities of modern customer relationship management system (CRM), businesses can streamline various internal and operational tasks, drive efficiency and productivity and take most effective decisions for higher success and growth.

The integration help fostering a culture of personalized customer experience, improved efficiency, higher productivity, proactive problem solving, improved decision making, and greater customer satisfaction. The market trends, customer preferences and expectations keep on changing, integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM) ensures that the business remains agile, informed, proactive, more adaptive and responsive towards such changes.

In this blog we have briefly discussed how this integration can help businesses. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you need our help to integrate customer feedback system with CRM or built a completely integrated bespoke solution for you, 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.

See Also: 5 Techniques to Integrate Customer Satisfaction Survey with Queue Management System


Why Custom Software Development is Essential for Digital Transformation

The business landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation, driven by escalating customer expectations and intensifying competition. To thrive in this dynamic environment, organizations must prioritize efficiency, performance, and productivity. Digital solutions have emerged as a strategic imperative, enabling businesses to streamline internal processes, optimize human resource management, and enhance overall operational efficiency.

Digital transformation is a comprehensive approach that involves integrating digital technologies into every aspect of business operations. By leveraging these solutions, organizations can fundamentally redefine how they work, operate, and deliver value to their customers. From elevating customer experiences to empowering employees and reducing costs, digital transformation offers a powerful means to drive innovation and achieve sustainable growth.

Digital transformation empowers management by automating routine tasks and streamlining workflows. Through digitalization, businesses can reduce manual labor, minimize human error, and gain valuable insights through advanced monitoring tools. Regardless of size or industry, embracing digital transformation is essential for navigating the competitive business landscape of today. In this blog we will discuss why custom software development is essential to leverage the full potential of digital transformation.

Why Custom Software Development is Essential for Digital Transformation?
Why Custom Software Development is Essential for Digital Transformation?

What is Custom Software Development and Why it is Important?

The custom software development is a process of building and crafting software solutions and tools which are designed for a very specific user groups. The customized or bespoke software solutions are designed to perform very specific tasks and in a very specific way. This ability let businesses integrate the software solutions seamlessly without requiring their staff and management to make any change or big changes to their workflows and practices. Traditionally businesses tend to rely on commercial off-the-shelf software solutions also knows as COTS.

The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are designed for masses and are widely available, it means your competitors will also have access to the same tools and solutions. For example, Oracle Net Suite, Quickbooks, Salesforce, SAP, and even Google Workspace and Microsoft Office Suite are all commercial off-the-shelf software solutions. These solutions are great tools, but when it comes to specific business needs or challenges your workforce is facing, then you need out of the box approach. All off-the-shelf solutions offer very limited customization and integration abilities.

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

What is Custom Software Development and Why it is Important?
What is Custom Software Development and Why it is Important?

What Makes Custom Software Development Essential for Digital Transformation?

Due to various inherent limitations of commercial off-the-shelf software solutions, businesses often end-up utilizing multiple solutions which raise cost and also make integration more complex and difficult. The customized or bespoke software on the other hand are very flexible, they are exclusively designs as per your business needs in mind, and therefore these solutions tend to drive efficiency and performance while being cost-effective, more scalable, accessible and adoptable. The custom software development is a process which involves:

  1. Requirement Gathering: The first step of custom software development is taking and understanding customer requirements. It help development team to understand the problems and challenges business is facing and also help them to propose solutions for the same. The development team also understand the wider IT infrastructure and select technological platforms and frameworks which are more aligned with the business needs.
  2. Designing Process: The design team design the software layouts, screens and workflows which is part of the UI (user interface). These designs are shared with the customer and the user group and allow the businesses to optimize them as per their needs and best efficiency.
  3. Development Process: The development process is the actual programming where the developers write and compile the source code of the software. The software platforms and frameworks such as programing language, operating system support, integration with other systems and databases and everything else is done at this stage.
  4. Testing: Both the software development team, the end-users and the project coordinators facilitate this testing process. It helps further refining the software which results in higher efficiency, performance and security.
  5. Deployment: The deployment is going live and installing the software at the server or at the end-users’ computer/network. The deployment stage brings the software to the production and the end-users start using it at this stage.

This process help aligning the software application with specific business needs, and it also keep the end-user engaged in the development process. Which gives them more control over the software design, features and working. These advantages make custom software development most crucial for the digital transformation and modernization.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

Big Data Helps Personalizing the Software Solutions
Big Data Helps Personalizing the Software Solutions

Custom Software Development Increase Efficiency and Productivity

The digital transformation require businesses to integrate technology in every aspect possible to drive the efficiency. For example, if it is a production unit, there is a team of 4 employees who is doing the packaging of the produced products and you deploy a machine which automatically perform this tasks and output packaged products in carton that is automation. Now think of another application, for example let us consider a document approval process, a document is generated by a team member which has to go to the team lead/supervisor, then to manager, and at final to the GM or MD. If you are doing it manually, then a staff has to take the document physically form one desk to another through the pre-set work flow and then the final approval can be taken.

Similar can be done through the software, the software allow the staff to create the document, push it to supervisor, then to manager and then to the GM and this can be done seamlessly, as soon as it got approved form one desk it is immediately available to the upper desk and so on this makes the process very efficient, quicker and require very less human efforts. In these two examples, we saw how introduction of technology can greatly improve the efficiency, accuracy and productivity in these processes. With the integration of technology very less efforts are required, the process itself become very efficient and fast and the cost too can be reduced effectively.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Custom Software Development Increase Efficiency and Productivity
Custom Software Development Increase Efficiency and Productivity

Custom Software Development Aligns Perfectively with Business Needs

The custom software development fits in to your business needs like a glove. Even the most popular and large-scale commercial off-the-shelf solutions doesn’t align with 100% business needs. Businesses develop over the time, along with that their internal culture, operating procedures, business processes and workflows also evolve. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are designed as per industry standards and best practices, this means that these software doesn’t evolve or change along with your growing needs and increasing challenges. This is what render these solutions ineffective over the time, even when you implement COTS you have to make several changings in your internal workflows and processes, you have to train your employees to adopt to new processes and functionalities.

However, the customized software seamlessly integrate to your existing business needs, organizational culture, employee demands and business processes. When you deploy a customized software application you doesn’t have to make any change in your processes, workflows or anything. This is what makes customized software more efficient and a better candidate for your digital transformation drive. For example if you think of the above example of document processing system, if you implement a commercial off-the-shelf software, you must have to follow the industry standard.

For example, a document has to pass through 5 people, while in your organization you only require 3 people or maybe you need to appoint 8 people to process that documents. The COTS will not support your with this workflow, you have to do manual work to get the task done. While the customized software application will do exactly what you want it to do and how you want it to do.

See Also: Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development

Custom Software Development Aligns Perfectively with Business Needs
Custom Software Development Aligns Perfectively with Business Needs

Custom Software Development is Cost-Effective and Returns Higher ROI

Another great advantage of custom software development is that it is much more cost-effective than COTS and it tends to offer much higher ROI over a longer period of time. As I have described the custom software development process, it is easy to understand the initial cost would be relatively high. However, if we consider the benefits and impact of the custom software development it will be much more cost-effective. When it comes to digital transformation you doesn’t only consider the initial cost but you should keep in mind the ROI over a longer period of time. Here is a quick comparison of Custom Software Development and Commercial Off-the-shelf software solutions in terms of cost-effectiveness:

Cost Consideration or Initial Cost

  • Upfront Cost: The customer software development has higher initial cost comparing to COTS solutions but this could be misleading in most of the cases.
  • Hidden Cost: The custom software development doesn’t have any hidden cost, while commercial off-the-shelf software solutions may require additional expenses. For example, in terms of customization, workaround to fit in with existing IT eco-system, and integration.
  • Reoccurring Cost and Fees: The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions comes with subscription fees, licensing cost, and upgrade cost which will accumulate over the time.
  • Vendor Lock-In: The COTS will limit your ability to migrate to other vendors, they will bound you with one vendor and when you want to move you will have to bear additional migration cost and you might have to build intermediary applications to meet your all needs.

See Also: The Role of AI in Custom Software Solutions

Return Over Investments (ROI)

  • Bespoke Solutions: The custom software development fully aligns with your 100% needs resulting in higher productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction and profitability. Which is near impossible to achieve with any off-the-shelf solution.
  • Scalability and Flexibility: The COTS are always expensive to scale, sometimes you end up purchasing full packages just for a few features. The custom software development on the other hand easily adopt to your growing needs, and doesn’t have additional upgrade or licensing cost.
  • Long-Term Cost Saving: The COST may have lower upfront cost but have higher long-term cost. The scalability, customization, integration and upgrades always have additional cost with regular reoccurring costs. The customized software doesn’t have such expenses, which makes them very cost-effective over a longer period of time.
  • Application and Data Ownership: The COTS are always owned by the vendor/service provider and you are bound to their policies. However, the custom software development offers full ownership rights to the application and data to the businesses. As it is exclusively designed for your organization, so you will have the full ownership of the software application and the data.

The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions may seams cost-effective initially considering the upfront cost but due to their inherent limitations in terms of customization, integration, scalability, upgrades, and long-term cost these solutions tend to return lower ROI comparing to customized software solutions.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Custom Software Development is Cost-Effective and Returns Higher ROI
Custom Software Development is Cost-Effective and Returns Higher ROI

Conclusion

In this blog we have discussed the impact of custom software development and commercial off-the-shelf software solutions on the digital transformation. In conclusion the custom software development is not just an option but apparently it is a very effective enabler for businesses embarking on digital transformation. By leveraging the custom software development businesses can build tailored tools and solutions which fully align with unique business needs and help them dealing with the challenges they are facing. The custom software development results in higher operational performance, it empowers management, results in higher customer satisfaction and at the same time it helps businesses minimize the cost and achieve higher profitability.

The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions apparently seem very cost effective (considering the initial cost) but tend to be much more expensive than customized software solutions. The COTS also tend to have several limitation which sometime could become very challenging form growing businesses and could have huge impact on their progress and growth. The customized software solutions on the other hand offer full ownership rights, which help businesses raise security and efficiency of these tools.

Furthermore the custom software development enable businesses to build future-proof solutions with innovative and efficient features which also gives them a great competitive advantage. If you want to build a bespoke software for your business of organization or if you want to learn more about the topic, 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.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai


Security Best Practices in Custom Software Development

The cyber security has become one of the biggest concern for both businesses and customers. That is due to the rising sophistication of cyber threats and the following consequences of the data breaches. We have recently witnessed some global levels of data breaches in well-known multinational and some of the world’s largest enterprises. The mainstream news and TV channels are discussing the cyber security threats and attacks in the prime time transmissions. The words hacking, phishing, ransomware, identity theft, computer viruses and other technical terms have become very common. No matter if someone know the meaning of it, but everyone of us have heard and read those terms. This led to the skyrocketed concerns for cyber security.

Businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE tend to utilize multiple software applications to streamline their operations. When it comes to business operating systems, ERPs, information systems, software applications and management tools, businesses have to routes, the commercial off-the-shelf solutions (COTS) or the custom software development. Businesses have realized the importance and impact of customized software applications. Hence businesses are moving to customized software solutions day by day. In this article we will explore the best practices software development companies and teams should follow to ensure reliable and secure software solution. Businesses should ensure their software development team is following these best practices.

See Also: What is custom software development?

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

Security Best Practices in Custom Software Development
Security Best Practices in Custom Software Development

Custom Software Development Best Practices for Elevated Security

The custom software development and cyber security are two most sophisticated topics. If you are not qualified enough you might not able to comprehend these two subjects. Therefore I will try to explain it in a very simple and less technical manner. When a business decides to build a customized software solutions such as a customer portal, intranet application, customer relationship management tools, mobile applications, payment portals or interactive self-service channels for their customers, the very first step is to understand the basics of the software security. The first and most important step is to draw a security requirement outline.

It doesn’t matter how well you understand software development or cyber security, you just need to understand the basic working of the application and data management. You can engage a professional software developer either form your team or from your outsourcing partner’s team. Just sit with them and ask them what data will be collected from the users, what will be stored within the software application and what data will be transmitted or fetched from other software solutions or databases. This will help you understand the criticality of various data types. For example the personal identification information and the financial information requires the highest security possible.

See Also: Why the Custom Software Development is Good for Your Business?

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai

Custom Software Development Best Practices for Elevated Security
Custom Software Development Best Practices for Elevated Security

Once you have all these data types you can now begin with the development of the application and at the completion you will have to sit with the team again to see if the following crucial cyber security best practices are followed correctly or not. Early security planning and identification of compliance is crucial. Moreover different industries also have different security compliance, required by relevant government authorities. Identifying these requirements early on will not only help you make your custom software solutions more secure but it will also save you time and cost of redesigning later. Following these best practices will also help you eliminating flaws and vulnerabilities from your tailored software solutions:

Use Secure Coding Techniques

The custom software development is a technique of building software applications and solutions form ground up. Most of the times these software tools are built using various different software stacks and frameworks. This means that the software development team will have to do a lot of coding and programing to achieve the desired functionalities. Writing secure code and following secure coding methods is crucial to ensure the ultimate security of the customized software. When the security best practices are implemented from the very beginning, it results in better and strong security of the application. For example:

  • Input Validation: All inputs should be validated before sending them to the system or database. This practice will help you minimizing the chances of SQL injections and cross-site scripting. These two are most common threats for software applications.
  • Data Sanitization: This one is also relevant to the above point, but it will help you elevating the security. As the name suggest the data sanitization means ensuring any data or command entering to the software is sanitized, hence ensuring no code injection or unauthorized access.

It is crucial to ensure all team members are well-versed with the above best practices and methodologies. Furthermore businesses should also check and review the code at every milestone or at completion of every module. Moreover once your customized application is complete, you should conduct a thorough security analysis.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Use Secure Coding Techniques
Use Secure Coding Techniques

Implement Strict Access Control and User Identification

When businesses opt for custom software development they tend to have requirements from a particular user group or department. This means that there could be so many different users who will be operating your customized software application. The access control is simply a mechanisms to manage who can access which part of your software application. The access control will dictate the policy to grant various accesses to different features and functionalities. You should ask your custom software development team to build control mechanisms and features which allow you to define multiple job roles with ability to give them access to different parts of the software.

The role-based access control features will allow businesses to create multiple job roles with different levels of access. For example, the system administration role is usually designated to IT team and the system administrator has full system access, including ability to create other job roles and configure various different levels of access. For example, some user might only have access to read the data, some might have access to write it and some might have access to certain future. It is crucial to implement the rule of “least privilege” this will ensure everyone will only get access to the features and data they need. Therefore fool proof user identification and authentication mechanisms should also be implemented.

See Also: Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development

Implement Strict Access Control and User Identification
Implement Strict Access Control and User Identification

Data Encryption at Both Storage and Transmission

Businesses often doesn’t realize the importance of encryption. Encryption at both storage (at rest) and transmission (while transferred) is extremely important. It can greatly improve the security of the solution as well as it can also prevent people with malicious intent to access or intercept your data. The encryption technologies has become very advanced, now a days if you apply encryption properly, it is nearly impossible to decrypt them without proper access and decryption protocols. Encrypting any data would take very less computer resources, in fact almost none. But when you try to decrypt any data without decryption code and protocols you might be needing some very powerful super computers to be able to find the right pattern to decrypt it. Thus the encryption can greatly improve security.

The encryption ensures that your data will remain protected even if it is accessed by unauthorized means, or intercepted during the transmission. In case if someone even gets access or intercept your encrypted data, they would never be able to decrypt it. This will prevent any unauthorized access to your sensitive data. All important data types should be encrypted, especially the personal information and financial must need strong encryption. You can utilize Advanced Encryption Standards or AES which is international standard for encryption. For data transmission it is absolutely essential to transmit data through a secure connection by utilizing the SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security). This will ensure your data will remain secure and protected.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

See Also: Custom Software Development Progressive Web Apps – Beginner’s Guide

Data Encryption at Both Storage and Transmission
Data Encryption at Both Storage and Transmission

Implement Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

The secure software development lifecycle or SDLC is not just a technique but a complete strategy. It states that the security should be implemented and prioritized at each and every stage of the software development lifecycle. Starting from planning to designing and then deployment and even for maintenance, incorporating checks and balances at every stage should remain the top priority of the software development team. Here are some best practices to incorporate security at each and every stage of the software development process:

  • Planning: During the software planning process, two important things need to be prioritized. First the security requirements and compliances should be accounted at very early stage. Then the risk assessment and threat modeling should be conducted to identify potential threats, vulnerabilities and risks to ensure all these threats and vulnerabilities will be neutralized effectively.
  • Designing: The design considerations and security architecture should be embedded at the core of the application. Best practices like, secure coding, encryption and system access should be incorporated in the design of the software. A thorough threat modeling should be conducted for different design choices to ensure maximum security and protection.
  • Development: It is extremely crucial to ensure that your custom software development team should be well-versed with the best security practices and secure development techniques. The secure coding practices can eliminate the chances of some of the most common attacks such as SQL injection, buffer overflow, and cross-site scripting, etc. Furthermore the advanced code analysis tools both static and dynamic should be used to find any potential vulnerability in code.
  • Testing: Businesses should ensure the project managers and relevant personals keep testing the application throughout the development phase. Furthermore a full-on security testing round should be conducted after development completion and before going live. Automated tools should be used to simulate attacks, and other testing methods such as penetration testing, security audits, and vulnerability testing should be conducted before going live.
  • Maintenance: Once your customized software is developed, tested and deployed, then you will be needing maintenance which is a continuous process. Usually software applications require periodic maintenance, however, ongoing monitoring and patching is crucial for security. Businesses should have incident response policy and protocols in place. Furthermore any updates, customization and integration would also require in-depth security testing.

Businesses should strictly incorporate security in their software development lifecycle. This will not only make their application more resilience towards threats and vulnerability but it will also ensure the protection and safety of the data of your customers and employees. A secure development lifecycle also encourage cross-functional collaboration between the security and development team which also help improving the security and resilience of your customized software applications.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Implement Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Implement Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Conclusion

The information technology have advanced so rapidly that it is very difficult for a common person to keep up. With the advancements of computer technology the software has become much more complex and sophisticated. For example, there was a time when 1GB RAM and 40GB storage was more than enough for a common PC user, now a days we have smartphones with 16GB RAM and up to 1TB of storage. This all happened in just two decades. This made technology much more complex, so does the security and safety of the user data. As the technology is evolving rapidly the cyber criminals are also adopting to innovative and very sophisticated techniques to attack on businesses and people. This is what made everyone more concerned about their security and data protection.

This rapid development of technology also compelled businesses to adopt to modern software solutions and tools to keep up with the emerging needs. When it comes to software businesses tend to utilize multiple software application to streamline their entire operations. The custom software development is the ideal route for growing businesses, as it can cater to their exclusive business needs and can offer them a great competitive advantage. The security is one of the most critical aspect of custom software development, as there is a common misconception that the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are more secured. However, this is not true always, in fact the by adopting to modern and best security practices in your custom software development you can greatly improve security and data protection.

Strictly implementing a secure software development lifecycle strategy can help you elevate security of your bespoke software solutions. Businesses should ensure adopting and implementing secure coding methods, continuous security testing and monitoring, risk assessment and threat modeling and various other best practices discussed in this blog. The software development itself is a very sophisticated subject let alone the cyber security. Therefore I have tried to simplify the security best practices to make them understandable by avoiding technical terminologies and methodologies.

If you still want to learn more about the subject or if you want to explore the possibility of developing a highly secured and tailored software solution for your business of organization, 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.

See Also: How to Develop a Custom Software in Dubai?

See Also: Emerging Trends in Custom Software Development


The Role of AI in Custom Software Solutions

In today’s modern and technology-driven market landscape businesses rely on various software solutions in order to maintain maximum operational performance. When it comes to software solutions there are two distinct types of solutions, the commercial off-the-shelf solutions (COTS) and customized software solutions. The COTS are ready-made applications designed for masses, however the customized software are tailored to cater to specific business needs. This is why businesses are shifting their focus towards customized software solutions. The AI (artificial intelligence) is a very powerful technology which is far superior then conventional software applications. That is why businesses are rapidly adopting modern AI (artificial intelligence) based solutions.

When it comes to custom software development, the AI (artificial intelligence) has a lot of potential. The AI is a most modern form of application which is usually implemented where traditional software applications fell short and require human intelligence. There are two major types of AI, the narrow AI which is used to enhance certain tasks. The other type is general AI which is often used in language models, customer services, and it has a wider spectrum of applications. The AI (artificial intelligence) integration in custom software development help automating various sophisticated and complex processes which help driving efficiency and performance. In this blog we will discuss briefly how AI can elevate the impact and efficiency of the custom software solutions.

The Role of AI in Custom Software Solutions
The Role of AI in Custom Software Solutions

How AI is enhancing the Custom Software Solutions?

Before we discuss the role of AI in customer software solutions, let us first understand the customer software development. In today’s modern and digitally transformed market landscape, businesses tend to utilize multiple software applications and IT infrastructure in order to optimize their operations. There are two major categories of software, one is the COTS or commercial off-the-shelf solution and the other is custom software development. The biggest difference between a custom software application and a COT solution is that the COTS are designed for masses and are usually industry specific. Whereas the custom software development is a process to designing and developing bespoke software solutions that resonate with the business needs.

Both custom software development and the COTS have their own advantages and disadvantages, the customer software development stands out because of its ability to fully align with the business needs. The custom software solutions are designed exclusively for businesses and have a particular user group. The custom software solutions are exclusive, hence has ability to offer a better competitive advantages. Furthermore the custom software address even the smallest challenge or problem a business. On top of that the custom software solutions offer easy customization and flexible third-party integration capabilities. Because of all these features businesses tend to rely more on custom software development which is also making the role of AI more crucial and important for software industry. Here is how AI is enhancing the custom software solutions.

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

How AI is enhancing the Custom Software Solutions?
How AI is enhancing the Custom Software Solutions?

Benefits of Integrating AI in Custom Software Development Lifecycle

The AI or Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping the IT industry, which is not only impacting our work lives but also personal lives. The AI plays crucial role in custom software solutions, even at software development lifecycle. When AI aided tools and analysis techniques are used during custom software development, it can potentially be the great catalyst to innovation and exceptional efficiency. The AI at software development lifecycle empowers software developers and help them design more efficient, impactful and user-centric applications. The role of AI is not limited to software development lifecycle, it also plays crucial role in custom software designs. When AI-powered algorithms integrated within the customized software applications, it help making them more efficient and effective.

  • AI Enhance User Experience: The AI has capabilities to analyze large volume of data which help understanding user behavior. Understanding user behavior is extremely crucial for designing software applications which can deliver exceptional user experience.
  • AI’s Predictive Analysis: The AI or Artificial intelligence is capable of performing exceptional predictive analysis which help software developers predict future trends and customer demands. This analysis help designing customer-centric software applications.
  • Boosting Efficiency: The AI-powered tools help software development teams to avoid repetitive tasks, it also help them streamlining and expediting the software development process. The AI-powered frameworks and development tools accelerate the development processes.
  • AI Enhance Performance: The AI powered tools help software development team overcome many challenges that are associated with traditional development techniques. It enhance communication, avoid repetitive work, and help the team to efficiency allocate resources.
  • AI-Powered Code Assistants: Now a day’s AI-powered code assistants and programming tools are redefining the software development. These tools empowers developers, boost their skills, enable accelerated programing methods, perform debugging, and ensure highest coding standards.
  • Testing and Maintenance: The role of AI is not limited in designing and coding, but it effectively does testing, and also help development team in maintenance with its remarkable predictive algorithms, it empowers preventive maintenance and enhance scaling of the applications.

AI-powered tools and integration of various AI applications drive innovation and make customized software more customer-centric, intuitive and efficient.

See Also: Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development

Benefits of Integrating AI in Custom Software Development Lifecycle
Benefits of Integrating AI in Custom Software Development Lifecycle

The AI’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) Tools

We all know well about Siri, Alexa, ChatGPT and Google Assistant, these all are AI-powered applications. And these all applications heavily rely on Natural Language Process (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. There are so many open source AI platforms such as Meta’s (Facebook) Llama, Keras, Rasa, Amazone Sagemaker, and ApacheMXNet are most popular and widely used platform which makes it a lot easier to integrate customized AI models and wider array of use-cases in your custom software solutions. These tools help businesses build innovative and intuitive features which enhance user experience efficiency. By leveraging the true potential of AI in managing custom software applications, collecting and analyzing analytical data businesses can build exceptional software applications.

  • Increase User Engagements: The AI’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) help creating Chabots and virtual Assistants in your customized software solutions. These tools help engaging users and customers and make your software application more automated and efficient.
  • Sentiment Analysis: Another remarkable feature of NLPs is that their unparalleled capability to understand and identified customer sentiments in user-generated content and customer feedback which help businesses improve features of their custom software solutions.
  • AI-Powered Data Mining: The AI’s ability to collect, process and analyze large volume of data from multiple different channels is remarkable. The AI with its NLP and ML can accurately identify hidden insights, patters and correlations which help improving customer experience.
  • Machine Learning (ML): The Machine Learning (ML) is a subset of AI, which help businesses build predictive models, identify fraud, rectify errors, and learn about user behavior to fuel continuous improvements in custom software solutions which is essential for customer satisfaction.
  • AI Strengthens Cyber Security: The AI plays a crucial role in cyber security, it has ability to improve the software management tools. The AI-powered custom software solutions can integrate additional security and monitoring layers powered by AI algorithms to mitigate cyber threats.

When AI-powered algorithms and tools are integrated in the custom software solutions, it can offer a spectrum of benefits. The user engagements can be increased effectively, while making the application experience seamless and more user-friendly. The data mining and analysis tools help identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your customized software applications and help you make continuous improvements and enhancements for elevated user experience and efficiency.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

The AI’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) Tools
The AI’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) Tools

The AI Provides Business Intelligence Data and Help Making Informed Decisions

For any business whenever they are planning to implement a new software solution, they have certain objectives in mind. For example, for an ERP businesses aim to effectively manage resources to drive superior performance. In case of a CRM businesses aim to deliver satisfactory customer service and experience to achieve higher customer satisfaction. However, these all decisions require a lot of insights, technical knowledge along with professional skills. For any business making informed decision could be a game changer, because every strategic decision could have long-term impact on business growth. Therefore businesses rely on business intelligence data to empower their decision making process.

The business intelligence data consists of customer feedbacks, internal data, statistical and analytical data collected from all available or most relevant channels and data sources. This help businesses identify the need of new features or solutions. It basically help identifying the flaws in existing business processes and workflows which help improving them.

  • Business Intelligence: Whether the AI is implemented at a single software solution or at the organizational level it help collecting and analyzing business intelligence data. The AI powered algorithms precisely identify patterns, trends, and are capable of uncovering hidden insights, correlations, and it produces actionable reports. These actionable reports not only help making informed decisions but also help analyzing the impact of those decisions.
  • Scenario Analysis: Businesses often failed to utilize the scenario analysis methodologies or even if they do it they do it incorrectly. The AI has tremendous potential, with its abilities to understand historical data, collect user generated data, statistical and analytical data mining, and its ability to converge all data sources from a variety of channels to a single repository makes scenario analysis much more precise, effective, impactful and cost-efficient.

For any business informed decisions are the key to success. The data-driven decision making is becoming mainstream. It is due to the rapid changes in the market, dynamic competitive landscape and every increasing customer demands. Businesses need to be more proactive, responsive and informed in order to meet all those challenges. The AI can play a crucial role in improving operational performance and can provide a great edge over competition.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

The AI Provides Business Intelligence Data and Help Making Informed Decisions
The AI Provides Business Intelligence Data and Help Making Informed Decisions

The Role of AI in Improving Key Business Functions

The AI or Artificial Intelligence will play a crucial role in future in software development industry. In today’s digitally dominate world, businesses rely on various different types of software applications to effectively and efficiently operate different business functions. The AI has huge potential to improve each and every business function which makes it an essential tool for long-term business success. Here are some key business functions and the role of AI in improving them:

  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM): The customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the most crucial business function. The AI can enhance customer relationship management methods and CRM software. The AI can help improving customer interaction and customer service. It can effectively analyze customer data to help building targeted marketing campaigns and communication material for better brand perception. The AI-powered Chatbots and Virtual Assistants can offer instant service and assistance to elevate customer satisfaction.
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): The ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning software is a centralized information center and a framework for business operating software. The AI can empower management by reducing the efforts, maximizing the efficiency, eliminating repetitive tasks and offering highly accurate predictive analysis. The AI can effectively automate several internal process and workflows which help managers focus on more productive and crucial tasks. AI-powered predictive analysis and forecast eliminate human errors and empower decisions.
  • Cyber Security: The data is like the bloodline in modern enterprises and businesses, hence the cyber security is the top priority. Business value cyber security not only to protect the data but also to safeguard their brand image and reputation. AI-powered management frameworks and tools have capabilities to respond to cyber threats in real-time. The AI algorithms can detect the fraudulent activities and suspicious user behavior with high accuracy. These features level up cyber security and help mitigating cyber threats with a proactive and preventive approach.
  • Human Resource (HR): The Human Resource (HR) is responsible for hunting right talent and retaining the productive staff. It is also responsible for ensuring elevated performance and optimized operational efficiency. The AI-powered HR tools can effectively screen resumes and help finding the right talent. Furthermore the AI have huge application in employee performance management and appraisal processes. The AI can effectively identify the obstacles and factors hindering staff performance and effectively elevate HR team’s efficiency.
  • Marketing and Communication: The marketing and communication are main catalyst in driving revenue and growth. For marketing and communication businesses must have right customer personas and segmentation. This is a very complex and sophisticated process. The AI can effectively analyze historical data, customer preference, past interactions, and demographics to create most effective user groups for marketing and communication. This not only reduce efforts and save costs but also make these campaigns much more profitable.

The role of AI is not only limited to above mentioned business functions,  but it also have wider application in almost every business function such as manufacturing, warehouse & facility management, financial services, other vital internal business processes. That is why businesses are eager to explore the potential of AI in various business functions. No matter how and where you implement AI-powered solutions, the AI is proven to drive superior efficiency, performance and accuracy.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

The Role of AI in Improving Key Business Functions
The Role of AI in Improving Key Business Functions

Conclusion

In the technology-driven market landscape the AI or Artificial Intelligence is not a futuristic concept anymore, but it has emerged as a reality and absolute necessity to meet with the present day challenges businesses are facing. A modern business or enterprise rely on various software solutions for their daily operations. Hence businesses are on a regular demand to upgrade, improve, and enhance their software and IT infrastructure. The need of implementing a brand new software application is very common, businesses tend to revamp and upgrade their tools every year. This is crucial to stay competitive and to maintain maximum operational performance. When it comes to implement a new software application businesses have two ways to move forward. They can either chose the commercial off-the-shelf solution (COTS) or they can go for a custom software solutions.

The custom software solutions tend to be more effective, impactful and high-performing comparing to COTS or commercial off-the-shelf solutions. The custom software development enable businesses to effectively design applications which accurately meet their needs and fits-in seamlessly in their existing IT infrastructure and environment. The application of AI (Artificial Intelligence), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) is huge in custom software solutions. The AI elevate custom software solutions from the software development lifecycle to implementation, maintenance, security and even during the improvement processes. The AI has remarkable ability to process large volume of data, above that it has capabilities to collect and analyze data form various resources and channels with absolute accuracy and remarkable efficiency. This is what makes AI an essential component of present day custom software development.

The role of AI in custom software solutions is set to grow even further in coming future. As we all are becoming more accustomed to various AI tools and applications in our daily lives, it is expected to have the similar pattern in the work as well. People are getting more used to of such applications, the software developers, the end-users and decision makers, everyone is getting more familiar with the AI tools. In this blog we have discussed briefly the role of AI in custom software solutions and its benefits along with its impact on key business functions. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help with your next AI-powered 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.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project


Developing Secure Custom Software in a Cyber Threat Landscape

Businesses tend to rely on various software-based solutions and digital technologies in order to achieve higher operational efficiency and performance. The custom software development is a method to tailor-made software solutions as per business’s unique and exclusive needs. Businesses can also invest in custom software development to level up their defense against the increasing cyber threats and growing security concerns. The cyber security has become the biggest concern for present day businesses and customers alike. The custom software development enable businesses to incorporate various innovative and personalized features to align the app with their needs. Similarly businesses can also incorporate advanced security measures and protective features to elevate the security of their software application.

The custom software development offers more flexibility and control in designing and development process which enable businesses to incorporate a range of security features throughout the development process. This help businesses to deal with increasingly sophisticated and ever evolving security threats. The cyber security is crucial to protect digital assets as well as any business’s reputation. If a small data breach occurs which compromises even least important internal data, even this could have done staggering damage to the business’s reputation. Because the customers will instantly loose trust if they find their favorite brand got data-breach. In this blog we will discuss how custom software development helps elevating the security and strengthen businesses against cyber threats.

See Also: What is custom software development?

Developing Secure Custom Software in a Cyber Threat Landscape
Developing Secure Custom Software in a Cyber Threat Landscape

Understanding the Cyber Threats Businesses are Facing Regularly

The cyber threats businesses had to deal with are evolving, from phishing, to DDoS attacks, malwares, SQL Injection and highly sophisticated ransomware, these all are a few of most common threats. With the passage of time the techniques and tools used to perform such attacks have become highly sophisticated and advanced. Moreover there are cyber-attacks related to IoTs and in some cases there are insider attacks. The insider attacks are mostly unintentional where an employee or contractor who have access to sensitive data got attacked. Whatever the case is the cyber threats are increasing greatly and becoming more challenging day by day. Apart from these there are several other cyber threats that businesses need to handle such as cross-site scripting, identity-based attacks, and much more.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

For example, where the cloud is transforming digital landscape, the security challenges are paramount due to distributed ownership, authority and various other aspects. All these threats are increasing the chances of getting compromised. Furthermore as the AI is rapidly progressing and infusing into almost every digital technology it could. The malicious actors are also seem to exploiting the AI to enhance their attacks. In such situations the custom software development can provide an extra layer of security due to its flexible approach towards structure, technology platforms and control over each and every aspects of the software development and operation. The custom software development also enable businesses to utilize proven coding practices, frameworks, platforms and software stacks to boost security.

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

Understanding the Cyber Threats Businesses are Facing Regularly
Understanding the Cyber Threats Businesses are Facing Regularly

How Custom Software Development Help Boosting the Security of Digital Assets

The custom software development empower businesses in building software solution from ground up, where this enable businesses to incorporate innovative features, it also help building better security features. The bespoke approach always offer better flexibility and control which enable the developers to introduce more security features and build multiple layers of security to deal with the exclusive and unique challenges and vulnerabilities. Here are some key aspects of custom software development which help enhancing and improving the security of the applications:

Custom Software Development: Secure Coding

The secure coding doesn’t represent a framework or tool but in fact it is a practice and technique which complies the programmer’s decisions while creating source code and building the software applications. Although the secure coding techniques ensures that the programmer or coder minimize the possibilities of having vulnerabilities in the software program. As industry standard or best practices you can effectively implement the OWASP Secure Coding Standards or SEI CERT Coding Standards within your custom software development project. Secure coding doesn’t mean using specialized programming languages, for example, the secure coding mandates “default deny” permission approach, and it means all the permissions are denied until specified otherwise.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Here are a few crucial areas to consider and understand for secure coding:

  • Security by Design: The security by design refers to the two areas, one the security is the top priority during the entire software development life cycle. Second it refers to prioritizing the security over the design aspects. For example, the CSS and JS needed to be secured in case of web-based software application.
  • Strong Passwords: The password and login credentials are the most common area users got exploited. Therefore including two factor authentication and adopting encrypted password storing methods could greatly enhance the security. Implementing strong and long password with enabling protection on wrong attempts and two factor are essential for present day software.
  • Access Control: Often the developers doesn’t realize but the access control can significantly elevate or compromise the security of your software application. It is a standard to have implemented the “default deny” approach which means all the permissions will be denied until granted. This could make data protected and access to it difficult for the malicious actors.
  • Error Logging: The error logging and error handling are the two most effective practices to improve the software security. The errors refer to the bugs in the system and the bugs result in vulnerabilities. Hence closely monitoring the bugs, error logs and managing the errors could lead to great improvements in software and strengthening its security.
  • Environment Configurations: If your custom software is managed in multiple environment such as production and development or staging environment. It is crucial to align both and always keep both up-to-date. The software, frameworks, operating systems, services, and everything should be up-to-date and all the patches should be applied to date.
  • Threat Modeling: Threat modeling is a multi-stage process involving various techniques, tools and mainly the deeper analysis of the software. The objective of threat modeling is to identify the areas or aspect of your custom software which are more susceptible to exploitation. This will help you upgrading the software and enabling highest security measures within your application.
  • I/O Validation: The input/output validation is crucial for every custom software application. It is crucial to deploy encoding methods at the outputs and strict validations at the inputs throughout the custom software development lifecycle. The inputs and outputs are the two crucial areas hence need to be secure and well protected.

The secure coding practices are essential to elevate the security of your customized software applications. The software development team has to choose the right platforms, software stacks and above all the mindset to prioritize the security throughout the entire software development lifecycle.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

Custom Software Development: Secure Coding
Custom Software Development: Secure Coding

Custom Software Development: Strong Data Encryption

The data encryption is something that has become almost essential in present day. It is crucial to utilize encryption algorithms at various levels. This helps ensuring strong encryption at both stages, data in transit and data at rest. The data in transit means the data in transmitted into server and user interface/device and the data at rest means the data that is being stored at the server or at the user device. Furthermore the end-to-end encryption is also widely used in modern software development, it ensures the data/information transmitted between two terminals, devices or server and client is encrypted and only the recipient has the decryption key.

See Also: Top Trends in Custom Software Development: What’s Shaping the Industry?

The encryption is implemented by a very sophisticated encryption algorithms and mathematical operations which generates a random encryption key and that key is so complex that it could take trillions of years for a classical computer to test all the combination to unlock it without having the right encryption key. Therefore the encryption can provide a great protection against even some advanced level cyber-attacks. There are several encryption methods and strategies which can be implemented during the custom software development lifecycle.

See Also: Why the Custom Software Development is Good for Your Business?

Custom Software Development: Strong Data Encryption
Custom Software Development: Strong Data Encryption

Custom Software Development: Third-Party Tools and Resources

It is a common practice in the custom software development to use the third-party tools, resources, libraries and elements to expedite the development process. However, where this speed up everything it also increase the vulnerabilities. Using third-party tools, resources, libraries and other design elements could compromise the security of your customized software application. Most of the time developers tend to find free resources online at various forums and website – which often are posted by other developers and are not properly optimized for security. This is why using such resources, libraries and tools could make your application vulnerable for cross-site scripting, malware attach, SQL injection, etc.

See Also: Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development

It is always important to carefully inspect the third-party components, codes, resources and elements. Moreover it is crucial to carefully consider the front-end and back-end related tools to ensure perfect alignment and no loophole. Both the design and algorithms should be carefully inspected before using them and after integrating them a critical review/testing should be done with security in mind. Furthermore it is important to understand the vendor of these components to ensure regular upgrades, patches and protection support by the vendor.

See Also: The Impact of Cloud Computing on Custom Software Development [Full Guide]

Custom Software Development: Third-Party Tools and Resources
Custom Software Development: Third-Party Tools and Resources

Custom Software Development: Insider Threats

The insider threats are always a concern for any enterprise. Most of the times it is not attentional, sometime employees, contractors or the people who have access to the software get attacked by cyber criminals and resultantly enable them access to the sensitive data of the organization. Traditionally the employees or contractor who have access to the system either access it outside of the organizational network or either their computer got attacked by malware. These malwares can silently stay on a computer quietly transmitting data to their source from a hidden backdoor. When the cyber-criminal acquire enough information they try to access the organization’s data.

See Also: Common Mistakes to Avoid in Custom Software Development Projects

Businesses often focus on outsider cyber-threats while undermining the importance of insider threats. With the custom software development you can build various checks and controls to prevent or effectively minimize the insider threats. You can also customize your software application to further reduce the impact of an insider attack, whether attentional or unintentional. You can have multi-factor authentication, personalized profiles with limited access to data and much more. The custom software development offer more space to minimize and handle the insider threats.

See Also: Guide to Custom Software Development

Custom Software Development: Insider Threats
Custom Software Development: Insider Threats

Conclusion

As the internet and digital solutions are integrating within modern day business landscape the need of security and number of cyber-attacks is rising. Businesses of all industries, sizes and types are in a constant pressure of dealing with the cyber-security. These day’s businesses are heavily relying on digital solutions and software application in order to effectively run their daily operations. These software solutions where boosting efficiency and productivity are also causing various security threats. These software applications are evolving day by day, the cloud computing, IoTs, AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning), and integrated information infrastructure have completely revolutionized the software solutions.

Where these software solutions are becoming more advanced and impactful the cyber-attacks are also evolving and becoming much more sophisticated and impactful. The cyber-criminals are utilizing cutting-edge technologies and state-of-the-art tools to exploit the vulnerabilities for their malicious intent. We have witnessed some large-scale world-wide cyber-attacks involving malware, ransomware, and other sophisticated attacks. This poses a serious threat as any such data breach could potentially ruin a business’s reputation and brad image. Therefore businesses are now taking interest in custom software development which provides more control and flexibility at the software development cycle and enable businesses to incorporate highly advanced security features.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai

The custom software development lifecycle enable businesses to adopt secure coding practices which involves prioritizing the security from the very first step up-till the end of the development lifecycle. The custom software development allow businesses to implement strict password policies, implement multi-factor logins and secure authentication. Furthermore the custom software development allow the developers to take necessary measures and build features which not only help preventing the data-breach but also help them to contain and minimize the impact and effect of the any such data-breaches.

In this blog we have discussed briefly about the cyber-threats a business is facing on daily-bases and we have also discussed how the custom software development can help businesses to make their software and application more secure and well-equipped to deal with present day cyber-threats. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to build a highly secure and effective customized software application for your business or organization, 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.

See Also: Custom Software Development Progressive Web Apps – Beginner’s Guide

See Also: Custom Software Development for Healthcare Industry

See Also: Which one is better Standalone VS Integrated Software?

See Also: The Risk of Poor Performance Management and How to identify it?

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Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development

With the advancement of IT and the in-depth integration of digital solutions in our lives, the business landscape has completely transformed. Especially over the past two decades. Now a days’ people are talking about AI and Robotic taking over traditional production facilities and other business activities. This is the evidence of profound impact of digital and information technology on traditional business operations. The entire digital and computer technology revolves around data, the data in fact is the bloodline of these modern technologies. The software solutions have a program or source code, which dictates its functionalities, these software collect, store and analyze the data which translates into their functionalities and features.

These functionalities simplify human-user’s work and drive efficiency. When it comes to software solutions there are two ways, the COTS or Commercial Off-the-shelf Software and the custom software development. The customized software solutions tend to be more productive, impactful and easy-to-use and integrate. Therefore businesses are opting for custom software development instead of going for ready made solutions. In this blog we will discuss the role of big data in custom software development and its impact on user experience.

Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development
Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development

What is Big Data and what is its Role in Custom Software Development?

The concept of big data is very simple to understand, it is a very large volume of data which contains, structured, non-structured and partially or semi-structured data which also keep increasing. With the first generation of software or traditional software application, collecting, storing, and analyzing data at such a large volume, diversity, and velocity is not possible. This lead businesses to either adopt to specialized tools, or build intermediary apps to bridge this gap.

However, with traditional software development practices businesses won’t be able to achieve and from cost prospective it is also not desirable. Hence businesses need to integrate big data within their custom software development to ensure ultimate performance, productivity and cost-efficacy. In this blog we will discuss how big data can completely transform your customized software and help you achieve superior efficiency.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

What is Big Data and what is its Role in Custom Software Development?
What is Big Data and what is its Role in Custom Software Development?

The Role of Big Data in Custom Software Development

The big data is often misunderstood, most of the businesses doesn’t realize how beneficial it could be. Think of a large library which I full with hundreds or thousands of shelves filled with millions of books, digital copies, audio records, news peppers, research papers and what not. The big data is similar, it is an ocean of information containing precious treasure of insights which help businesses acquire deeper and accurate understanding of market trends, customer preferences, and insight which improve their decision making ability and help them align their solutions, services, products and interaction as per customers’ needs, desires and expectations.

The big data is not just a specific data but a blend of both structured and unstructured data which makes it difficult to analyze it and extract required insights from it. However, when the big data is integrated within the customized software application development process, it help developers understand customer needs, market trends, areas of improvements and much more. This insight is extremely crucial in building successful customized software application which can deliver unparalleled customer experience while driving superior operational efficiency, performance and profitability. This makes big data absolutely essential for modern day software applications.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

The Role of Big Data in Custom Software Development
The Role of Big Data in Custom Software Development

Data-Driven Decisions Enhance User Experience

In today’s highly competitive market landscape businesses needs innovative tools and software solutions which can help them delivering exceptional user experience. The experience matters more than it ever before. The big data can help developers and project managers to closely analyze the customer behavior. This insight provides them superior understanding of customer pain points, their needs and desires. Furthermore this data also provides them a clear understanding of existing features which are more frequently used by the customers and which are rarely used. This helps them design and include more intuitive features which perfectly align with customer needs.

The biggest advantage of big data is that businesses can utilize multiple sources and compile large volume of data efficiently. This helps them develop highly efficient and impactful software applications. The primary reason of developing custom software is to achieve higher alignment with customer needs. The custom software development process can greatly benefit from insights acquired from big data analysis and help businesses boost internal processes and workflows as well which drive performance. The user experience not only help improving customer interaction but even if a custom software is designed for internal usage, the big data have can effectively boost productivity and performance of the software.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

Data-Driven Decisions Enhance User Experience
Data-Driven Decisions Enhance User Experience

Big Data Fuels Predictive Analysis for Better Decision Making

The big data comes from various sources including social media, existing software applications, employee portals, intranet applications, customer portals, websites, interactive kiosks and even from physical sensors and devices installed at customer centers, ware houses, etc. This is what makes it superior and at the same time very complex. The big data where provide insights of users’ needs, it also help businesses understand market trends, operational processes and internal workflows. This insight help businesses develop customized features within their customized software application to achieve higher efficiency.

The predictive analysis is a very crucial tool for modern day’s fast-paced markets and ever increasing customer needs. The predictive analysis help businesses to be ready for future and help them accurately forecast various future events. This forecasting help management understand the emerging needs and provide them enough time to prepare themselves for the coming challenges. For example, businesses can effectively predict when a software application or a feature they are using is about to lose its impact and efficiency. This is easy to figure out all you need is adequate system usage data and see the trends for that specific feature, if it is losing popularity consistently you can predict that in coming 6 months or so more users will stop using this feature and so on.

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

Big Data Fuels Predictive Analysis for Better Decision Making
Big Data Fuels Predictive Analysis for Better Decision Making

Big Data Helps Personalizing the Software Solutions

Not so long ago businesses were not focusing on performance management, but with the rising competition and ever increasing customer demands, businesses need out of the box approach to obtain higher operational efficiency and better cost-optimization. This can only be achieved if a business is able to leverage the full potential of its resources, whether it is human resource or whether it is IT infrastructure. Now a days, the traditional workflows and business processes have become obsolete and being replaced with more technology oriented and digital processes. The software applications and tools are the primary driving force to achieve higher operational efficiency.

Big data helps businesses collect more in-depth insights and streamline data analytic processes. This help both business leaders and the custom software development team to acquire a clear understanding of user needs, their problems, challenges and it also help management identify the slow/inefficient processes. The custom software development helps businesses utilize this insight acquired from big data to customize the features and internal business processes to drive efficiency and productivity. The software features, content and information can be planned as per the previous usage and user needs which can greatly increase the impact of the customized software application.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai

Big Data Helps Personalizing the Software Solutions
Big Data Helps Personalizing the Software Solutions

Big Data Offers Better Scalability and Continuous Improvement

Scalability and continuous improvements are the two most crucial aspect of any custom software development project. Whenever businesses decide to implement a new software solution they consider the scalability and potential of making improvements in future. Businesses need software solutions which evolve along with their needs, as businesses tend to grow over the time, hence their needs are expected to grow, whether it is simple growth in users, or a bit more complex in terms of application and features, the scalability is an essential factor to consider during custom software development. The big data help businesses and developers to analyze the performance of the software application in multiple scenarios and it helps building features which ensure higher performance and impact.

The big data collection and analysis help businesses determine the features of their custom software applications as well as how these functions and backend processes will work. This is a huge leap toward success and help businesses make informed decisions. Once the software is developed, now businesses and the software development team can leverage the big data to understand the impact and efficacy of their software application. The continuous improvements help businesses avoid disruption, and effectively deal with upcoming challenges. Furthermore as the user base increases the software might need modifications and enhancements which all can be improved by leveraging the big data.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Big Data Offers Better Scalability and Continuous Improvement
Big Data Offers Better Scalability and Continuous Improvement

Collecting the Right Type of Data for Custom Software Development is Crucial

The biggest problem with big data is that it is too big, businesses can often end up relying on expensive analytical tools, and even in case you are using inexpensive or open-source tools, you might require help of specialized experts who can process this data. Hence it is extremely important to understand what kind or type of data is beneficial for your custom software development project. It is extremely important to distinguish the data which is relevant to the areas and subjects you want to understand. Here are some key points that you should consider while analyzing the big data for your custom software development:

  • Identify the areas and subjects you want to understand
  • Categorize your data as primary, relevant and unrelated
  • Never skip automated data sources such as APIs, Log Files, system usage stats
  • Always collect feedbacks from the actual users whether they are your customers or employees
  • Always keep the data from external and internal sources separate
  • Verify every data source and validate the authenticity of the data
  • Always keep your data stored in secure and well protected manner
  • Always use standard analysis techniques
  • Compare your findings with industry benchmarking and other relevant applications

Furthermore it is important to keep your data repository up-to-date all the time. Furthermore when you will collect your data it would be in both structured and unstructured forms, moreover inconclusive data noise also has to be filtered out. It is important to well-organize your data to get accurate insights.

See Also: Top Trends in Custom Software Development: What’s Shaping the Industry?

Collecting the Right Type of Data for Custom Software Development is Crucial
Collecting the Right Type of Data for Custom Software Development is Crucial

Conclusion

The custom software development is rapidly gaining momentum, even medium and small sized businesses are also investing in custom software applications. It is due to their ability to fully align with user’s needs which helps businesses achieve maximum performance and efficiency. Furthermore the custom software development offers easy integration and superior scalability which makes them very cost-effective over the longer period of time. The big data is something which is usually misinterpreted as something very expensive and exclusive to large enterprises, government and international organizations.

However, that is not true at all. With the advancement in technology and latest programing framework now the big data collection is much more convenient and accessible. The big data provides deeper insight to customer behavior, market trends and at a wider spectrum which help businesses and custom software development teams to effectively understand customer needs. Whether you are building a software for your customers, or whether it is for internal use to enhance the operational efficiency, the big data can greatly improve the application in terms of intuitiveness, performance and efficiency.

Embracing big data for software development and predictive analysis can greatly enhance the application features and elevate the user experience. In this blog we have discussed how big data can be utilized to streamline custom software development process for superior results. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to build a customized software application for your business, 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.


Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

Can you imagine running a business solely with paper pencil? Today, the idea seems laughable, however about a century back all businesses were efficiently working and maintaining information using the humble paper pencil. Modern technology has become the invisible backbone of our daily lives, both personal and professional.  Just as we rely on our smartphones to stay connected, businesses rely on sophisticated software and IT solutions to achieve peak performance.  No matter your industry, embracing technology is no longer optional – it’s the key to unlocking operational efficiency and it a key aspect of establishing a unique brand identity which gains you a competitive edge.

Businesses ranging from SMEs to large enterprises and government establishments are utilizing several software applications. The need of the software never ends, in fact it keeps growing with the passage of time. There are mainly two categories of software applications, one is the commercial off-the-shelf or commonly known as COTS and the other is the custom software development. Both are just two methods to implement a solution that can address to your problems and help you improve operational efficiency. In this blog we will discuss how custom software can greatly enhance user experience, performance and overall operational efficiency for your business.

Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience
Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

What is the Difference between Custom Software and Commercial Off-the-Shelf Solutions?

Software are everywhere! In fact the web-browser you’re using now, the operating system on your computer (Windows or Mac), even the machine you swipe at work to clock in and out. But as the saying goes, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, it is already invented! Business don’t have to create everything from the scratch. However, when it comes to business tools and software application, there are two road to go forward, the commercial off-the-shelf software or COTS and the custom software development. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages, however, we have to understand which is more suitable as per our needs.

Let’s assume you need to streamline your document approval process for clients or suppliers? Here, the two roads diverge. You can search for existing software that fits your needs, or consider acquiring services of a custom software development company like RSI Concepts.

The commercial off-the-shelf software solution might seem popular, catchy and having international development companies behind them, but it won’t perfectly fit your specific and unique business needs. At best, it gets you 80% of the way there, but the other 20% might be features you don’t need or missing functionalities you crave. However, that is not the case with custom software development.

The bespoke software solutions are exclusively designed for your business keeping all your business needs at forefront. That is why a customized software perfectly aligns with all you needs, it can fit like a glove, it works exactly the way you want it to, which can greatly boost your user experience, efficiency and performance.

See Also: What is custom software development?

What is the Difference between Custom Software and Commercial Off-the-Shelf Solutions?
What is the Difference between Custom Software and Commercial Off-the-Shelf Solutions?

How Custom Software Development Enhances User Experience?

Have you ever used an application or a webpage which felt clunky and confusing? Maybe you spent a lot of time looking up for a button, or maybe the information are not presented in a well-organized manners, or the entire experience is poor! That is what a user experience or UX is, if you are unhappy you won’t efficiently perform the task you wanted to. But what if there is a way to make that app or website intuitive, easy-to-navigate and enjoyable? That is the power of custom software development. It lets you design the application and software the way you want it to, you chose the buttons, colors, functionalities and even how each functionality works.

The custom software development is known for its ability to greatly enhance user experience which boost efficiency and performance. Here are some key factors which make user experience very crucial for the success or failure of any software application:

  • User Engagements: Users tend to use and interact with software and applications that more easy to work with, intuitive and have enjoyable experience.
  • Efficiency and Performance: When the users can easily find the options they need and they can easily navigate through the software they tend to complete tasks very quickly.
  • User Trust: When users have a seamless interaction with a software or application they start trusting it and vice versa. Intuitive software are always admired by the users.
  • User Satisfaction: When users have satisfactory experience with a software, either your employee or customers they are more likely to use it more frequently.
  • Brand Loyalty: You customers tend to come back again if they have had a satisfactory interaction with your software applications and they are more likely to recommend it to others.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

How Custom Software Development Enhances User Experience?
How Custom Software Development Enhances User Experience?

By leveraging modern technologies and advanced design practices businesses can develop intuitive and user-friendly interfaces (UIs) for their software application which will delight the users. Whether an application is built for employees or for customers, the intuitive and user-friendly design is an essential component to ensure the success.

Here are some key advantages of custom software development which are very helpful enhancing the user experience and ensuring user satisfaction:

Customization and Personalization

One of the greatest advantage of custom software development is its ability to allow businesses to customize and personalize the user experience as per their needs. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are built as per industry standards, hence have a generic interface which might not properly optimize to enhance the workflows that you are aiming to improve. However, with the custom software development you can decide which functionality you want, how you want it and how it should work.

You can customize the names of design elements, buttons, features, menu items, etc. as per your convenience which also minimize the training needs and it is a great way to enhance user experience. You can personalize the interface and functionalities to align them with your existing internal workflows. You can customize the color scheme, design style to make it more familiar and understandable. All these factors greatly help enhancing the user experience and boost efficiency.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Customization and Personalization
Customization and Personalization

Scalability and Flexibility

One of the biggest drawback of commercial off-the-shelf software is its limited ability to support scalability and offer the flexibility which is necessary for growing businesses. However, the custom software development is done keeping scalability in mind. As it is already designed exclusively for the business to meet their specific needs, it also offer easy upgrades and customization. As the needs grow and more features are needed, and over the time some existing features might also need changes or improvements, all this can be done seamlessly with custom software development.

Adding new features or integrating it with more third-party software, databases and application can be done easily. However, the COTS fell short at offering this level of scalability and flexibility. The customized software evolve alongside the business and can grow as the needs grow, offering the ultimate flexibility a business needs to stay ahead of the curve. Adding new features or customizing existing features with ability to integrate with other tools can greatly enhance functionality adding value to user experience.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Scalability and Flexibility
Scalability and Flexibility

Streamlining Workflows

Think of a software or application that help you performing your tasks and have specialized features that you need to achieve your goals? Obviously that would be very comforting and happy experience. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions lack the ability to offer exclusive features that perfectly align with your needs, this could sometime make user frustrated. The custom software development on the other hand is all about improving user satisfaction and boosting efficiency.

The customized software are designed to optimize the workflows by directly addressing to bottlenecks, user pain points and by eliminating repetitive work from the process. Where this greatly optimize the business processes it also minimize the user efforts and help them achieving their goal very quickly and effortlessly. The custom software development empowers employees with reducing their efforts, automatically pushing data, performing routine tasks through automation, and by facilitating communications and collaborations. All these factors greatly enhance user experience.

See Also: Why the Custom Software Development is Good for Your Business?

Streamlining Workflows
Streamlining Workflows

Easy System Integration

One of the major drawback of commercial off-the-shelf software is their limited ability to support third-party system integration. As these software are generic and designed for masses, they are slow to evolve hence failing to keep up the pace with your emerging needs. Furthermore the COTS are built on standard technologies with a lot of restrictions and limitation to access the source code of the application, this realty limit their ability to integrate with other third-party software and businesses usually end up spending large sums on intermediary applications to enable integration.

In some cases businesses have to move to a completely new software solution due to its inability to offer required integration, which have huge cost and complications. The custom software development doesn’t have any such problem, it is very easy to integrate them with third-party software, tools, databases, and central information system of the organization. The business owns the entire source code and database, which give them full control over the application and enable them to integrate it with any other third-party tool as per their needs.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Healthcare Industry

Easy System Integration
Easy System Integration

Superior Security and Control

One of the biggest advantage of the custom software development is that the software is exclusively designed for the business. Hence the business owns all ownership rights including source code, and databases with full control over software hosting. This provide businesses ability to make their applications more secure as the customized software can be hosted at on-premises data centers as well as the cloud of your choice. This empower businesses and give them full control over their data and sensitive information. When the users are aware that their data is protected and will not be hosted with a third-party they tend to be more confident and have more trust on the software.

Businesses can also implement their own security policies to ensure superior protection. Furthermore since the customized software are exclusively designed for the business, the software is not available to anyone else. However this is not the case with the commercial off-the-shelf software, as they are designed and marketed to masses they are widely available, this means their structure and technology is known to masses and this also make them more vulnerable. Furthermore your data is stored with the software supplier, which offer you limited control over you data and sensitive user information.

See Also: Top Trends in Custom Software Development: What’s Shaping the Industry?

Superior Security and Control
Superior Security and Control

Cost-effectiveness

Most of the time businesses think the custom software development is expensive, and it is due to its higher upfront cost, however, when you analyze the long-term cost you will know the customized software are much more cost-effective and have higher ROI. The commercial off-the-shelf software have less upfront cost and can be deployed within days or even hours. However there are several reoccurring costs, fees and charges. If you need customization, you will have to pay extremely high cost, and the customization too is very limited.

The scaling and upgrades are also very expensive with limited scope. This make them more expensive and over the time the COTS become less effective due to certain limitations. However, the custom software development on the other hand offers easy customization with very less or no cost if you have in-house team. The scalability and flexibility is superior too, you don’t have to pay any reoccurring cost, the maintenance is very less expensive and you got the full ownership of the application as well.

All these factors make customized software much more cost-effective and reliable.

See Also: Common Mistakes to Avoid in Custom Software Development Projects

Cost-effectiveness
Cost-effectiveness

Conclusion

The business landscape in UAE is very competitive, each year we got hundreds of new businesses registering (both startups and international organization) in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other regions of the country. This makes market even more competitive, and in order to survive and thrive businesses must have highest possible level of operational efficiency and optimized operational cost. When it comes to software solutions, the decision of selecting between a commercial off-the-shelf software solution and custom software development could have huge impact over business’s success. Where the COTS offer quicker deployment and convenience they often fell short at aligning with exclusive and unique business needs.

Custom software development on the other hand empowers businesses. It helps them innovate unique and exclusive features to gain competitive advantage and superior efficiency. There are two major factors the cost and the performance which determine the success or failure of a software project. The commercial off-the-shelf solutions fell way behind on these two scales, the custom software development is very cost-effective in long-term and it can tremendously boost business performance.

The custom software development enable businesses to incorporate innovative features with out-of-the-box approach which address to their unique and exclusive challenges. When it comes to performance the user experience of a software application plays a pivotal role in boosting efficiency and performance. The custom software development enable businesses to customize and personalize the user experience to empower and improve their internal workflows. Full control over the software and its source code enable businesses to customize features as per their needs while significantly reducing the effort to complete a task. This help users achieve their goal easily and quickly.

In this blog we have discussed how custom software development can enhance user experience which is a key to success. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to build your next bespoke 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.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai 

See Also: Why custom software is more cost efficient in UAE?

See Also: Emerging Trends in Custom Software Development


The Impact of Cloud Computing on Custom Software Development [Full Guide]

Imagine you are decorating your home, when it comes to your room, you bought a cabinet but when you brought it in, it wouldn’t fit your door! What would you do? Will you change the cabinet or break the door? The custom software development could also be similar to that, you reach half-way and realize you need more computing power, or storage, in case of traditional hosting, you have to buy the larger package, however, in case of cloud you can seamlessly increase your resources whether it is computing power, or the storage and you will only have to pay for the resources you want or utilize.

Let say you have acquired a shared hosting, now half-way through you require a VPS or VDS server specs, you will going to pay for the VDS usually it is in full and similar for the higher specs. In case of on-premises data centers, if you face such limitation, then you will have to increase the hardware capacity, which too is expensive and has certain challenges. Therefore the cloud computing is the ideal solution for custom software development. The custom software development is usually a lengthy process, sometimes businesses also add more features sometimes during the staging, and some time even after it become fully operational. In this blog we will discuss the positive impact of the cloud computing on custom software development its long-term impact.

The Impact of Cloud Computing on Custom Software Development [Full Guide]
The Impact of Cloud Computing on Custom Software Development [Full Guide]

What is Cloud Computing?

Technically the cloud computing is a system of delivering computing power, storage capacity, database, server, operating system, networks, application environments and analytical tools. The cloud computing is a modern form of hosting, it is just one step ahead of it. Unlike the traditional hosting services or on-premises data centers the cloud computing is much more flexible and is capable of delivering resources as per demand. For example, if your demand rises you can immediately increase whatever resource you want in order to ensure a smooth and seamless operation of your software application. Furthermore the cloud computing is much more supportive towards innovation, and it is very cost-effective which makes it ideal for the custom software development.

There are three very flexible cloud computing service models which are ideal for custom software development:

  1. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): The IaaS offers raw computing resources with full control over the virtual machine, storage and network enabling software developers to manage the control the operating system and application.
  2. PaaS (Platform as a Service): The PaaS service model offers a fully managed platform where software developer can build, deploy, customize and scale software application without any worry about the infrastructure management.
  3. SaaS (Software as a Service): The SaaS or software as a service offers fully managed software application to the end-users with enhanced scalability. Both software service provider and third-party software are offered through SaaS service model.
What is Cloud Computing?
What is Cloud Computing?

The Evolution of Custom Software Development

The custom software development have evolved tremendously, starting from micro applications, customized module to full-fledge organizational operating system, the custom software development have completely overshadowed the traditional commercial off-the-shelf software industry. The custom software development is popular due to the fact that it fully aligns with your unique business needs and offer much more freedom and control over the functionality of the application. This is what distinguishes them from traditional off-the-shelf application and make custom software much more reliable and effective. As the customized software application are developed from scratch, there is a lot of room to grow and expand, hence the resources required to run these apps also grow.

See Also: What is custom software development?

The traditional on-premises or hosting solutions are not agile enough, and have certain limitations, the cloud computing on the other hand offer the required flexibility, adoptability and scalability needed by the custom software apps. The custom software development is aimed to support the emerging needs of the organization as well. The custom software development can offer a great competitive advantage with its elevated adoptability, seamless integration, scalability and resilient towards emerging challenges. Traditionally businesses were relying on in-house IT infrastructure, however, that is not cost-effective neither it offers flexibility comparable to cloud. This is why businesses are now adopting cloud computing for their custom software development projects.

The Evolution of Custom Software Development
The Evolution of Custom Software Development

Cloud Computing Offers On-Demand Scalability and Unmatched Flexibility

One of the biggest challenge in custom software development is the resource management and scalability. Scaling up is the most crucial aspect of the business, if the IT infrastructure failed to offer the required scalability, the businesses will not be able to sustain operational efficiency. With on-premises database scaling up could be very challenging, adding more hardware devices or upgrading to the processors could be very expensive. Moreover managing the network, security, and other aspects is a very challenging and expensive feat. For example, if you faces a surge in users or need to increase computing power quickly, the cloud computing not only allow that but it automatically increase your resources when needed, ensuring a seamless and un-interrupted operation. The on-premises data center or traditional online hosting can also be expanded, however, it requires time and the cost too is high.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai

Furthermore the cloud offers another great feature which traditional hosting or on-premises data centers doesn’t offer, which is the ability to scale down instantly as it can scale up, it can be scaled down to minimize the cost. Furthermore the cloud is also one step ahead from traditional hosting solutions when it comes to the future proofing of your software applications. Let say if you upgrade your software application, to ensure highest performance and security, in order to implement the upgrades you must be requiring latest versions of the operating system and several other aspects of the IT infrastructure, each and every component will have its own cost and sometime would be very difficult to upgrade the environment. However, with the cloud, this can be achieved within a few minutes and with very less or literally no cost.

Cloud Computing Offers On-Demand Scalability and Unmatched Flexibility
Cloud Computing Offers On-Demand Scalability and Unmatched Flexibility

Accelerated Development and Quick Launch

The cloud computing offer unmatched features such as scalable resources, access to pre-built services and APIs which accelerate the development cycle and help quickly launch the applications. These features help streamlining the development processes especially it helps with third-party system integration which enable businesses to quickly launch and market their applications. Furthermore the cloud computing also offer robust platform and development tools which are very helpful for the developers and help them boosting the development process.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

Another remarkable feature of cloud computing is that it can provide centralized access to development resources. This enable development teams to collaborate with each other and prevent repetitive work which also accelerate the development process. The developers can work remotely and from separate geographical locations, which sharing codes, data, repositories and everything in real-time. By fostering a highly collaborative development environment the team can quickly and easily do the testing, implement the iterations, and manage the resources. Furthermore it is relatively easier and very quick to move to production environment form staging or UAT environment enabling quick launch.

Accelerated Development and Quick Launch
Accelerated Development and Quick Launch

Enhanced Data Protection, Security and Backups

Unlike the common misconception, the cloud computing offers superior data protection, security and backup features. The cloud computing offers state-of-the-art security solutions with multi-layer protection and firewalls. Moreover the cloud computing also offers quick implementation of the advanced security protocols, encryption, advanced user authentication and access mechanisms and up-to-date protective measures. The adherence to advanced compliance standards ensure highest level of protection and security for the applications, users and the infrastructure. The cloud computing service providers have specialized and professional security teams and highly advanced security solutions which is usually not possible with the traditional hosting or on-premises solutions.

These advanced security features protect against data breach, moreover the cloud computing also offer advanced monitoring and threat detection tools which ensure highest level of security and data protection. Above all the cloud computing offers automatic updates of the resources, tools, and the environment which ensures your applications are running on the most secure and up-to-date infrastructure. Normally all cloud computing solutions comes with standard backup and recovery mechanisms, however, the cloud computing is very flexible towards backups and businesses can have multiple backup layers with advance CDN, and load balancing solutions which ensures your users always have a seamless and uninterrupted experience. The enhanced security, advanced data protection and data backup features can greatly enhance the efficiency and efficacy of your custom software applications.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Enhanced Data Protection, Security and Backups
Enhanced Data Protection, Security and Backups

Conclusion

The cloud computing has a profound and far-reaching impact over custom software development. The cutting-edge technology and advanced features of the cloud computing have completely revolutionized the custom software development and help businesses leveraging the full potential of the applications. The cloud computing not only offer superior resource management, scaling, security and monitoring tools, but it also help accelerating the development cycle and help businesses quickly and efficiently develop customized software applications.

The traditional hosting solutions and on-premises hosting often failed to meet the dynamic and diverse needs of the custom software development. Furthermore the on-premises IT infrastructure is expensive, difficult to manage and even more difficult to upgrade. The cloud computing on the other hand always offer up-to-date IT infrastructure with cutting-edge security, networking, and resource management tools. The cloud computing offers a very easy-to-scale infrastructure which can easily adopt to the emerging needs of your software application.

Whether you want to scale up to accommodate a rise in system users or whether you want to scale down to save the cost, the cloud computing offers that seamlessly. With the advanced cloud computing management and monitoring tools you can seamlessly scale up or scale down your resources as per your needs. Above all the cloud computing can automatically scale up your raw computing power and other resources if there is a surge in the users preventing your software applications from slowing down or cashing. This ensures a great uninterrupted and seamless user experience.

When it comes to security and data protection the cloud computing is superior to any other traditional hosting solution. It offers state-of-the art security tools with a multi-layer security protocol. Whether it is the networking tool, environment, server operating system or any other security tool you are using, the cloud computing automatically update all these tools and operating systems to ensure your custom software development project gets up-to-date security and robust performance.

The cloud computing also offers different service models and very flexible service plans which suits your needs and also help you easily customize your service plans if needed to optimize the cost. The upfront cost is also nominal comparing to on-premises data centers and businesses are free from managing the physical IT infrastructure further lowering their operational cost. In this blog we have discussed how the cloud computing is impacting the custom software development in a very positive way. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to migrate to any local or international cloud computing platform, 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.

 


Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Businesses often struggle choosing between custom software development and commercial off-the-shelf software solutions. The off-the-shelf software are slightly cost effective and are much easier and quicker to implement. However, the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions or COTS doesn’t offer any out-of-the-box functionality and are not designed for exclusive and individual business needs. The COTS are designed for masses and are usually aligned with the industrial standards and benchmarks. The custom software on the contrary are fully aligned with internal workflows and business processes. The custom software development offers automation of sophisticated and repetitive tasks, and offer intuitive interfaces which help boosting business efficiency.

In the highly dynamic and competitive business markets such as in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other regions of UAE where the competition is rapidly increasing, the customer demands are always high and the new trends are reshaping the entire industries, custom software development is the only way forward. It will help businesses gaining groundbreaking edge over their competitors by accounting all minute details, incorporating features that empower existing processes and workflows and offering user-friendly tools and interfaces to employees to boost their productivity. In this blog we will discuss how custom software can greatly improve business efficiency and growth.

Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency
Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

What is Custom Software Development?

Before we discuss how custom software can extraordinarily enhance business efficiency, first let us understand what is custom software development? Traditionally the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are designed for masses, with a one-size-fits-all approach in mind. However, the custom software are built from ground up to perfectly align with unique business needs, objectives and internal workflows and processes.

This gives custom software a great advantage over the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software solutions. While implementing a commercial off-the-shelf software solution businesses might have to adjust according to the software structure and in some cases businesses might have to modify their important workflows and internal processes.

See Also: Why custom software is more cost efficient in UAE?

Furthermore, the custom software development is a process where the entire existing business structure, workflows, processes and culture is analyzed critically and then the custom software is constructed to align with everything including existing IT infrastructure. This make adoption easier and it enhance and empower existing processes, workflows and structure, ensuring minimum to no disruption at all. The custom software development offers excellent flexibility, scalability and customization, enhancing operational efficiency and performance, which could be a great competitive advantage.

There is a common misconception that the custom software development is expensive, which is not true. If we consider the long term ROI and impact the cost of custom software development is very affordable and well justified. That is why businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all around the UAE are turning towards custom software development.

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

What is Custom Software Development?
What is Custom Software Development?

What are the Advantages of Custom Software Development?

Custom software offer great many advantages, and that is the reason the global market volume of custom software development industry is steadily growing every year. The market trends are shifting towards more customer-centric business models, businesses are also realizing the importance of customer satisfaction. The challenges are rising day by day, hence the business efficiency is a key to long-term and sustainable success. In order to achieve higher operational efficiency businesses rely on various software applications. Every business have unique goals, unique challenges, and completely unique sets of strengths and weaknesses.

A customized software can offer 100% solution to all challenges, addressing all pain points, and has capabilities to turn weaknesses into strengths while driving operational excellence. Here are some key advantages of custom software development which are crucial to optimizing and greatly enhancing the business efficiency, productivity and performance.

See Also: 5 Advantages of Custom Software Development

Tailored Solutions Enhance Efficiency and Productivity

One of the most impactful advantage of custom software development is that it deliver exclusive and tailored solutions to address the specific pain points and unique challenges individual business and its employees are facing. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions might offer a wider range of features however, they fell short on addressing to the challenges that are unique for an individual business. Every business has its own unique organizational culture, customs, and long-term goals. Every business take a unique path to achieve their goals, this is what differentiate it from others and this is something that is very positive and healthy for competitiveness.

The unique business needs cannot met with a standard software solution that is not designed to address those needs, in fact a custom software is built from the scratch keeping those needs in mind. Hence a custom software solution is very capable of delivering exclusive solutions, optimizing and empowering internal workflows. Businesses can seamlessly implement a customized software solution and integrate it within their existing business process without causing any disruption and without requiring any modification to their existing practices. This is crucial as this eliminates the need of additional training, it reduces repetitive work and it empowers individual employees and teams. Consequently the business efficiency get raised drastically.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

Tailored Solutions Enhance Efficiency and Productivity
Tailored Solutions Enhance Efficiency and Productivity

Higher Scalability and Flexibility

In today’s fast-paced and dynamic business landscape, the scalability and flexibility are the most essential features of any software solution. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions fell short on adopting to emerging market trends, since these types of applications are developed for masses, they have slower response towards market changes. It is this aspect of the commercial off-the-shelf software which result in inefficiencies and limitations down the road. However, the custom software development keep emerging trends and needs in mind, hence the custom software offer quicker and reliable solutions to emerging needs, growth and customization without causing any disruption.

Furthermore the custom software development offers more control and authority over your software application which enable businesses to quickly adopt to emerging needs and enable them to respond quickly to changing market trends and customer behavior. The custom software can be customized deal with new challenges, whether it is adding new features and tools, third-party system integration with a new solution, any change in compliance or regulatory requirements, or scaling up for rapid business growth, businesses can deal with such challenges with very less friction and disruption.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Higher Scalability and Flexibility
Higher Scalability and Flexibility

Personalized Experience and User-Friendly UIs

The user adoption and user experience are the most crucial factors to the success of any software application. Businesses often implement expensive and top-of-the-line commercial off-the-shelf software solutions but these applications fail to deliver the desired value. Despite having remarkable feature a software could still fail if it doesn’t have user-friendly experience and intuitive UIs. The UIs or user interfaces plays crucial role in user adoption. Using the familiar feature names, color schemes, information structure and navigation plays crucial role in user adoption. The custom software development provides ability to design user-centric applications, which are not only functionally superior but also easy-to-use and intuitive.

The custom software development allow businesses to involve end-users in the software designing and development process, enabling them to share their feedback at every stage and which help incorporating features and experience as per users’ needs. This minimizes the resistance to change and raises the adoption rate, which itself is very effective in raising business efficiency. The custom software development offers personalized experience and workflows along with user-friendly design and UIs which empower your employees and enable them to work more effectively and efficiently.

See Also: Top Trends in Custom Software Development: What’s Shaping the Industry?

Personalized Experience and User-Friendly UIs
Personalized Experience and User-Friendly UIs

Enhanced Security and Better Compliance

With the rise of internet access the negative actors and cyber security threats are increasing concern of not only businesses but also customers. Businesses of all sizes and types are taking extra measures to ensure the security of their customers and valuable business data. A small security breach could drastically harm business reputation. The off-the-shelf software may poses a bigger security threat as most of the time these applications are hosted on cloud and another big disadvantage is that the application structure is well-known, which also makes it easier to exploited. The commercial off-the-shelf software are used by thousands of businesses which means they are more exposed.

The custom software on the contrary are not available for masses, their information structure and security layers are hidden and only known to the management team which makes them more secure and well-protected. The custom software development enable businesses to implement advanced encryption technologies, robust security and network protocols tailored to their needs and regulatory requirements. On top of that the application structure is hidden, which makes it very difficult for malicious actors to exploit or breach. Furthermore the data is also stored in your custody which also help enhancing the security of customized software application.

See Also: Why the Custom Software Development is Good for Your Business?

Enhanced Security and Better Compliance
Enhanced Security and Better Compliance

Easy Integration with Existing Systems

The modern day businesses rely upon several software application which forms the digital ecosystem and IT infrastructure of the entire organization. Finding a new software for the needs in a big challenge, however, integrating it with the existing software, databases, central information system and IT infrastructure could be even bigger challenge. This is something the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are not very good at. The ready-made software have strict integration requirements and doesn’t always offer the required flexibility and compatibility required for a seamless integration. Eventually businesses end-up wasting time, paying additional costs for middleware and inefficient manual work.

However, building a software from ground up provides a chance to consider all possible integration scenarios along with considering all existing software, databases, IT infrastructure and integration requirements. This makes integration completely seamless and frictionless. This also enable customized software to consolidate information and data from different sources into a unified platform which greatly enhances efficiency and productivity. Integration help minimizing latencies, redundancies, and repetitive work driving higher business efficiency across entire operations.

See Also: The Impact of Cloud Computing on Custom Software Development [Full Guide]

Easy Integration with Existing Systems
Easy Integration with Existing Systems

Conclusion

Custom software development is a way forward in a very dynamic and fast-paced business landscape where the market trends are changing swiftly, the customer demands are increasing, the new technologies are emerging every day and the competition is rising exponentially. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions (COST) might seem a cost-effective option at first, but in long term they are more costly, costing businesses in terms of efforts, money and inefficient business processes. The custom software development on the contrary seem expensive at first, but in long-term it is much more cost-efficient and reliable. The custom software development help businesses built tailored solutions that precisely address each and every pain point and are fully aligned with unique and exclusive business needs.

Furthermore the customized software offered tailored solutions through highly personalized user-friendly experience. With ability to integrate seamlessly with existing IT infrastructure, third-party software tools, databases and central information system, the customized software solutions are ideal for the present day’s needs and have potential to greatly enhance and improve business efficiency. In this blog we have discussed how custom software can improve business efficiency, if you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to develop a highly cost-effective tailored software solution for your business, please feel free to get in touch with us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Step-by-step Guide to Develop Custom Enterprise Software

See Also: Common Mistakes to Avoid in Custom Software Development Projects