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June 20, 2023

Customer Software Development: Why React JS is The Future of Frontend Development

Customer Software Development Why React JS is The Future of Frontend Development

The React JS is a JavaScript library which is used to build user interfaces (UIs) and it has emerged as one of the most popular platform in past few years. The React JS is an open-source library which is another great reason for using it in the frontend for custom software development. It is majorly used in website and mobile application development. The React JS basically offer reusable code snippets which is much make UI and frontend development much easier. When the developers use React JS they require much less code comparing to other JavaScript frameworks such as Vanilla JavaScript.

The React JS behave like Lego blocks, and allow programmers to use and reuse independent individual code blocks and elements which are the part of the final UI (user interface). The React JS offers a revolutionary approach of allowing developers to use individual elements to build an entire UI rather treating the full UI as one element or single unit. The frontend developer can easily split complex UIs into several elements which is a much easier approach than the conventional methods. That is why the React JS has emerged as one of the most popular frontend development framework not only in Dubai, UAE but it is equally popular all around the world.

Customer Software Development Why React JS is The Future of Frontend Development

The custom software development is also gaining huge appreciation from all around the world, businesses are opting for custom software solutions rather than acquiring a commercial off-the-shelf solution. The React JS not only improves the development process but it is much more stable and efficient which is what makes it ideal for custom software development, websites and mobile applications. Businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other parts of UAE are investing huge chunk of their hard-earned profits in digital experience. The websites and mobile applications have also become very complex day by day.

Traditionally when the developers and programmers use a framework they will have to write a lot of code, which is time-consuming and it also make troubleshooting difficult. However, with the React JS the developers can easily break the complex UIs into individual components and they can use code from pre-build library which saves a lot of time and efforts. In this blog we will discuss the benefits and advantages of React JS which makes it ideal for frontend development in custom software development, website building and smartphone application development.

React JS is The Future of Frontend Development

React JS is Easy to Use and Learn

If you are a professional frontend developer then using and learning the React JS is very easy. It is built on JavaScript which is essential for every frontend developer so while you already knows JavaScript working with the React JS is very easy. When you have understanding of variable, array, functions, conditional statements and loops it is very easy to learn and use the core concepts of the React JS such as props, stats, JSX, components and lifecycle methods. For example a component in the React JS is a small chunk of UI which can be reused anywhere. There is a root component which contains more components and the overall structure is a tree like hierarchal structure which is easier to use and understand.

React JS Offers High Performance and Efficiency

The React JS uses the state and render method, in which the state part take care of the data that has to be displayed and the render method is taking care of the design and how the data should be presented on the screen. The output represents a JavaScript object which is mapped with the DOM (document object model) element. Instead of DOM the React JS uses another innovative method and it creates virtual DOMs. The virtual DOM is also a JavaScript object but it is a light and it an in-memory representation of a real DOM and when the state of an element get changed, the UI renders itself again in the virtual DOM instead of real DOM. This is the reason the custom software, websites and web apps made using React JS are much faster and efficient.

React JS Offers Declarative Programing Style

Another great reason why custom software developer, website and mobile application developer likes React JS is its declarative programing style. The programmers can tell what to do (express the logic of computation) without any need to tell how to do it (control flow). Custom software development teams and website/mobile app developer love this because it reduces the possibilities for errors and mistakes by simplifying and shortening the source code. The declarative programing style is simpler than the imperative programing and it also reduce the time and efforts of the developer.

React JS Offers Stability and Simplify Debugging

The React JS was developed by Facebook and they have designed a very impressive debugging mechanism in this framework. It enable the React JS to keep the bugs separate and enable the browser to isolate such errors which makes it easier to trace and rectify them. Furthermore the component creation mechanism also ensures that the unit testing can be executed effectively which minimize the chances of system crash and also results in better efficiency. The reusability of elements and components also reduce the need of frequent testing, save times and brings stability to the system.

React JS Offers Cross-Platform Compatibility

Another remarkable feature of React JS is that it offer excellent cross-platform compatibility. Businesses also prefer cross-platform compatible solutions as they are cost-efficient and also offer consistent experience across all compatible platforms such as web, desktop and mobile apps. That also benefits software developers and app developers as their single supplication can offer a seamless user experience across all platforms and they doesn’t have to build different applications for different platforms which also saves a lot of time and efforts. Furthermore the React Native is a specialized component used to build native mobile applications.

React JS Offers Better Migration and Adoptability for Future

For any customized software, website or mobile application the ability to migrate it to an updated technology or platform in future is very important. React JS offers great feature to migrate it to other platforms and technologies. It is very convenient to migrate data, configurations and settings of custom software, websites and mobile apps build using React JS. That is another reason why developer prefer React JS because it requires very less effort and work to migrate it to other platforms. Furthermore the React JS is adopted by large businesses and rapidly adopted by small and medium sized organizations which is why the innovation, creativity and new features are very frequent in React JS.

Conclusion

The information technology evolves at a very fast pace, new technologies, platforms, ideas and creativity is greater than any other industry. Especially the software development industry witnessed a lot of development and progress over the past few years. Furthermore the software development industry is subjected to rapid advancements and monumental changes, which is why new technologies and platforms are appearing every other month. The React JS is one of the best tool for custom software development, website and mobile application building. The easy usability, simple learning curve, less coding, easy troubleshooting, and better adoptability makes it the best tool for frontend development.

Large businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other parts of UAE are adopting React JS which is why its popularity is increasing rapidly and it is safer to say that the React JS is the future of frontend development. In this blog we have discussed the key advantages of using React JS for custom software development, website development and mobile apps. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help for your next 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.

October 7, 2022

Step-by-step Guide to Develop Custom Enterprise Software

Managing large scale enterprises or local/small businesses is not an easy task. Whether you are a manager or business owner you will have to deal with the software solutions and digital infrastructure for your business or enterprise. The present day markets are heavily data driven, the information technology have penetrated far deeper into our professional and personal lives than we can ever imagine. Now a days’ an ordinary employee can’t efficiently fulfill their duties and daily tasks without relying on technology. Managing a business or an enterprise require monitoring, control and efficiency in too many moving parts. Think of it like a car engine, there are too many gears, motors, electronics and technology. An engine will only run if all those moving parts move in harmony and proper synchronization. Same is the case with the businesses and enterprises. They can only function well if all of the internal business processes and employees works in a proper synchronization, harmony and supportive manner. That is too much to manage, one wrong move and everything could collapse. That is why business and enterprises needs software solutions and IT infrastructure.

Now when it comes to software there are two major categories to choose from. First is the commercial off-the-shelf solution or also known as COTS and the second is customized software development. The COTS were a great success in the market and still widely used, however, things have changing since past few years, and especially since 2012 to 14 the customized software market have expanded a lot. This is because the markets are moving at a rapid pace, the customer demands are skyrocketing, and the competition is getting tougher day by day. The COTS or commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are unable to keep up with the pace. On top of that the COTS are general purpose tools, they are designed for mass users. Hence lack personalized experience which is required to meet some very specific needs. Every organizations or enterprise have a unique environment which means the business practices and internal business processes are also not the same. This is what can’t be full filed with COTS and a customized tailor-made software solution is required which can fulfill such exclusive and unique needs.

However, custom software development is also not an easy feat, it requires intensive research, adequate technical knowledge and more expense. The custom software development initially looked expensive comparing to the COTS, however, in the long term the custom software development have proven to be more beneficial and businesses can yield higher ROIs over a long period of time. In this blog we will enlist all steps that are necessary in order to produce a high quality product from a custom software development project.

Step 1. Custom Enterprise Software: Discovery Phase

For any project whether it is customer enterprise software or any other project the discovery phase is the most important part of the project. It help businesses understand what their requirements are and what they need to fulfill those requirements. Usually the custom enterprise software development project’s discovery phase is a series of open-ended discussions, formal meetings, presentations, etc. To kick start the discovery phase the first step is to appoint a project manager or a team who will be responsible for outlining the project requirements and will take part in the project execution phases. The project manager should conduct these discussion, meetings and presentations. The participants should be the end users, the department or team who have requested for the software, the stakeholders, technical experts, and any other relevant person who can give inputs on the subject. The best way is to enlist all the problems and challenges the users are facing for which they need a customer enterprise software.

Divide these challenges into three groups, critical, high priority, normal and low priority. Discuss all these points with everyone and take their opinion and also request them to suggest an appropriate solution. Dividing all needs/features in three groups will help you on later stages. For any custom enterprise software development project the cost is one of the most important factor. Whenever a demand is raised by a department, team or group of employees for a new software solution, the management evaluate the solution in terms of value it will offer against the cost or financial strain it will put on the business. That is why having three different priority level will help you optimize the budget and technical needs on the bases of importance of the features that are needed. By now the project manager would have already gathered all the required information. Now it is time to formulate a charter document or requirements document.

Step 2. Custom Enterprise Software: Software Requirements Specifications (SRS)

The software requirements specifications (SRS) document is the most important document for custom enterprise software development. The software requirements specifications document provides a full roadmap to all the parties involved in the custom enterprise software development, mainly for the software developers and programmers. The verbal communication or information shared in chunks can be disastrous for the custom software development project. Such practice leads to a very incoherent communication which results in a lot of problems during the implementation of the software. A typical SRS or software requirements specifications document includes:

The goals and objectives of the custom enterprise software
A detailed description of the software from the user’s perspective
What problems should be solved by the custom enterprise software
Features and functionalities of the custom enterprise software
The performance and efficiency of the custom software in terms of workload, users, etc.
The roadmap for the integration and data sharing, if required
The limitations and liabilities of the custom enterprise software
The administrative work flow, data protection and access policy
Detailed Definitions, descriptions, assumptions and dependencies of the software and the limitations of the production/live environment
Functional and non-functional requirements and user’s needs
Details and design needs of user interfaces, user dashboards, administrative control panels, etc.
Complete details about the system users and what value it will add to the existing or new business processes for those users

The important thing to understand is that the software requirements specifications would serve as the agreement between you and the development team whether in-house or outsourced. The final outcome would be exactly like the SRS document. It is also crucial to describe each and everything in a language the software developers can understand, that is why adding descriptions, glossaries, definitions, references, etc. is important.

The SRS document also includes all of the user cases. A user case is what defines how the end-user will interact with the software and how the software should respond. There would be a set of users who will be performing different tasks on the intended custom enterprise software. Each user or user group would be needing different sets of functions. Even if there is only a highly focused group of users and they all need to perform same tasks, there would be a lot of tasks that can be performed. In any case all the tasks and different users will define the use cases. A use case is how the user will interact with the system for example, if they upload a file, what should happen next, if they input some data where it should go and what the software should return, etc. These all includes in a use case. Here is how to define each use case:

Chose a set of users or a single user who will be performing certain task
Define that tasks in full details and try to add goals if necessary
Now enlist all use cases of that user or user group
Define all the user interactions and what response is required from the software
Include all alternative actions and their corresponding responses too
Repeat the same processes for all of the users or user groups

The use cases are aimed to define the custom enterprise software and its features from a user’s perspective. This provides the software developers a to-the-point visualization of the features and functionalities of the custom enterprise software and it also serves as a guideline for different stakeholders. That is why it is extremely important to write a detailed software requirements specifications document before starting the custom enterprise software development project.

Step 3. Custom Enterprise Software: Chose a Right Software Development Team

Choosing right vendor in Dubai or anywhere else in UAE is a very difficult task. There are so many custom software development agencies out there. It is important to choose the right vendor for the project. The best approach is to search in the local market and find a reliable company with relevant experience and good portfolio. However, outsourcing to offshore companies is also very common in UAE. Which is not a good practice. The biggest disadvantage of outsourcing to an offshore company is that it is not bound by local UAE laws which provide protection to the both the customers and the vendors. Anyway, as for local custom enterprise software development companies, it is important to verify all the details before getting into an agreement. The best is to analyze multiple vendors, make a list of all vendors that looks good. Then check their portfolio, examine their website, view their complete company profile. After that short list at least five of them and request them to submit their proposal and select one of them. This way you can get a better vendor for your custom enterprise software development project.

For More Details: How to Choose the Right Software Development Vendor for Your Business

Step 4. Custom Enterprise Software: Chose Right Technology Platforms

When it comes to software development there are a lot of technology platforms which can be used to build those apps. The first and foremost important is the compatibility of the technology, for example, if you need a native software app which is usually installed on an operating system such as Windows, Linux, etc. Then whoever will be using that software must first have to install it in their computer. However, if you need a software that can be accessed from a web browser, then the users only need a laptop and a browser. Similarly all other features determine the technology that you might be needing or what platform is compatible with your needs. It is better to engage the vendors at this stage. Vendors usually appoint a business analysts who work side by side during the requirement gathering stages and then help finalizing the scope of the work for the custom enterprise software development project.

However, here are a few popular trends of the modern technologies that enterprises are utilizing all around the world and the signs are those trends will grow in coming years:

Blockchain Technology

The Blockchain is a buzzword all around the world, especially since the BTC (Bitcoin) hit its ATH (all time high price) last year. The electronic media and social platforms start talking about BTC since, even very well reputed media outlets dedicated several shows on the technology. This has built an image of the Blockchain and most people thinks that it is some kind of digital currency that will challenge the fiat. However, that is only partially true, the Blockchain is more than just a currency. It is a technological platform that allow enterprises and individuals to develop software, applications and much more on the Blockchain. It is a great technology to develop software with shared workflows. In the Blockchain the networks are called consortiums, it is a shared network and each connected user can track all transactions. The Blockchain is the most secure and transparent platform and can offer great features.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML)

The Artificial Intelligence or AI and the Machine Learning or ML is very commonly used all over the internet and we daily came into contact of the AI or ML without even realizing it. For example, the Google uses AI and ML to run its several algorithms which are connected to its advertisement platforms. If you are using internet on regular bases, you might have noticed that if you searched for something suddenly it start appearing on several different platforms, such as if you searched for iPhone 14, then you start browsing your Facebook or Instagram and suddenly you start getting ads related to iPhone 14. This is what is being done by AI and ML. The AI and ML are widely used in various enterprise software and solutions such as data analysis, decision making processes, personalization, customer experience management, enterprise performance management and many more. There are endless possibilities of using AI and ML in custom enterprise software to improve their efficiency and user experience.

Big Data

Big Data is not a new technology however, with the increasing levels of digitalization and our reliance on the data the big data is also gaining much rapid adaptation. The big data is a large amount of data coming continuously to a system or enterprise which they need to store and process efficiently. Majorly the data is coming in large volumes and it comes continuously hence the software should be able to handle the large amount of stored data as well as the large volume of continuously coming data. The biggest advantage of using big data technologies is to improve the data processing and analytical processes. The big data is very helpful in understanding and analyzing large volume of data which otherwise is either very difficult or completely impossible for humans to process. Especially B2C enterprises, large organizations and government sector utilizes big data. However, now a days SMEs are also adopting big data technologies to improve their internal processes and capabilities.

Cloud Computing

The main reason behind rapid adaptation of the cloud computing is that it offers great value, low cost, high performance and high availability. The businesses don’t have to manage the very expensive in-house IT infrastructure. The cloud offers great benefits for the system users as well. The custom enterprise software tools can offer better user experience and high availability with the help of the cloud computing. Another most useful feature of the cloud computing based custom enterprise software is that users can access the data from anywhere through the internet. The cloud service provider manages the actual infrastructure and ensures high availability. The cloud is very flexible in terms of cost as well. The business will only have to pay for what resources they used, which can significantly reduce the cost. The system deployment is relatively easier and much faster. The high redundancy, flexible costing, easy access and ability to integrate open-source tools and frameworks make cloud more superior.

These are some of the technological trends of the year and we have witnessed a steady growth in all above mentioned technology platforms. The rapid market adaptations, innovation and highly efficient products are signaling that these trends will go on for a couple of more years.

Step 5. Custom Enterprise Software: Design and Development Phase

The custom enterprise software design and development phase is when the designers form the UI and UX and the developers program them by adding source code to them. The custom enterprise software design should be started with a wireframe so all the necessary changes can be done in time. Then the actual design is formed. Which also should be approved by the end-users and stakeholders. Once the software design is approved, it should be handed over to the development team. Each custom software development company have its own project management methods, some follow agile and sum follow scrum, whatever the project execution method is it is important that the final product should align with the software requirements specifications document. The project manager and business analysts should make sure that he entire development phase is going on track. The updates and progress should be shared with all stakeholders and feedback should be collected if necessary.

Step 6. Custom Enterprise Software: UAT, Launch and Post-launch

Technically as soon as the development phase is completed the project is completed however, there is always a testing phase. There are multiple different ways to test a custom enterprise software however, there are two major testing phases. First one is the QA testing, or quality assurance testing. The QA testing is always done by the technical teams and staff. Businesses can also hire a third part to evaluate the software in terms of security and penetration testing. The quality assurance and the security teams sometimes take a longer time. However, whatever the case is the next step is the UAT or user acceptance test. This test is conducted by providing software to a certain numbers of users. Mostly end users, higher management and a lot others too. After the UAT, there is launch which also consists of two stages, one is beta launch and the final stage is full launch. The post launch activities are majorly related to the user feedback and the performance of the custom enterprise software.

Conclusion

In the present day the markets are heavily relying on data and IT. The digital and IT infrastructure could be your much needed competitive advantage. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the businesses and enterprises are adopting to customized software solutions. When it comes to custom software development the biggest concern of the managers and business owners is the time and resources needed for the project. The custom enterprise software development starts with a discovery phase or internal research to understand the audience and their needs. Then on the bases of those needs a tailor-made custom enterprise software can be developed. However, it is not as that simple as it may sounds. The custom software development is not an easy feat. It is a very crucial process and it requires full attentions form the project manager and the relevant stakeholders. That is why in this blog we have discussed the important steps to execute a successful custom enterprise software development project.If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you with another software develop 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.

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June 30, 2022

Guide to Custom Software Development

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

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

What is a Custom Software Development?

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

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

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

When you Need Custom Software Development?

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

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

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

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

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

Go for Custom Software Development: If you need high scalability

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Develop a Customized Software?

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

In this blog we have also included a step by step guide on how to develop a custom software from searching up for the vendor to executing the project and even after launch steps too. Hope this will you through the process. In case you want to learn more on the subject or want our help to develop a custom software solution for you which can boost your performance and operational capabilities to generate more revenue and optimize the cost, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this: Building the Customer Experience of the Future

April 14, 2022

Why custom software is more cost efficient in UAE?

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

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

Custom Software Development: Commissioning & Installation Cost

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

Custom Software Development: Maintenance and Long Term Cost

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

Custom Software Development: Scalability and Longevity

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

Custom Software Development: Upgrades and Customization

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

Custom Software Development: Ownership and Trademarking

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

Custom Software Development: Make Profit

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

March 28, 2022

How to Develop a Custom Software in Dubai?

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

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

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

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

What is Custom Software Development?

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

The Benefits of Bespoke Custom Software Development

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

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

How to Execute a Custom Software Development Project?

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

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

What are the Custom Software Development Methodologies?

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

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

How to Choose Right Software Development Company in Dubai?

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

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

What is a Customer Software Development Agreement?

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

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

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

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

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

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

See More: How to Develop Customized Software and Business Tools

Conclusion

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

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

March 15, 2022

How to Develop Customized Software and Business Tools

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

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

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

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

Why Off-the-shelf Software and Business Tools?

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

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

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

Why Customized Software and Business Tools?

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

Why Not Customized Software and Business Tools?

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

Here is how you can Develop Customized Software and Business Tools

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

Discovery Phase – Identify Challenges& Set Objectives

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See More: How to Develop Customized Supply Chain Software?

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

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

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

Have a Detailed Project Plan

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

Wireframes and GUI Designing

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

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

Development Phase

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

See More: What is custom software development?

UAT, Soft Launch and Full Launch

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

Maintenance and Post Launch Activities

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

See More: Customized Software Development for the Startups

Conclusion

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

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

March 7, 2022

Customized Software Development for the Startups

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

See More: What is custom software development?

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

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

Customized Software Development: Perfectly Match Your Business Requirements

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

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

See More: Importance of Custom Software Development in Dubai

Customized Software Development: Better and Efficient Scalability

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

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

Customized Software Development: Easy and Cost-Effective Integration

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

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

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

Customized Software Development: Online and Cloud Compatibility

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

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

Customized Software Development: Security

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

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

Customized Software Development: Budget Friendly

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

See More: How to Develop Customized Supply Chain Software?

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

Customized Software Development: Low Operational and Maintenance Cost

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

January 26, 2022

How to Develop Customized Supply Chain Software?

The efficient supply chain management is absolutely necessary for any business’s success. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are using fully digitalized or partially digitalized software tools to manage their supply chain. Mostly businesses are adopting to a one-stop-solution for all their supply chain needs. Using multiple tools and manual management has become less efficient over the time and as much as the manual work is involved the risk of errors and miscalculations are higher. That is why businesses are proactively improving their supply chain management techniques and methodologies. Another most important aspect of supply chain management is that it streamlines the production process, from idea generation to creating or developing an actual product/service there are too many variables and moving parts. These all also impact the overall cost, quality and resultantly the profitability and revenue of the business. That is why it is extremely crucial that a business have an efficient supply chain software and tools to manage each and everything in their supply chain.

The supply chain management is a very complex and sophisticated process. It involves managing business processes from the idea generation to acquiring raw materials, producing the products, storing them and then tracking where they are going to drive the future strategies and sales. Similarly for the businesses who offers services the supply chain may involve different ingredients but it is still relevant and crucial for a long term success and sustainable growth. The supply chain software manages and track all relevant business processes, purchasing, acquiring services, outsourcing, internal manufacturing or development, information technology, suppliers, finance, dealers, wholesalers, resellers, and consumers or customers and all other relevant business processes. The purpose is to boost the operational efficiency of the business and reduce unnecessary resource consumption to increase profit and performance.

Why Businesses Need to Develop a Customized Supply Chain Software?

The supply chain management is a very crucial task, it involves several variables and the business’ success is heavily dependent on its supply chain management. When businesses are opting for an off-the-shelf or a ready-made supply chain software, it could pose a lot of limitation and it will also require making adjustments and iteration in existing business processes as well as the business tools which a business is currently using. The ready-made or off-the-shelf solution doesn’t offer much flexibility to let businesses configure it as per their existing business processes, and eventually businesses end up using multiple tools for several processes and mostly require synchronization either automatic or manual to be able to perform certain tasks. This complicates a lot of business processes and also put more strain on the employees and the management which reduce their performance.

However, a customized supply chain software doesn’t put any limitation and doesn’t require businesses to make any adjustment or changesto their existing business processes and practices. In fact it help them to boost the productivity and performance with least efforts made to alter any existing business process or methodology. The customized supply chain software doesn’t put any additional work load on the employees or the management instead it help them with their tasks and also enhance their performance by reducing their work load and streamlining all business processes. That is why a business needs to develop a customized supply chain software instead of going for an off-the-shelf solution.

Key Steps to Follow While Developing a Customized Supply Chain Software

Obviously going for a ready-made supply chain software is very easy and quick. Whereas developing a customized supply chain management software is lengthy process. That is one of the main reason why business go with an off-the-shelf supply chain software instead of a customized solution. However, when we compare the perks and the features of both solutions, the customized supply chain software is the best and it can prevent a lot of hustle and mismanagement or waste of resources in the longer run. That is why we are writing this blog to provide our readers with a step by step guideline to make the customization process simpler and easier. The very first step of any project should be planning and setting up goals.

Start with Settingup Goals and Identify Needs

Setting up goals and identifying needs for any customized system is critical. The business should start with analyzing the current supply chain tools and associated business process. Consulting with the employees who manages different supply chains and their relevant operations can provide a deeper insight to the current business processes. At this stage businesses should also engage the customized supply chain software development firm and ask them to assist them in gathering requirements and setting up goals and objectives for the project. The discovery stage of any project is very important, for supply chain software the discovery stage should involve all the concerned personals and departments along with the additional help from the software development firm. Also prepare a list of all the tools or features that you need in your supply chain software. If you are using multiple tools then it is a better idea to customize a single solution to have all those features, this could also save a lot of cost too.

The supply chain management heavily relies on the data collection from various steps and inputs of the supply chain. Sometimes it require integration with other systems and sometimes it require manual data. The automation is a best and very efficient method, but the customized supply chain software should be able to handle both the automated digital data synchronization via APIs or system integration and manual data inputs as well. Similarly there would be a lot many other very specific functionalities and business processes that you will be needing, enlist them all. After finalizing the list of features and functionalities, compare it with the goals, will you be able to achieve those goals or not? Add all missing features that could be helpful in achieving those goals. The consultancy or the software development firm can be a great help at this stage.

Requirement Gathering Stage

Once the needs are identified and new goals are set the next stage is to gather requirements. At requirement gathering stage usually the software development firm pull the strings and you need to be cooperative with them by providing them all the information they need. It will require a business to communicate with its existing partners and the vendors who are supplying or managing their existing IT infrastructure. The success of any IT project such as a software or business tools is very much dependent on its capabilities to absorb and distribute information. That is a very critical part and it require highly technical and experienced personals to make it right. Choosing a well reputed software development company such as RSI Concepts will save you a lot of hustle during the customized software development project and afterwards as well.

This stage involves meeting and discussions between the IT stakeholders and management teams with the supply chain software development firm. As all the needs are already identified and the goals are set so all stakeholders can contribute to find a solution for any problem. At this stage a detailed project plan can be prepared as well. A supply chain software is not just used to manage the suppliers, but it is used to manage the entire operation, from managing the suppliers, vendors, distributers, consumers and also help managing the customer relationship. So, it will cover pretty much everything. Here are some key features that a supply chain software can offer:

Procurement Management Tools
1. Digital Supplier Portals
2. Supplier Assessment and Qualification Matrices
3. Contracts and Agreements Creation Tools
4. Supplier Communication Tools
5. Supplier Performance and Rating Management
6. Purchasing Tools

Inventory Management Tools
1. Integrated and Automated Inventory Management
2. Retail and Bulk Inventory Management
3. Raw Materials Management
4. Products and Materials Identification Tools
5. Integration and APIs (Production Tools, Accounts, etc.)
6. Stock Updates, Reorder and Management Tools

Warehouse and Storage Facility Management Tools
1. Storage and Capacity Management
2. Orders Management (Dedicated Dashboard)
3. Shipment and Returns Management (Dedicated Dashboard)
4. Multi-locations Management
5. Real-time Data Synchronization and Remote Administration
6. Logistics and Transportation Management
7. Fleet Management

Data Gathering, Analytical and Reporting Tools
1. Automatically Collecting Business Intelligence Data
2. System Usage Stats, History and Logs
3. Activity Logs for each User and entire Work Flow
4. Customizable Reporting and Trend Reports
5. System and Employee KPIs
6. In-built Statistical and Analytical Tools

Having all-in-one solution saves cost, time and it is also one of the best method to boost efficiency, rather asking your employees to maintain separate dashboards for separate tasks, provide them a single dashboard which allow them to perform all tasks could save time and hustle and will also improve user experience which is a key component for improving quality of work.

Select Technologies and Understand Limitations

Technology have evolved a lot. However, we are still far away from the perfection. The one and most common limitation a business always face is the usage of different technologies. As a business keep growing they keep updating their IT and technology arsenals. That is why a business could be using several different technological platforms and several different IT tools. When it comes to developing a supply chain software or any other software there are certain technologies that we used. These technologies are built on different platforms with certain frameworks. This means there are certain limitations and protocols that we have to consider while developing a customized software application. As we have already set our goals and accordingly the features are determined, the selection of technology is relatively very easy. Majorly there are three basic technologies that are used for that kind of software applications. The most common is a web-based application which have a server and a web-based user interface. The second type is a desktop application which also have a server and the dashboard comes as a desktop app that can be installed on the computers. The third and relatively modern type is the cloud-based software. The cloud-based software allows the user to access the dashboard via a web-based application and the software or server is managed by the service provider.

For customized application the most cost-effective way is to go for a web-based application with a server which can be hosted online or in the local data center of the business. These days we can also host that server to cloud as well. The user dashboard is where the users interact with the system and the server or cloud is where all the logics are performed and algorithms are executed. Each technology has its own limitations. The most important thing to consider is the data integration and synchronization. It is better to engage the software development firm and ask them for their opinion and suggestion as well, then chose the best technology as per the cost and technical specifications.

Wireframe and Project Plan

The wireframe is a term of making the drafts or plan for the software application. At this stage the software development firm design simple drawings and flow charts to define the actual work flow of the entire supply chain software. All screens and functionalities will be defined at this stage and all steps and work flow is also defined. Pay special attentions to the wireframes and analyze them critically. At this stage the business should understand how each functionality will happen at the final supply chain software and how things will be working. At this stage the business should try to simplify their business processes and work flow to avoid unnecessary strain on the employees/users who will be using the system. If anything looks difficult or is not as the business wants it to be, it can be changed at this stage. Once the wireframes are finalized then the software development will move to the graphics and UI (user interface) designing phase.

Graphic Designing and Project Development

The graphic designing is basically the UI (user interface) designing. The businesses can have their own branding for the UI. The UI will be the actual layout or look and feel of the supply chain software. When the UI is prepared make sure it looks good, the readability and accessibility of the features, buttons, menus, tabs and links is easy. The fonts and the color scheme should help increasing the readability of the elements and texts. The UI designs will be the final look and feel of the software so it is important that it has good quality from both aesthetic and usability prospective. Once the designs are finalized the customized supply chain software project will enter into the development phase. Some software development companies only provide the complete software at the end of this stage. But it is better to ask them to divide the software development phase into smaller chunks and set milestones.

In this way the business can have a chance to analyze the features on the early stages and when they are completed so if any improvement or change is required it can be communicated with the development team. Smaller changes can be done without effecting the overall deadline however, bigger changes are not suggested at this stage. The project development stage is basically the programming and building the software. In the development phase all the integration and APIs configurations is also done. All the features, specifications, functionalities, and work flow are programmed and developed. At the end of this phase the customized supply chain software is completed only testing and launch is left.

Quality Assurance, Security and UAT

For any software the quality assurance and UAT (user acceptance test) is a very important part. With the designing and development phase the actual software development is done already. The testing is the final stage before going live or launch of the software. Since it is a customized supply chain software so the quality assurance and testing is a must. Mostly the quality assurance test is done by the software development company but at this stage the IT team from the business can also take part in the testing. The UAT or user acceptance test is done in the live environment. The UAT server is identical to the actual or primary server however it is not live and can only be accessed by limited users. The business can form teams from both technical and non-technical sides to do the testing of each and everything. The UAT is done by a sample of people taken from the actual user pool. So, they will be the end-users of the customized supply chain software hence they can provide the best feedback and suggestion about the functionalities and features of the software.

The security testing or penetration testing is also performed before going live. The security or penetration testing is usually done by the IT team at the business and a third-party security firm. This testing is very important as the customized supply chain software will going to hold the most critical and confidential data for the business so it is extremely important that the security of the data and the software itself is ensured. Once all these testing are done and the changes or iterations are made as per the results and feedbacks the customized supply chain software is ready to go live.

Training, Launch and Post-Launch Activities

Once the UAT and security testing is done and everything is complete. Now is the time for the soft-launch. In the soft-launch stage the software is made available for the users but is not operational yet. At this stage all the data has been uploaded and synchronized with the customized supply chain software. The software development company held training sessions for different users and departments. The user manuals, support and training material is handed over to the respective users. And the Service and Support mechanisms are developed. After that the launch is done and the software is made fully operational. All the users start operating the customized supply chain software at this point.

Usually for most of the businesses the post-launched activities are the training and support, however another most important part of post-launch activities is the user feedback and suggestions. The business should conduct internal surveys and feedback programs to learn more about user’s perception of the customized supply chain software and its features. The user feedback can be utilized to further improve the software or to customize its features and work flows in the coming future to ensure maximum efficiency and user satisfaction which leads to better performance.

Conclusion

Supply chain management is an extremely critical process. Businesses always try to improve their supply chain management and operational efficiency. For that supply chain software are used. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE often don’t go for the customized supply chain software due to the difficulty of the development process. That is why we compiled this step by step guide to let businesses understand the custom supply chain software development process and help them in managing the project. The customized supply chain software development can significantly boost the operational efficiency of the business by automation and improvements in various business processes. It also cover several processes from concept and acquiring raw materials to production and then distribution of the products/services. The customized supply chain software can also aid customer relationship processes and help businesses drive future growth and sales. RSI Concepts is a leading name in customized software development in Dubai, if you want to learn more about our customized supply chain software or if you have an enquiry, please feel free to reach us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

BLOG OF RSI CONCEPTS

Tag: custom software development

React JS is Easy to Use and Learn

React JS Offers High Performance and Efficiency

React JS Offers Declarative Programing Style

React JS Offers Stability and Simplify Debugging

React JS Offers Cross-Platform Compatibility

React JS Offers Better Migration and Adoptability for Future

Conclusion

Step 1. Custom Enterprise Software: Discovery Phase

Step 2. Custom Enterprise Software: Software Requirements Specifications (SRS)

Step 3. Custom Enterprise Software: Chose a Right Software Development Team

Step 4. Custom Enterprise Software: Chose Right Technology Platforms

Blockchain Technology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML)

Big Data

Cloud Computing

Step 5. Custom Enterprise Software: Design and Development Phase

Step 6. Custom Enterprise Software: UAT, Launch and Post-launch

Conclusion

What is a Custom Software Development?

When you Need Custom Software Development?

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

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

Go for Custom Software Development: If you need high scalability

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

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

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

How to Develop a Customized Software?

Conclusion

Custom Software Development: Commissioning & Installation Cost

Custom Software Development: Maintenance and Long Term Cost

Custom Software Development: Scalability and Longevity

Custom Software Development: Upgrades and Customization

Custom Software Development: Ownership and Trademarking

Custom Software Development: Make Profit

Conclusion

What is Custom Software Development?

The Benefits of Bespoke Custom Software Development

How to Execute a Custom Software Development Project?

What are the Custom Software Development Methodologies?

How to Choose Right Software Development Company in Dubai?

What is a Customer Software Development Agreement?

Conclusion

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

Why Off-the-shelf Software and Business Tools?

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

Why Customized Software and Business Tools?

Why Not Customized Software and Business Tools?

Here is how you can Develop Customized Software and Business Tools

Discovery Phase – Identify Challenges& Set Objectives

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

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

Have a Detailed Project Plan

Wireframes and GUI Designing

Development Phase

UAT, Soft Launch and Full Launch

Maintenance and Post Launch Activities

Conclusion

Customized Software Development: Perfectly Match Your Business Requirements

Customized Software Development: Better and Efficient Scalability

Customized Software Development: Easy and Cost-Effective Integration

Customized Software Development: Online and Cloud Compatibility

Customized Software Development: Security

Customized Software Development: Budget Friendly

Customized Software Development: Low Operational and Maintenance Cost

Conclusion

Why Businesses Need to Develop a Customized Supply Chain Software?

Key Steps to Follow While Developing a Customized Supply Chain Software

Start with Settingup Goals and Identify Needs

Requirement Gathering Stage

Select Technologies and Understand Limitations

Wireframe and Project Plan

Graphic Designing and Project Development

Quality Assurance, Security and UAT

Training, Launch and Post-Launch Activities

Conclusion