Understand custom software development: build or just buy?

Custom software development involves the development and maintenance of bespoke software solutions that bring unique features and resolve specific problems. 

While enterprises need to transform specific features and functionality into reality, they will turn to a custom software development agency. It helps design and create bespoke software solutions. Since custom software development helps users deal with dynamic and specific needs. Additionally, the custom software development product is more comprehensive than off-the-shelf software solutions. 

The idea of tailor-made software solutions sounds interesting, but custom software development services are not for everyone. The process can be expensive and time-consuming, so it is challenging for enterprises to develop the scope and functionality. The article will give you a quick look at custom software development and off-the-shelf software solutions. Consider building or just buying software applications, stroll down below. 

What is custom software development? 

Custom software development is a process of designing, creating, deploying, and maintaining software solutions for specific needs and users. Such as: 

• A tailor-made service maintenance program for organizations, or 
• Social networking apps for unique requirements, sharing, and connecting purposes. 

Custom software development is also referred to as bespoke software solutions. In-house software development teams or IT outsourcing companies will implement custom software development projects. 

A custom software development project can move through serious steps of gathering requirements, constructing code, testing, and deploying. Agile, DevOps, or Rapid application development are one of the best examples. 

Custom software development often serves different purposes, especially customization, modernization, and management. Firstly, the application customization refers to COTS which specifically supports individual requirements. 

Secondly, application modernization helps maintain the viability of custom software applications to meet dynamic market demands and consumers. Lastly, the application management supports tasks such as installation, updating, performance, and service desk functions. 

Custom software development services 

Choosing a custom software development agency for your business ideas can be challenging. Since enterprises need to find the right software engineers and outsource an appropriate company offering the right price and service level. 

Your company meets with custom software development partners to make sure we are on the same page about what is needed and what needs to be done. 

Additionally, the IT development company will submit bids according to the development time and costs. Some companies will have agreements on additional time and services. 

Do not try to focus on the most attractive factor and the lowest-priced bid. It is essential to choose the software development company that will meet your needs best. 

As the leading software development company in Vietnam, Adamo Software has experience in various industries. So now are some tips for choosing a custom software development company: 

• Get referrals from your network. 
• Find developers who use lean, non-buddy code. 
• Check their previous projects and industries that you are interested in. 
• Choose a company with a history of on-time software development delivery. 
• Nail on who has the intellectual property. 
• Look for security measures. 
• Be clear about expectations pre and post-development. 

What to consider: custom software development vs. off-the-shelf software solutions

Custom software development 

Although off-the-shelf software applications are available on the market, enterprises still develop custom software solutions since they want to transform the business. Here is what custom software development services offer: 

Specifically tailor-made functions and features: 

Custom software development projects will serve unique requirements. For example, if company A wants to develop an app for their operation system, that custom software development project will follow requirements and needs. Another case like your firm conducting market research and finding a business opportunity, so now you want to transform ideas into reality. It’s time to outsource a software development team. 

Unique software solution for your business: 

Development teams design the application to work with the company’s infrastructure, branding, and implementation needs. Besides, there is no other company that can access the software solution. 

Off-the-shelf software solutions 

Off-the-shelf solutions are available for many computing, business, performance, and communication purposes. Here is what off-the-shelf solutions offer: 

• Serve large audiences: Off-the-shelf solutions resolve large audiences with similar needs. For example, you can see Microsoft Office is popular with features and functionality that fit all sizes and scopes of organizations. 
• Easily access to purchase and download: Off-the-shelf solutions are prepackaged and purchased in the store. 
• Wider availability: You can find off-the-shelf solutions for any site that your business uses like Linuxes, Macs, etc. 
• Customizability: Users can find popular commercial software solutions such as Microsoft Office 365 which use specific customizability to make the application work best for your team. 

Pros and Cons: Enterprise custom software development 

Advantages of custom software development 

Custom software development can offer lots of benefits. It provides features and functionality that off-the-shelf software solutions cannot offer. After a business uses tailor-made applications, it helps resolve problems which can be worth it. 

For instance, if a tailor-made software solution addresses time or payroll issues, businesses can save money and maximize the employee’s time. As a result, it can increase productivity. 

Disadvantages of custom software development 

The costs and risks of developing custom software development products can be challenging for most enterprises. 

Development costs: 

If compared to the off-the-shelf software solutions can range from some dollars to a few thousand dollars. Many enterprises pay monthly subscription fees or one-time fees to use the application. However, customized software requires a significant amount of money. Business owners will cover all costs related to the custom software development process. 

Risks: 

The risks of custom software development can be varied related to the scope. However, it’s easy to lose sight of the final business goal. Therefore, enterprises should have an in-depth understanding of a company’s requirements and communicate with developers well. 

Additionally, you should play an important role in discovering new features and functions that custom software development products need. 

Besides, modifications and revisions can cost time and money. Frequent changes can lead to losing the project scope. 

Need a custom software development agency: a reason to be revealed? 

Building a custom software development process can be expensive and time-consuming, however, enterprises should not undertake customized software. Here are things that you can see the custom software development application will be worthwhile. 

1. Inefficient processes and workarounds can burden your employees 

You should consider a custom software solution if your workers handle overwhelming paperwork and implement workarounds daily. These things interfere with business productivity. 

We will list out some red flags that your current business operations might have: 

• Tedious processes: It can be excessive paperwork, red tape, and various steps to complete daily tasks. Using technologies help cut down on the time, making the processes and tasks more efficient. Therefore, it is helpful for the changes if the current solutions can not help. 
• A high level of workloads: Imagine when using the off-the-shelf, your employees have to execute various workarounds. For example, do employees have to export data from the internal software application? Or do they need to make reports which look presentable? Hence, custom software development may be a reasonable software solution. 

2. You need excel experts to make data more understandable 

Lots of small businesses and startups spend excessive time and resources to produce customer and sales data. A custom software development solution can automatically interface with data sources such as point of sales systems, etc. 

Additionally, it creates informative reports and charts for your business. The efficiency allows businesses to spend more time making decisions on data. 

3. Is there any salesperson and onsite employees who need to secure data? 

The custom software development package supports the sales teams to access proprietary information that you do not put on Slack or cloud-based tools. Software developers can create a unique and encrypted collaboration platform. 

The custom software development product allows the display of the information that remote employees need and secures the rest of the data. 

4. Does your company have specific and proprietary software processes? 

If you are working in a dynamic industry and developing an innovative software product, off-the-shelf software solutions might not help you. In addition, your enterprise may be introducing new approaches to boost business growth. 

For instance, Uber needed to build custom software development products for their drivers and customers. Although business models already existed such as traditional taxis, app-based taxis, and ride-sharing. 

5. Is your company growing? 

Building a custom software development application can improve customer retention and satisfaction levels and boost sales when your company grows. The custom software solution allows you to expand your businesses and potential customers, locations, and functionality. 

Adamo Software – Top Software Development Company in Vietnam & 5 best practices 

If you want to go with the custom software development services, follow the best practices to ensure the software development process smoothly: 

1. Define the current process and customer needs 

It is critical to define the current custom software development process, expectations, and success criteria. Make sure you will understand the following things: 

• What is the current process?: You should ask subject-matter experts who can handle the work daily. It includes workers in various areas and IT vendors. It is essential to get as much detail as possible. 
• What are you trying to address? You will find out the customer needs and dynamic market before developing customized software solutions. 
• What does your success look like? Please go through the desired workflows and processes that support your business expansion. 

2. Choose the right IT development company for projects 

The following people and organizations develop custom software development solutions for any enterprise: 

• In-house development teams 
• Outsource offshore development teams. 
• IT vendors and companies. 

You can use in-house development teams for software development projects to save money. However, using your IT teams has some drawbacks. Firstly, you have obligations and some daily work. Thus, it can lead to slowdowns for the whole business. Secondly, their tech stacks might not be trained and experienced in the latest technologies. 

Outsourcing the custom software development teams can make sense. Additionally, you can work with teams that have successfully designed and developed custom software. 

3. Make a master plan which sets milestones 

Hiring a team including developers, business analysts, and a project manager leads to the overall initiative. Besides, it helps create a road map for the whole project. It’s critical to make it realistic and remember that you might not create a complicated workflow and deliver time in a week. 

Developing a master plan helps keep track of the project. It includes various development stages that can be completed at a specific time and budget. So outsourcing teams for custom software development projects help you to make a realistic master plan. 

4. Conduct an appropriate software testing 

Before executing the custom software development project, development teams test it. It focuses on the technical level and end-user levels. 

• Technical testing: Software developers and IT professionals carry out technical testing to make sure that the software elements will work. 
• End-user testing: User testing helps software work as expected and desired solutions. Besides, it also tests the user experience and interface to boost efficiency without any frustration. 

5. Document the software development process 

Documentation helps all stages of the custom software development process and implementation. It includes: 

• A test plan and checklist 
• A statement of scope to ensure you do not solve too many problems. 
• An implementation plan that defines who uses the software and when to start. 
• Detailed user documentation to reduce the number of people getting frustrated. 

The Bottom Up 

Custom software development is essential to meet the unique requirements and needs of enterprises. If organizations want to boost their business growth, developing custom software development helps transform your business ideas. Hopefully, you will know when your firm needs to build a custom software application or just buy the off-the-shelf solution. As a leading software development company in Vietnam, Adamo Software has lots of experience and experts in various fields. Contact us for new customized software solutions.