Customized software development is the production of any software that is commissioned, developed, and deployed for a specific set of functions, organizations, or users and is typically unavailable to the mass market. This type of software is designed keeping that entity’s implementation requirements, infrastructure, and branding in mind. Unlike commercial off-the-shelf software, custom software is developed with the aim of meeting a narrowly defined set of requirements.
One example of custom software would be AirBnB’s proprietary platform, which is used to support their on-demand rental economy business model. The platform allows property owners to directly rent their home to travellers or visitors from across the globe for short periods of time. The platform facilitates the remote authentication of renters and owners without ever needing for them to meet. It also includes a seamless payment portal with which to quickly collect rent and manage a personal rental portfolio. AirBnB’s custom software allowed them to be the first company in the world to make an on-demand rental economy sustainable.
Now that we have a basic idea of what custom software looks like, let’s explore why a custom software development company would need to develop these solutions in the first place:
- Tailored Solution
Commercial software is notoriously known to provide a wide array of product features, many of which do not apply to every business. Rather than pay a fixed subscription fee or buy a license for a generic solution that is available to the mass market, companies can choose to enhance their full suite of business operations through custom software development. The most important reason that custom software is developed is to provide a tailored solution that can enhance the effectiveness of existing in-house operations and processes and improve organizational productivity and employee efficiency.
- Customized Integration
Different areas of a business may require different tools from a number of vendors. Each of these tools may have varying degrees of implementation support, changing tech infrastructure needs, unique development approaches, and distinct architectural dissimilarities. For one entity, however, your business technology ecosystems should work as a single unit to provide value to the entire business. A custom software development company would develop solutions that pose less technical complexities as they are built to easily integrate third-party software from ERP and CRM software to Payroll and POS systems into one functioning application.
- Targeted Insights
Reporting is an essential function of any business. Purpose-built applications are much more effective at gathering and interpreting mission-critical intelligence and data than generic software. Rapid reporting and analytics capabilities provided by custom software also help businesses analyze a range of vital metrics and identify trends more effectively and with a higher degree of accuracy. Businesses can get reports for various functionalities that range from demographics reports to invoicing and inventory reports. These reports enable management to make more informed decisions and improve cross-channel communication.
In this era, a business is only as good as the technology it relies on. A custom software development company builds tailored solutions simply because generic commercial software applications spread their functionalities too thin and don’t get into the nitty gritty details of each niche, industry, or area of expertise that a business needs to gain greater control over. Custom software solutions are especially impressive when they provide deep insights into customer behaviour or integrate all the different systems and processes that a business currently uses to deliver solid reports for management to use to their competitive advantage.