This article was written by a Guest Author.
The first step on any custom development project is to understand why the project is necessary and what value it will deliver to the business once it’s complete. There are many reasons why companies decided to build their own software rather than shoe horn themselves into an off-the-shelf product. In many cases it’s d
ue to drive business improvements, customer engagement or simply to create competitive advantage.
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What are the signs you may benefit from custom development?
Signs that a business should consider this approach include:
- Paper Based Processes
It’s still surprising how many businesses are still running using paper based processes. Paper based processes are usually very inefficient, time consuming and costly. The world is rapidly digitising and it’s hard to compete with an organisation that has moved on from paper based processes not just because of the efficiency it drive, but also the data it provides to decision makers.
- Data Driven Decisions
Many companies have multiple systems and have no single source of truth for decision making. In today’s market “data” is the new oil and for organisations that can harness the power of their data it can become a significant competitive advantage. Building a dashboard that pulls information from across the business to give you a single view of every part of your business can have a positive impact on the bottom line. Data driven decisions are proven to be much more effective and reduce execution risk, leading to improved business performance.
- Customer Experience
Every business has two things, customers and competitors, how you engage and interact with your customers is very important in the digital age and can be the difference between success and failure. It’s more important today than ever before that businesses continuously improve their customer engagement and how they experience your brand. Although there are many off the shelf products that may deliver a level of improvement, custom software development can be tailored to your business and the customer experience your trying to deliver. In fact, it’s very difficult to differentiate your business if you are using the same tools and everyone else!
- Business Growth
“We made it!” What an amazing story it is to hear about the small business hiring its first team, the medium sized business securing a life changing contract or the large business accelerating its growth.
If you look at most of the worlds most successful businesses there are a number of common factors, one of them is that they have differentiated their service offering using custom tools and software.
Many companies are evolving their customer engagement and brand loyalty through custom software projects that enhance business value and ultimately drive business growth.
- Process Improvement
As part of the project many business improvements and efficiencies are usually identified that can cut operational costs and drive improved business performance. The process of understanding the goals of the project often leads to a deeper understanding of the business, its user stories, and existing business processes.
In conclusion…
Deciding to embark on custom development should be carefully considered as it is not right for every organisation. However, for those that decided adopt this approach the rewards can be significant and can have a meaningful impact on the bottom line.