Companies’ needs are becoming more complex today than ever.  Because of COVID-19, businesses needed to adapt via digital transformation to a landscape that changed overnight.  Aiming to get fast results, many businesses turn to off-the-shelf software. However, this type of software is becoming more inefficient to deal with the unique demands of today’s businesses. 

Boxed solutions don’t provide the flexibility required to meet goals in this digital era. Companies are then realizing that only a bespoke solution can handle it. Custom development has the advantage of being tailored exactly to the organization’s needs and designed to help meet goals.This results in an increasing demand for custom software development.  

But what is custom software development, and why do we at SCSS think it is the best approach for most businesses? In this article, I’ll walk you through a brief comparison between custom and off-the-shelf software and why the custom development approach is better in most cases. Hopefully, at the end of this article we have helped you to decide if custom software development is the right choice for your unique business needs.

What Is Custom Software Development?

It refers to the development of a custom software application tailored to fit the specific needs and requirements of a business. The advantage of bespoke software is that it opens the way for innovative solutions to solve unique company problems. By designing the software with the organization’s user in mind, custom software provides exact solutions for their problems. 

Key benefits of custom software include: 

• No need to compromise to adjust your company processes to the boxed software. 
• By giving a solution to the unique challenges of the company, custom software gives a competitive advantage over competitors.

The development of a custom software solution is often taken care of by a consultant. In counted cases, an in-house team will take the task of developing a solution to fix a specific problem inside the organization. Since the development process is iterative, this enables developers to make changes if the needs change. 

Conversely, the off-the-shelf products cater to a general audience that shares similar requirements. Boxed solutions give a generic solution, therefore, they may not fit or solve exactly the company’s challenges. They also can be difficult to integrate with existing legacy systems. This results in them not being a good fit for companies with unique needs. 

Custom Software Development company in Australia

Technology and software industry in Australia is growing fast. The total market value of Australian software development companies reached $13 billion in 2020. Australia is becoming a technology hub in the Asia-Pacific region. According to ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse, there is a 40% growth expected by 2023. Some stats related to the software development industry in Australia:

• Victoria, NSW and Queensland are the areas with more software development companies registered. 
• The areas where the use of software is most popular are healthcare and social assistance. 
• About 6,000 ICT students graduated in 2019.
• By 2022, it is expected that the software development industry will create more than 60,000 jobs. 
• The spending in technology is expected to reach $84,8 billion in the next couple of years. 

According to Teleport.com, Melbourne is among the top world cities for software development. (Image source)

The high level of skill and education makes Australia a great place for a thriving software development industry. There are thousands of digital companies working and exporting software around the world. 

How do you choose a developer? 

It is important to start by identifying your company’s needs and requirements. What’s the problem your company is trying to solve? Then you can start browsing for companies. Choose the one that can provide the most effective solution for your problem, which does not necessarily mean the cheapest one. Once you have your short list, you can compare them based on their portfolios. But even more important than an impressive portfolio, is that the company you choose will have a vision that not only solves your actual problem, but will create value for your business. 

Although this makes for a competitive market for software developers, it is a great option for companies to hire dedicated custom software development companies like SCSS Consulting. SCSS consulting brings the expertise and out-of-the-box-thinking that an organisation in this era requires. 

Why Choose a Custom Software Solution?

Companies in need of a software solution typically need to choose between packaged or custom software. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages. However, as organisations needs’ become more complex, packaged software often falls short. Here are some reasons to choose a custom software solution: 

11 Benefits of Custom Software Development

1. Cost-saving

Packaged solutions may seem cheaper at first. But it is often the case that companies fail to see the long-term effect of recurring fees. Contrarily, while it may mean a higher upfront investment, custom software is usually cost-effective in the long term. They don’t require high monthly maintenance and upgrade fees. 

2. Investing in your business

When you invest in a bespoke solution, in a way you are investing in your business. You are investing in a solution for your users’ problems, in a tool that will increase ROI and help grow your business. 

3. Productivity gain

When you set a software specifically designed to meet your needs, you give your staff better equipment to perform their tasks. They won’t need to learn how to manage five different applications and how they work together. Therefore, they will perform their tasks more efficiently and productivity will increase. 

4. A competitive advantage

Custom software allows your company to grow and increase value. Since it caters exactly to your users’ needs and problems, your customer experience will be better, giving you a competitive advantage against your competitors. Since custom software is flexible, this very flexibility allows companies to try innovative, out-of-the-box solutions without the limitations of boxed solutions. . 

5. Transparent pricing

Packaged software often has hidden costs. When you sign up for the monthly fee, it usually comes with management fees, upgrading fees and so on. Custom-made software, on the other hand, has a cost that is determined beforehand when the development company gives you the budget. At SCSS Consulting, we give you a detailed budget with all costs involved according to your specific needs and requirements for the project. Therefore, custom software is more transparent without surprise costs. 

6. Ownership and control

Businesses sometimes forget that when they buy packaged software, they don’t actually own the product. Instead, you pay a regular fee for the right to use someone else’s product. This means when you stop using the product, you don’t retain anything from it. Even more, since you only can use the product while the vendor is maintaining it, if they decide to stop production your software will also be down. 

However, when you choose to develop custom made software, you retain ownership and control it entirely. The development team makes the software for you, and you own it, and have full freedom to do as you please with it. It is similar to the difference between leasing and owning a house. In the latter option, you can make changes according to your preference.  

7. Innovate and operate in ways others can’t

A custom solution opens room for innovation. You can create new solutions, applications, whatever you need, to solve a unique problem. You will be limited only by your developer’s skills, so choose companies that Custom developed software is what gives your company the way to disrupt your industry and give innovative solutions to your customers. 

8. Integration

Many companies find out that they need multiple software programs to meet their needs. This often causes issues, since coordinating different solutions can be tricky. Custom-made software can not only provide an all-in-one solution, but easily integrate with legacy or existing systems. 

9. Tailored to your brand needs

This is the most known advantage. Bespoke software is created specifically to solve the brand’s problem. That means that every specification is designed to create value and meet the user’s needs, helping your unique brand to shine in a competitive market. 

10. Easy to scale up 

Personalised software can be easily integrated and scaled as the business grows.With custom software, there is no need to patch different solutions. As your operations grow, the consulting company can easily adapt the software to accommodate new requirements and needs. 

11. Unlimited maintenance and support 

With custom software, there is no limit to the time your solution will have maintenance. As long as you have the product, the consulting company can support and maintain it, since it is completely yours. You don’t need to worry the company will stop making and supporting the solution. 

Common issues businesses face in using off-the-shelf software

We mentioned many of these points in the section above, here are some more to consider: 

1. One size fits all approach

Packaged software is built to meet generic needs, to solve a broad problem that many companies may have. However, different companies may have specific needs, other software that needs integrating, and so on. This one-size-fits all usually causes issues when your staff needs to install and use the software.  

2. Lack of innovation

Packaged software companies sell the software, as it is. Therefore, when you buy packaged software, you will be likely getting limited and inefficient features, having to look for costly upgrades. In addition, since you are unable to adjust and modify the software, you will be left with almost no room for innovation. 

3. High license fee

As we mentioned above, packaged software requires paying a high monthly or yearly license fee. Moreover, the price usually goes up by the size of the company so as your company grows so does your business. 

4. Lack of ownership

This means a third party is holding your data and controls the customisation and development of the product. 

5. Difficult to customize

It is often expensive and difficult to adapt packaged solutions to a company. Adapting even a single feature can be a daunting task and you’ll end having to make compromises to fit it.  Sure, if you are looking for a short time solution, customizing a packaged software can be a good option, not so if you look for a long-term solution. 

6. Unneeded features

Off-the-shelf software comes with several features that try to accommodate as many issues as possible. As a result, you end up paying with a lot of features you won’t really use and you need to train your in-house team anyway. . 

Final thoughts

New companies are faced with trying to solve unique niche problems, so the trend is clearly shifting from commercial packaged software towards bespoke software development. Custom software  fits exactly the company’s needs;  caters exactly to the needs of the users, gives a better customer experience, and results in a competitive advantage for your business. 

This article is intended to show why custom software development can be the best choice in the current market landscape. Hopefully, the advantages we presented here can help you decide about what best fits your business. 

Why at SCSS We Strongly Advocate for Custom Software Solutions

Every company is unique. At SCSS, our team of expert developers work hard considering every aspect of your company and deliver a solution 100% tailored to your needs. We develop custom software according to your exact specifications and grow with your business. In addition, custom software ensures you’ll have the best security for your solution, it is easier to use and opens the way to innovation. We strongly advocate for custom software solutions as solving niche and unique problems is our passion.  

Our years of experience in custom software development means we provide you with a solution that is built to scale, retiring your outdated legacy systems and giving you an advantage against competitors. Learn how SCSS can help your business grow through innovative, out-of-the-box solutions. Book your free consultation today.