It’s safe to assume that the modern company relies on a hefty dose of software – daily. It’s so common, in fact, that you probably took it for granted. From spreadsheets to inventory management, we use packages every single day and would crumble without them.
This in mind, the decision to go fully custom could be a daunting one, but it’s one you should consider. Custom software can save your business money, as well as being an ergonomic solution to a whole host of problems. Read on to discover more of the benefits!
1. Build more self-reliance
Rather than relying on ‘the IT guy’ to fix every problem you have, you’ll be able to do it yourself.
This is because if you buy an off-the-shelf software package, you may not understand how to fully use it. If something goes wrong, can you fix it – or will you need expert help?
Probably the latter, and that’s a drain on funds. By designing your own software packages, you know how they work. This means that should anything happen, should any problems arise, you’ll be better equipped to stop them.
2. You can control your own costs
Off-the-shelf software packages have one fixed price, and there’s no negotiating. This can often lead to paying for useless features you don’t need, or not getting everything you need for the price.
However, with custom software, you only pay for what you need. A custom software development provider can work with you and your budget to create something suitable. No longer will you have to shell out thousands of dollars for something that doesn’t do everything you need.
And with more control of your budget comes greater flexibility. If you want, you can pump more money into software. Or you can save that money for a rainy day. The choice is yours!
3. Improve service quality
If your business operates in the B2C space, there’s nothing more vital than how you interact with the customer.
Treat them well, and you’ll be in a much better position financially. Treat them unwell, and you can slowly start to lose clients and get a bad reputation. The satisfaction of your customers is utterly vital to your success. Without it, you’ll start to slip away… fast.
With this in mind, custom software can help you improve the quality of your services. This, in turn, will help with customer retention and satisfaction. This is because you can build your software around the customer experience, rather than focusing on other areas.
As a result, you won’t be purely reliant on a single customer, or group of customers. You can tailor your software for everybody, and that increases your brand appeal.
4. Streamline processes
Ever wanted to make certain processes easier? Well, now you can! You can increase the effectiveness of any processes that you desire. Even if there isn’t an off-the-shelf product to match.
Want to make it easier for your staff to request holiday days, or inform you of sick days? Why not create a staff holidays-hub! Want to be able to track where all your Facebook and Twitter likes are coming from? Why not help yourself do just that!
In short, the world is your oyster. If there’s anything you’ve ever wanted to do, but thought it too difficult, you can do it. You aren’t restricted by the boundaries of traditional software!
5. Easier to scale
With your own custom software under your belt, it’s easy to scale up or down. If your business grows and you have a sudden need for a larger scale, you can do so.
If your business shrinks in size and you don’t need as much power or bandwidth, you can adjust accordingly. This flexibility is important for modern businesses who will not just be standing still. They’ll constantly be shifting their workforce around, and custom software can keep up with these changes.
6. Match your own specific needs
Depending on the needs of your company, it may prove hard to find an existing software package that does everything you need it to.
Sure, it’s an unlikely scenario! But if you need a program that does something super-specific and can’t find it elsewhere, custom is your only choice. You can tailor things to an exact set of specifications, to ensure that it’s fit for purpose.
For example, you could need software that tracks and manages a thousand different permutations of the same product. If you sell in fifty different colors, fifty different sizes and fifty different shapes, that’s a huge inventory! A lot of EPOS and database solutions wouldn’t be able to handle it.
This makes custom software incredibly useful for retail companies with large amounts of stock.
7. Update for as long as you like
With off-the-shelf software packages, users are typically at the mercy of the manufacturer. What if they suddenly decide to stop supporting that software package? What if no more updates are released, and there are still bugs to be fixed and stopped?
There are exceptions to this rule of course, but they’re rare. Some software is open-source and that means anyone can build and release updates for it. But more often than not, off-the-shelf software eventually ceases to be supported eventually. This can cause big problems for your startup, particularly if you run into any problems.
But with custom software, the manufacturer is effectively you. Since it’s customized, you aren’t relying on one specific manufacturer to release updates. You can continue to support the software yourself, with little fuss.
Key takeaways
It’s easy to become over-reliant on software, but that’s not what I’m telling you to do. Sometimes, the use of software is irrelevant, and there are far better courses of action to take.
All you need to do is open your mind a little. If you never knew that custom software existed, you now have a world of options at your feet. You know your business better than anyone else, so identify the ways in which this tool could make things easier.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll be on the road to making your company much simpler to run!