Is bespoke software really the answer to my business’ problems?

Your company’s software stack should be like a jigsaw.

Not one of those elaborate 10,000 piece puzzles that take ages to put together.

More like a really simple child’s jigsaw where it’s obvious what each piece is, where it goes and how it fits into all the other pieces.

Putting it together is a simple, seamless process.

But commercial software development is rarely like this.

Each piece of software is built independently, in a silo, and with little - if any - consideration to how it will fit into the other bits of software you have.

So you end up smashing different pieces of software together, hoping that they’ll just about line up.

Or end up breaking one piece trying to force it to fit into another one.

Trying to build your business’ processes like this is going to cost you a lot of money, waste a lot of time and cause you all kinds of headaches.

Could bespoke software be the answer?

As the name suggests, bespoke software is a custom designed platform that is developed specifically around your business’ needs.

If you want a process to work in a certain way, you can have bespoke software developed to meet those needs.

Now you might be a small company thinking: “I’m only a small company, isn’t custom software development a bit elaborate for me?”

Honestly, it could be. If you only need a couple of bits of software and your processes are simple, bespoke software might not be for you.

But what about when you start to grow?

Then you start adding more software and more processes into your business.

Then more, and more and more.

Or, maybe you’re a big company, thinking: “We’ve survived this long on our legacy system and things seem to be going ok. Isn’t it just another expense?”

True, your business might be doing ok and your processes might be working well enough.

But that’s probably what Blockbuster thought just before Netflix took over their market.

If you’re wondering whether bespoke software development is the answer to your business’ software needs, here’s a few signs that it might be:

You use lots of different software

Most businesses run on software today.

It powers your supply chain, organises your HR and payroll, automates your marketing and sales, and makes sure teams can keep working closely together even when they’re not in an office.

If your business has lots of different pieces of software for different functions, it won’t be hard to find inefficiencies and friction between them.

Bespoke software could help fit everything together easier, save you money and give you more time to grow your company.

You have complex processes

No one business runs in the exact same way.

But the software you use has been developed as if you do.

If your business has some complex processes, chances are commercial software hasn’t been developed with them in mind.

You’ll end up either trying to shoehorn software together, or your business will never be as efficient as it could be.

You need to create a standard operating procedure across the company

One of the biggest problems with commercial software is that when it doesn’t fit efficiently into your business, your employees will find ways to work around it and come up with their own processes to get their jobs done.

This isn’t their fault.

They’re just trying to do their jobs.

But if you have custom software developed for your company, you can include your employees in the development process, find out what isn’t working, and have your software developed to work best for employees.

You have complex security needs

Security is key in a business reliant on software.

But security in commercial software isn’t designed to fight against complex attacks that business’ face.

Not to mention that employees aren’t known for being rigorous with IT security.

If your business deals with particularly sensitive information, or you have to deal with employees working remotely while communicating this sensitive data, you might benefit from custom software developed with this security in mind.

You want to do things completely different to everyone else

Sometimes, business success comes down to how you operate rather than what you sell.

If your products or services aren’t that different to everyone else, but you’ve found a way to do things more efficiently, can you be sure that commercial software will let you work the way you want to?

With custom software, you don’t have to worry about it.

You want ROI from a short term investment

It’s true that the initial investment you make in custom software can be higher than just using a commercial product.

But your business is a long-term investment, and you need to be making decisions with the future in mind.

What happens when you start to grow and need to add more functionality into how you do things?

If you’re relying on commercial software, you’ll have to spend time and money investigating new software platforms and spending money bringing them in.

You might even have to waste time changing your current processes (even if they work) to make room for new software.

In the long run this could cost you a lost more money than that initial investment in custom software.

You want your business to be adaptable

Ultimately, your decision on whether to invest in custom software comes down to how adaptable you want your business to be.

There is no way of getting around the fact that, eventually, trying to fit commercial software platforms together will create friction and negatively impact how you work.

By choosing custom software, you have complete control over how you run your business both now, and in the future.

Want to know more about custom software development and how it can improve how you work?

Get in touch