What is custom software development?

• Post by: Admin
• Jul 21 2023

Custom software development is the process of designing, creating, deploying and maintaining software for a specific set of users, functions or organizations.

Custom software development is the process of designing, creating, deploying and maintaining software for a specific set of users, functions or organizations. In contrast to commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS), custom software development aims at a narrowly defined set of requirements. COTS targets a broad set of requirements, allowing it to be packaged and commercially marketed and distributed.

Microsoft Office and Sitebuilder.com, for example, are packaged commercial software products and services. They meet the generalized needs of office productivity and website creation.

Custom software, on the other hand, is designed for a specific set of needs, such as:

• a field service equipment maintenance program for a manufacturer or
• an online banking app designed for the unique requirements of the bank and its customers.

Custom software, and its development, is also referred to as bespoke software. The term has its origins in old English and the tailoring trade. Think tailor-made suit (link resides outside ibm.com).

Custom software development is usually performed by in-house development teams or outsourced to a third-party. The same processes and methodologies apply to custom software development as other types of software development. A custom project would move through the familiar steps of requirements gathering, code construction, testing and deployment and apply the same methodologies, like Agile, DevOps  or Rapid Application Development, as any other software project.

Efforts associated with custom software development include application customization, application modernization and application management. Application customization refers to modifying COTS applications to support individual requirements. Application modernization plays a critical role in maintaining the viability of a business’s custom software to meet evolving user and market demands. Application management makes software effective by supporting tasks like installation, updating, performance and availability optimization, and service desk functions.

Why is custom software development important?

Custom software development is important because it helps meet unique requirements at a cost competitive with purchasing, maintaining and modifying commercial software.

Some of the benefits include:

Efficiency: Custom software is purpose-built to support processes swiftly and productively, without the need to tinker with or adjust COTS applications.

Scalability: Custom software can grow as an organization or business grows and changes. Designers and developers can assess future needs as part of their requirements gathering. These factors can then be incorporated into the application, rather than incurring costs by purchasing additional licenses or subscriptions of packaged applications.

Lower integration costs: One of the chief considerations of commercial software is: will it work with existing and legacy applications? If the answer is no, organizations face a further investment in getting commercial software to communicate and operate with their existing infrastructure. Custom software can be built to integrate with its intended environment.

Profitability: It’s possible to make money with custom software development. Depending on the terms and conditions of the project, businesses that develop their own software may own the software and therefore be able to license or sell it to other organizations.

Independence: The benefits of being free of a commercial software vendor cut both ways. On the plus side, organizations can avoid price hikes for licensing and support — and getting stuck maintaining packaged software should the vendor go out of business or terminate a product. On the negative side, the cost of supporting and maintaining custom software falls to the organization that created it or had it developed. How the equation works out requires each organization to look carefully at whether it’s better to build or buy.

What Types of Organizations Need Custom Software?

Off-the-shelf is a perfectly viable solution for many companies — if it’s cost-effective, easy to implement, and meets most of your needs, it’s a good choice. However, every business is unique, and while generic software solutions may satisfy some requirements, they can fall short.

If your organization can relate to any of the following characteristics, you may benefit from exploring custom software solutions.

Software for Unique Business Situations

Does your organization do something no one else does? Off-the-shelf software serves a broad functionality, whereas custom software serves individual needs. Typically, the more unique or specialized a business is, the more likely they are to need custom software. For example, in Runwell’s case, you can’t just buy a custom social media mobile application off-the-shelf; however, a custom software company can build one for you.

Software for Growing Businesses

As businesses grow, they can outgrow their off-the-shelf software. Broad, generic software solutions fail to account for businesses’ unique nuances as they expand. A custom software solution doesn’t have the same setbacks, because it meets the company’s specific goals to help it continue to grow.

Similarly, newer industries are more likely to need custom software. For example, there’s no off-the-shelf AI software for driving cars since it’s such a new industry. On the other hand, hospitality is an established industry, and there’s an endless sea of prebuilt solutions that meet those businesses’ specific needs.

Older Businesses Looking To Modernize Software

As businesses age, so do their software needs. A software application developed years ago may no longer meet the needs of the organization—it’s slow, not cloud-based, needs new functionality, or no one knows how to support it. Moreover, legacy software solutions often rely on platforms and services that are no longer supported and are now considered insecure.

Instead of building a new application from scratch, software modernization may be a more cost-effective solution.

What Are Some Examples of Custom Software?

The beauty of custom software is in the name — it’s customizable. The sky’s the limit, but here are a few examples of custom software development projects:

Spreadsheet-to-Software. Excel isn’t meant to run an entire business. Too often, companies rely on a spreadsheet with complicated macros and equations that only one person knows how to edit or troubleshoot. You can use middleware to help create an easy-to-use application that automatically compiles and does the work of the spreadsheet without the expert manual labor that’s typically required.

Middleware. Connect standalone existing applications and data. Middleware examples include integrations, API development, data consolidation, and automation. Learn more: 6 Warning Signs Your Business Needs Middleware.

Mobile Apps. Whether it’s an internal app to make things easier for employees or a customer-facing app to build a community for your business, a custom mobile app can be a game changer for your business. Check out the mobile app we built for RunWell.

Business Management Software. Streamline your processes and data. A custom software solution can replace multiple individual off-the-shelf applications to help you define processes, organize data, and streamline workflows.

Patient Management Software. Patient Management Software gives unique companies in the healthcare industry everything they need to track patient information, diagnoses, prescriptions, notes, payments, and more. Case study: Special Products Kansas.