Our modern business environment, full of digital innovations and bespoke software solutions are the game-changers for your business. Off-the-shelf software may be readily available for you to purchase, but you’re not 100% sure whether it is adaptable to your specific business needs. On the other hand, bespoke software solutions are tailor-made by the developers according to your specifications to best suit your requirements.
Working in a bespoke software development company has taught me the value of a good client-vendor relationship. We at Dreamix consider our clients as partners and think that mind shift has contributed to our 15-year successful market presence. Besides excellent technical expertise, embracing Agile as a software development methodology really was a pivotal moment for delivering persistent high-quality code fragments within short iterations. All while actively communicating with our partners about short- and long-term goals and challenges and flexibly adjusting milestones if needed.
We’ll now take a closer look at what exactly bespoke software development is and why it is one of the essential cornerstones of today’s business success.
What are Bespoke Software Solutions?
Bespoke software development (also known as custom software development) is a specific type of software developed for a specific organisation or target user group. In the business world, bespoke software solutions are designed for a single customer in such a way that it serves customers’ particular business requirements, tastes and expectations, which may not be the case with off-the-shelf commercial software. Today’s prevalent methodology for how bespoke software development companies produce software is Agile. Agile methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban or extreme programming focus on people, team performance and results.
For some small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), it is typical to work with external IT vendors for building bespoke software solutions with important business functions. These might cover content management, inventory management, customer and sales management, human resources, or otherwise to fill the gaps in existing software packages. In many cases, this software is legacy software that was developed before off-the-shelf software became mainstream that provides the required functionality with an acceptable level of quality but is marked by functional or security gaps.
Is Bespoke Software Development More Expensive?
Nowadays, almost all SME companies use software to cover their internal operations, serve their own customers or track their KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Given the extreme domination of software technologies in our digitalised society, it is no wonder that most companies go for bespoke software solutions instead of commercially available software. The one-size-fits-all approach from the recent past simply isn’t flexible enough for today. With this in mind, though, is bespoke software development the more expensive option?
In 2022, most business problems are solved with the help of technology. Do you struggle with gathering enough customer data insights? A robust data analysis tool can help. Do you want to handle all your customers’ questions without hiring extra staff? Then, building a chatbot feature on your web application might be the right for you. Bespoke software solutions are here to solve precisely the problems your business is facing efficiently, be it more reliable cloud computing or a custom web platform. The development costs depend on multiple factors such as the project’s objectives and scope, team size, technical expertise and of course, a project’s duration. However high the development costs may be, investing in bespoke software development pays off in the long run. Here is a helpful article on how to calculate your project’s ROI.
Top Five Advantages of Bespoke Software Development
- Tailor-made according to your business needs
We already talked about how the one-size-fits-all way of using technology is now obsolete. Every business is structured and managed in its own way, and customised software is best suited to respond to this unique character. An experienced bespoke software development company can quickly adapt and scale your solution to your business model and growth rate.
- Seamless Process Integration
A bespoke software solution is usually designed to integrate multiple business processes and provide support to achieve multiple goals. Therefore, the added value lies in using only one program for many tasks. For example, in aviation, your bespoke software solution can be used to track flying routes, slot management and staff capacity.
- High Software Scalability
As your business grows, doing business becomes more complex. However, this is not a problem with custom IT development, as you can scale your software accordingly. This saves you the cost of additional licenses or subscriptions for additional software features. As your business grows, custom software can grow with you instead of becoming obsolete and requiring expensive upgrades. Bespoke software solutions are also better tailored to your specific needs, so you don’t pay for features you don’t need.
- Increased Software Security
It is known that off-the-shelf solutions are more vulnerable to cyberattacks because hackers know their vulnerabilities well enough. However, with bespoke software development, the risk of unauthorised intrusion is minimised, and possible security problems are appropriately taken into account during the development process of this software.
- Agile Software Development
It is a more and more widespread approach to developing bespoke software solutions in iterative cycles. Agile methods and processes (e.g. Scrum) can save you time and money as they take into account all the nuances and hidden risks, including features or tasks not specified in the original project requirements. The latter is crucial in today’s very fluid and dynamic business environment, where changes happen very quickly. Besides, Agile software development is characteriсed by getting more things done in less time.
Author Biography Aleksandrina Vasileva
Aleksandrina is a Content Creator at Dreamix, a custom software development company, and is keen on innovative technological solutions with a positive impact on our world. Her teaching background mixed with interests in psychology drives her to share knowledge. She is an avid reader and enthusiastic blogger, always looking for the next inspiration.
