What is custom software development?

Custom software development took center stage years ago and is now the central force driving the digital acceleration processes of companies of all sizes and across all industries. There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, the relentless digitalization of our daily lives has left no stone unturned, so it was natural for companies to migrate to software solutions to carry out their daily tasks.

Then there is the constant evolution of these digital systems, whose growing capabilities have brought a multitude of benefits and advantages. And then there was the growth of the IT industry itself, which made these systems and solutions more widely available and within everyone's reach. All of this has made custom software development one of the main protagonists of the modern business scenario.

Naturally, custom software development is most advantageous for companies that truly understand what it is and how to leverage it to their advantage. That's why we think it's a good idea to review some of the key concepts surrounding custom software development and provide some tips for adopting it and maximizing its benefits.

What is custom software development?

Custom software development is the process of designing, building, and deploying software tailored to specific needs, whether those of an individual, a team, or an entire company. This implies that custom software development is more than the creation process itself – customization can appear in the modernization of a legacy system or in the customization of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software.

Some examples of custom software that result from this type of development include:

• Customer relationship management (CRM) systems
• Automation systems
• Customer-facing web portals
• eCommerce Platforms
• Mobile apps for specific businesses (like banking apps)

Thus, custom software is the opposite of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software and its more general development process, which aims to meet a broader set of requirements, which allows it to be used by a variety of companies.

Custom software development is typically performed by a development team working for a specific company or a custom software development company working as an outsourcing partner. Larger companies tend to use the first option and medium and small companies use the second, although outsourcing custom software development has become a common practice for all of them.

Why Custom Software Development?

Custom software development is a great option for any business looking to meet their specific digital requirements at an economical cost. In fact, custom software is often a better option than COTS because the company doesn't have to constantly tweak a more general application to meet its specific needs.

This is far from the only reason why you should invest in custom software development. Other benefits include:

• I greater efficiency. Custom software is designed specifically for your processes and requirements. This means that a custom app is best suited to your tasks, helping you with your daily tasks down to the smallest detail. COTS, on the other hand, is more general, so you need to find workarounds to make it fit your processes.

• Easily scalable. As your business grows, the digital solutions you use should grow with you. Custom software does just that: they provide solid foundations upon which they can easily scale to better accommodate more users and greater volumes of data. With COTS, this isn't always the case (and even when they can scale, the COTS developers will likely charge you to provide it).

• Exclusive property. When you commission a custom software development company to create your own application, you can be assured that you will be the sole owner of the final product. This means you will control when it is updated, updated and maintained. With COTS, you never own it, which means you are subject to the developers' update and update schedule.

• Stronger security. Don’t get us wrong – most COTS are as secure as custom software. The problem is that hackers target COTS more because more companies use them. This means that COTS have more potential victims for attacks, while also being more widely known (thus more exposed to scrutiny from malicious hackers). Of course, this doesn't mean that using custom software will prevent an attack by itself, but it will lower your chances of getting one.

• Longer useful life. When you buy a COTS, you don't know how long this software will last. Sure, you can use it as long as you have a machine to run it, but at one point or another, its developers will discontinue it and stop updating it. This can pose a serious problem as you will be unable to patch vulnerabilities and end up with outdated software. With custom software, you will own it, so you can keep updating it until it stops making sense to do so.

• Easier integration. Whenever you decide to bring new software into your digital ecosystem, you'll have to think about how well it will interact with the rest of the applications you already use. Developers know this, so they try to build their software to maximize its compatibility. However, COTS engineers cannot anticipate your specific application ecosystem, so they create tools that integrate seamlessly with popular applications. While this may often work, custom software elevates integration since these applications are designed to interact seamlessly with your ecosystem as is.

• Lower costs. This may seem counterintuitive, as developing your own software from scratch has a higher price tag than purchasing COTS. However, this difference may diminish or disappear completely over time as you pay for annual licenses, new updates, or dedicated support for your COTS. With custom software, you'll pay upfront, but you'll get crucial benefits that you wouldn't otherwise get.

Tips for Successful Custom Software Development

As with any software development process, carrying out an effective custom software development lifecycle entails balancing many things. From choosing the ideal custom software vendor and defining the technologies involved to creating the overall development plan, there is a lot to plan before diving into the process.

Here are some essential tips you need to know:

• Analyze whether custom software is what you need. After reading all the benefits mentioned above, chances are you are more than motivated to opt for custom software. However, you first need to check if this is the right path for you.
  Consider your requirements and how unique they are, analyze the productivity and funding impact that custom software can have, and think about how deep you want your digital transformation to be. If you're not sure, perhaps a COTS alternative would be a better fit for you to better understand where you stand.

• Clearly define what you are looking for. Once you decide that custom software is for you, you need to be sure of what you are looking for. A half-baked idea won’t cut it – you need to have a fully developed idea in as much detail as possible so the developers know what you really want.
  This means defining the requirements for the project, considering that they must be technically possible, unambiguous, consistent, feasible and independent of the project. Requirements establish the roadmap that developers will follow, so you need it to be as robust as possible.
• Consider the technologies you want to use. There are many technologies out there, especially cutting-edge ones such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and the Internet of Things, so choosing the ones that make the most sense for your project is essential.
  Don't jump on the development bandwagon simply because everyone else is doing it. Many technologies can give you a competitive advantage, as long as you use them correctly in the appropriate project. Think about your business goals and see how these technologies can bring you closer to them before including them in your requirements.

• Choose your development team. Developing custom software takes time, effort and money. Therefore, choosing the team that will execute your project needs a lot of consideration. Maybe you have an in-house team full of rock stars ready to tackle your custom software idea. Or perhaps that team is busy with other, more important tasks, forcing you to look outside the company. You might not even have an in-house team!
  Regardless of your current situation, you need to analyze which team will work on developing your custom software. Tracking the internal team can provide more control, but it can keep your developers away from other urgent projects. Hiring outside help can relieve you of the daily grind, but you may end up sacrificing some control.

How to Choose a Custom Development Company

Many companies are choosing to partner with third-party custom development providers to meet their software development needs. There are many reasons for this, from access to talented developers who can dedicate themselves fully to your project to saving some money and reducing time to market.

Whatever the reason, if you have decided to look for a custom software development company, you need to keep the following suggestions in mind:

• Look for an experienced partner. While you'll naturally look for a company that has a specialized team of developers who understand your project's technologies, you'll also want an experienced group of engineers. Senior developers have the know-how to quickly build the desired solution with a higher level of productivity while adding value every step of the way.

• Check the company's reputation. Examine the past work of the software development companies you are considering to see if they are capable of delivering. Browse their portfolio, read reviews on sites like Clutch and Glassdoor, and even contact former clients to learn more about how these companies work.

• Analyze the company's services. Next, you need to make sure you are partnering with a team that can deliver the development services you are expecting. So make sure the companies you're evaluating can work on a project like yours, whether it's a mobile app, an AI platform, or your own blockchain. Also, check out the templates they can provide. Companies like BairesDev can take care of the entire development lifecycle, augment your team with the professionals needed to fill your IT gaps, or provide a delivery team that works autonomously to build your idea.

• Ask about their development methodologies. There are several ways to develop software, including different techniques, methodologies, tools, languages ​​and frameworks. You should know those used by the companies you are exploring so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. As a general rule, companies led by agile methodology generally offer more flexibility and better overall management, thus increasing development efficiency.

• Take the company's location into consideration . It may not seem like anything to you, but the location of your potential development partner can profoundly affect the development process. So, you need to decide whether to go for onshore development (partnering with a development company in your own country), nearshore development (hiring a company located in a country or region close to yours) or offshore development (working with a company located in the outside). You can read more about the pros and cons of each of them in this article .

• Think about the costs. Although many companies decide which development company to choose based on price, this is never a smart approach. Naturally, you will have a development budget that will influence your choice, but going for the cheapest option usually produces the worst results. Try to find a reputable and experienced company that will certainly cost you a little more, but will guarantee higher quality results.

Custom software development – ​​a real advantage

Now that you've read everything you need to know about custom software development, you'll certainly see that it's a complex world where there's more than meets the eye. Custom software can really help you gain a competitive advantage, but only if you know when to do it and how to make it more successful. Hopefully, with all the tips and suggestions above, you will be able to do this.