The custom development market has expanded rapidly in recent years as more and more companies are turning to tailored enterprise solutions to ensure long-term success. In fact, the global custom software development market was worth $24.46 billion in 2021 alone, and is expected to experience a 22.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by 2030.
With custom software development on the rise, it’s essential for businesses to take advantage of its many benefits and also stay ahead of the competition. In this article, we’ll discuss the ins and outs of bespoke enterprise solutions and explore the top custom development strategies for businesses. Keep reading to learn more.
Why Your Enterprise Needs Custom Software
Custom software refers to the process of designing, developing, and maintaining software that’s developed specifically for a business or organization. It is built with the user in mind, which can properly address your business’s unique requirements, challenges, and limitations. As a result, custom software will provide various benefits, such as improved productivity and efficiency, that aren’t available with commercial solutions.
Business-Tailored Solutions
Custom software allows businesses to have a solution built specifically for their unique needs. This means that you can have the exact features and functions required to ensure your operations run as optimally as possible. Off-the-shelf software, on the other hand, will only provide access to a set design and a finite number of features, many of which you won’t need or even use, making it unable to address the specific requirements of each individual business.
Because tailored solutions won’t include any unnecessary features, businesses are able to fully customize the design, features, and user interface based on their preferences and requirements. As a result, custom software can give businesses a competitive edge, while also elevating the user experience.
Scalability
Custom solutions are also much more flexible in terms of scalability and can easily be expanded as your business grows. By building scalable software, businesses can add features as needed, ensuring your solution will always meet the changing demands of your business, especially in regard to customer needs.
This means you’ll be able to adapt to the future needs of your business without having to pay more to add features or purchase additional software. Custom software can also be integrated into existing systems, unlike ready-made solutions.
High Security
Another benefit of custom software is that it provides higher levels of security compared to off-the-shelf solutions. This is because ready-made software can be easy to hack, as it’s accessible to the public. With a custom solution, the software will only be used by that specific enterprise, allowing businesses to have distinct security measures in place based on their needs.
Custom software developers also typically take extra steps during design and development to ensure the product is protected against security threats. At Idea Maker, for example, we implement a variety of protocols, including testing for vulnerabilities and integrating anti-virus plugins, to keep your data safe from potential breaches or cyberattacks.
Custom Development Strategies
When it comes to custom software, there are a few different ways you can go about having your solution developed.
Hire In-House Developers
Also known as insourcing, in-house development refers to the practice of utilizing specialists from within your company to build your custom software. This means your project will be created by developers who already understand the full scope of your business needs and challenges, and will likely prioritize the project.
Additionally, in-house development enables frequent interaction and communication, as the team will be on-site and able to discuss the project face-to-face. There are also fewer risks involved since you’ll only be sharing company information with other employees. This development strategy can be costly, however, as you will have to train employees and purchase various equipment.
Employ Development Agency
Another means of having your custom software developed is by hiring an experienced agency to handle the project for you. This is an ideal option for businesses that don’t have the time or resources to dedicate to hiring and maintaining an in-house team.
A development agency will likely have experience completing many different projects, including ones similar to your own, and will often have a refined methodology and development procedure in place to ensure optimal results. They can also ensure your solution is scalable and can help you adjust the project as needed.
Work With Off-Shore Developers
Working with off-shore developers involves hiring a team that’s not based in the United States to build your custom software. Oftentimes, this will mean that your project is completed several time zones away. As a result, the developers will be essentially unavailable for constant collaboration, leading to a slew of communication issues that could potentially slow the project down.
The benefit of off-shore developers is that they generally offer cheaper development services due to lower hourly wages and costs of living compared to those in the United States. However, it’s important to note that developers from other countries are not required to abide by local privacy laws, raising concerns regarding the security of your product.
Development Methodologies
In addition to choosing the right development strategy for your custom software, it’s also important to consider which development methodology is best suited for your project. Fortunately, there are many methodologies businesses can utilize, including:
Agile
Focusing on flexibility and collaboration, the Agile method is one of the most popular development methodologies for software development. It consists of breaking a project into specific phases, resulting in a more organized, adaptive, and value-driven development process.
This method works by delivering small parts of a project quickly in order to ensure high-quality solutions that are completed in a timely manner. It also requires regular meetings between the customer and development team throughout the process, helping to reduce the likelihood of errors and mistakes.
Waterfall
Unlike Agile, the Waterfall method, also known as the linear sequential life cycle model, is a more traditional step-by-step development process that focuses on completing one phase of a project before moving on to the next. It enables easy progress tracking and project management, but does not adapt well to changing needs, as it’s impossible to return to the previous phase of development.
If any changes or large issues do occur when using this method, the development team will need to start the project entirely over at phase one. As a result, the Waterfall method is best suited for smaller, less complicated projects with clearly defined expectations and requirements.
Scrum
The Scrum methodology emphasizes a transparent process that utilizes reflection points throughout development to help monitor progress and prioritize tasks based on changing demands. It consists of dividing projects into smaller parts that are delivered in a set timeframe, called a sprint, and reviewed upon completion.
With Scrum, developers create a product backlog of all the features and requirements of a project, as well as a sprint backlog, which includes all the tasks needed to be completed in a sprint cycle. The team will then choose which tasks to tackle first, enabling developers to self-manage and easily adapt to changes, resulting in swift development.
Enterprise Software Development From Idea Maker
Founded in 2016, Idea Maker has remained committed to providing a collaborative and client-focused approach to software development, consistently working alongside business leaders to deliver products that exceed expectations.
Our team of designers and developers has ample experience building high-quality solutions for companies of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. So, if you’re interested in elevating your business to new heights, schedule a consultation with us today to learn more about how Idea Maker’s experts can create a custom software solution tailored to your needs.
