In the prevailing economic climate and changing commercial landscape, businesses must respond quickly and effectively to meet their targets. In line with an ever-changing digital space, custom software design has become an essential rather than a luxury. Custom software development offers unique customer experiences by creating softwares according to client’s needs and helping them to better understand their needs. It leads companies to differentiate themselves from the competition.
What is Custom Software Development?
Custom software development is similar to software development, but with a defined set of requirements targeting a particular target group. For example, MS Office is an example of commercial software and not custom software. Custom software development also includes processes such as design, development, distribution, and maintenance.
Examples of custom software may include:
- Service equipment management software for a sector.
- A customized content management platform for a marketing agency.
One can either employ the in-house team or a software development company to develop the required software.
The following are the 3 Stages related with Custom Software Development:
1. Application Customization
In this phase, the already developed software is modified according to the needs.
2. Application Modernization
Here, the developers work hard to successfully meet the industry standards, requirements and evolving market demands.
3. Application Management
This stage involves taking care of the maintainability supporting tasks such as performance, installing and updating.
Custom Software Development Services
The need to develop custom software arises with specific needs. You can use the software longer without any modification. But as soon as the business demands, the upgrading of the traditional system is necessary. So it is believed that the custom software is developed on demand. This section focuses on the services a company can offer for developing custom software.
1. Software For Different Management Levels
Enterprise Software
- This software provides centralized storage for corporate data or manages cross-departmental collaboration and activities. This type of software offers deliberate hierarchy of user, roles and permission. Therefore, it can be viewed simultaneously by multiple users.
Departmental Software
- This type of software can help any company to uncover potential needs of employees in a particular department and excel at its operations with industry leading tools.
Business process management software
- Custom build software can enable businesses to address specific workflow and integrate automation possibilities into the system. These custom software can provide better business continuity and workflow.
2. Software for Different Business Needs
Enterprise resource & process management
- A single system software can enable centralized management of day-to-day business activities.
- Project & task management
- Resource & workload management
- HR & talent management
- Sales & marketing automation
- Risk management
- Compliance management
- Document management
Customer-centered Software
- This is the type of software development where one takes consumers and individual users into account and fulfills their demand related to development of software.
3. Customer Service Software
- CRM
- Customer analytics
- Customer portals
- Advertising & digital signage
- Chatbots
- Ecommerce
- Client apps (e.g., mobile banking, shopping apps)
4. Supply chain Management
Supply chain software is highly secure because it automates and coordinates the tasks from manufacturing of products to distribution.
- Demand planning
- Procurement
- Inventory management and optimization
- Order management
- Warehouse management
- Vendor management
5. Knowledge & Productivity
One can create a digital environment and provide tools to the employees to increase their performances.
- Learning & training systems
- Corporate LMS
- Knowledge hubs
- Activity tracking tools
- Content management, PIM & DAM systems
- Collaboration & intranets
6. Business Analytics
Every business needs different levels of analytics depending on business stricture.
- Analytics solutions for sales data, customer data, etc.
- Predictive analytics solutions
- Enterprise-wide data management
- Business intelligence
- Big data solutions
- Image analysis & AVI
7. Internet-connected Processes
These custom software ecosystems are created to simplify the transfer of real world data to data centers.
- Smart city
- Smart factory
- Smart hospital
- Smart home
- Remote service
- Remote equipment monitoring
- Connected vehicles
- Wearable devices
8. Financial management & accounting
These custom softwares development services offer a set of universal tools for managing financial data and incorporating it into high-level decision-making.
- Accounting
- Budgeting and planning
- Invoicing and billing
- Cash management
- Revenue management
- Expense management
- Financial audit
9. Emergency & Security
In the event of an emergency, business continuity is essential, custom software provides great relief by maintaining security of the IT environment.
- Emergency response, incident management
- Information security
- Secure communicators and messengers
- Secure video conferencing
- Video surveillance
Top Custom Software Development Companies
1. Optymize
Optymize is a marketplace for remote technical talent. They match businesses with verified remote engineers from all over the world. Their freelancers are well-versed in technology and communication, and they work in their time zone. Optymize is used by a number of leading companies, including Sidewalk Labs, RD&X, Yellow, and Planoly, to quickly and cost-effectively scale their engineering teams.
2. Solulab
Solulab is one of India’s leading blockchain development firms. Each month, their applications have over 50 million active users. They have a customer satisfaction rate of over 97 percent. Walt Disney, Goldman Sachs, Mercedez Benz, University of Cambridge, Georgia Tech, and other Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups have partnered with SoluLab.
3. Altar
Altar.io is a software and product development firm. Their goal is to provide end-to-end IT services in the areas of web, mobile, and cloud computing. Altar has been helping global entrepreneurs and business leaders disrupt their industries since its inception.
4. Boldare
Boldare assists businesses at every stage of the product development cycle, from prototyping with a prototype to testing a product with an MVP, to determining product-market fit, and finally scaling.
5. Sidebench
Sidebench is a design and development firm based in Los Angeles. They help top new ventures and innovative enterprise companies with product strategy. Expert data and systems architects’ technical skills, as well as one of the best product design teams in the world’s UX-first approach.
Сustom Software Development Process
The steps of custom software development are:
1. Analysis and Planning
- a collection of requirements,
- Research,
- changes management,
- risk management,
- software architecture.
2. Design
- Visual design
- UI/UX research
- Create a brand identity
3. Development
- Backend development,
- Frontend development.
4. Quality Assurance and Testing
- Checks the developed software
- Test for bugs and mistakes
- Meet the desired product quality
5. Intermediate Deliveries
For fast feedback from desired group of people, both consumers and owners.
6. Documentation
- vision statement;
- initial assessment document with stages of development;
- roadmap;
- technology stack;
- software requirements specifications;
- wireframes and UX roadmap),
- coding documentation;
- testing documentation.
- support papers,
- users manual.
7. Maintenance (software evolution)
- Corrective Software Maintenance
- Adaptive software maintenance
- Perfective software maintenance
- Preventive software maintenance
8. Reporting
a project management report that includes:
- general product info;
- status Info;
- milestone review;
- project summary;
- issues and risks;
- projects metrics, and so on
Custom Software Development Cost
1. Based on Custom Software Size
- i) The average cost of smaller software ranges between $20,000 and $50,000.
- ii) Small businesses require medium size software. The cost for the same is between $50,000 and $500,000.
- iii) The development cost of a custom software for a larger company that requires multiple integrations, multisite development, and support for multiple locations and languages can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000.
2. Based on Custom Software Type
- i) SaaS Product: $50,000 to $200,000
- ii) Web Development: $10,000 to $50,000
- iii) Mobile App: $10,000 to $200,000
- iv) eCommerce Solution: $10,000 to $500,000
- v) Internal App Development: $1,000,000 – $9,999,999
- vi) CMS Development: $10,000 to $50,000
- vii) CRM Software Development: $10,000 to $50,000
Custom Software Development Market Size
From 2020 to 2025, the market for custom application development services is expected to grow by USD 31.76 billion, with an annual growth rate of 8%.
Custom Software Development Key Trends
- Cloud Technology
- AI
- AR/VR
- Data Science
- IoT
- 5G
Conclusion
You must concentrate on every business element that requires your attention while focusing on achieving success with improved business processes and a dedicated team of professional talents.
For startups and businesses looking to grow their business or product, custom software development is the way to go. We, at Optymize, can make your job easier by assisting you in selecting from a pool of remote freelancers to develop your custom software that can effectively meet your software needs
