Capitalism and consumerism have changed the way we buy, consume, and order products and services. If a shop or supermarket doesn’t have an item in stock, we’ll just go to a different one. That’s if we’re shopping for groceries or something we use on a regular basis. Even though software development isn’t a dairy product, it can become ‘sour’ if you choose the wrong type and provider.

Ready-made solutions are quick and easy patches for common problems that any company encounters. Then how do tailor-made products survive you ask? That’s the thing. Custom products and services address your needs, not the most common or average demand. But let’s get to the point step by step.

What is custom software development?

As stated in the article what’s software development and why you should know more about it, software development refers to the process of building computer programs. The SDLC, Software Development Life Cycle, is a process that involves various phases. These phases serve as methods to build sophisticated products. The trick is to align user requirements with technical specifications.

The last sentence is crucial for custom software development. In any case of software development, you have to align user requirements with tech specs. But in the case of custom development, you solve a specific problem by building unique foundations. That’s why it’s also commonly labeled bespoke software.

Why is custom software development important and who needs it?

There’s no doubt that ready-made, retail, or OTS products can be useful. But they can’t cover specific needs, features, and functionalities that custom software development can fulfill. Let’s take a vaccination for a virus as an example. Let’s use a hypothetical scenario where there was never a pandemic before. There’s no similar software that could collect, serve, and organize data for healthcare workers.

Custom software development is the answer. A provider of this service can look at the problem, find its variables, and come up with a solution. This solution could be often created by connecting already made applications together. The problem of that approach could lie in stability, optimization for performance, requirements of the system and hardware. It’s also very common to make ‘tentative’ solution. Their usage will uncover potential mistakes and shortcomings that can be solved with custom development.

A similar approach to the hypothetical scenario is used in many different businesses. Innovators in every industry need new, unique features that’ll help them grow their companies. Custom software development is the answer.

What’s the difference between custom software development and OTS products?

OTS, off the shelf, is standardized software that’s available to buy and use often world-wide for a selected regional price. OTS software addresses the most common demand in a software solution. Sometimes in a general way that’s specific for an industry or sector.

These types of solutions are readily available and can be of great help to businesses that need to tweak their process or workflow. OTS products can be used within standardized production business, healthcare, food industry, even for small service providers.

Compared to off the shelf software, custom software is developed for a specified amount of time. The developer and client (custom software development) have a closer business relationship than a retailer and buyer (off the shelf product). It’s because of specific needs and requirements that the client needs to tell the developer during the initial process or setup. Commonly this is done during briefings, in-depth interviews, and research of a client’s needs.

Build or Buy: Ask yourself these questions if you’re not sure

Maybe you’re not sure if custom software development is the right fit for your business. If you’re an owner, C-level executive in your company, or even a highly skilled employee, you probably have great insight into your industry. Use them when answering these questions:

• Do your competitors use specialized, unique software solutions?
• Is there a software standard in your industry?
• Does your business provide a unique service or product that can’t be matched on the market?
• Is the production of this product or providing of services highly unique, with a specific workflow and process?
• Can you automate your processes with widely available software solutions?

Based on your answers, you’ll be able to find out whether building custom software is necessary for you to be successful.

What type of solutions can you develop with custom software development?

Basically anything, that’s why it is called ‘custom’. With a skilled team of developers, project managers, testers, designers, and specialists, you can get a complex piece of software. It can be:

• A special data processing system that focuses on various data and its representation is important for your business.
• A reservation system in a privately-owned healthcare chain of ambulances where very specific services are provided.
• A multi-platform information system for an academic environment with different fields of research, assets, and hierarchy.
• A ticket portal for a family amusement park with smart integration to report problems and defects in order to abide with safe protocols.

These examples aren’t just ideas, they’re real solutions that we were lucky enough to build for our clients. Our teams at Rare Crew have proven they’re specialized in custom software development for various industries that can’t wager their existence on an off the shelf solution.

Can you benefit from custom software development?

We can’t persuade you to go and buy custom software, it would be against our rules and reputation. But what we can do is schedule a meeting or a call with you and find out if you could use custom software to your advantage. Because one of the first steps in this process is understanding the client’s needs.

Our suggestion is for you to explore more. Find out how you can boost your business. Ask questions. If you want to make the process faster, reach out to us and we’ll answer these questions for you. Empowered with up-to-date information and data, you can then decide for yourself whether software development is the right way for you to grow your business.