With tons of commercially available, off-the-shelf software on the market, you could be forgiven for wondering why your company might need to go down the custom software route. After all, up until now, your existing software systems and solutions have been just fine… or have they?

You see, while it may not be obvious on the face of it, replacing an existing piece of software or multiple pieces of software with a single custom software solution affords numerous business benefits.

Our goal with this post is to provide you with a clearer understanding of why custom software development is important; why your company might need custom software; and why it is necessary to customize certain types of software.

1. Custom software is more secure

Unfortunately, hackers are smart. They tend to target and look to exploit well-known, commercially available software because lots of businesses have it installed and so they stand a better chance of getting a bigger return on their invested time.

In contrast, custom software represents a much less attractive opportunity for hackers because breaching it does not afford the same level of reward as exploiting more prevalent software does.

[Related reading: The Importance Of Modernizing Legacy Systems]

2. Perhaps your current software is preventing you from upgrading your HW (maybe you don’t need to upgrade with custom software?)

Has your existing hardware seen better days? Maybe maintaining it is costing you a small fortune. So what’s stopping you from upgrading it? Quite often, the answer is legacy software systems that are not designed to work on newer hardware.

The beauty of custom software is that it’s designed to run on what you’ve got available. That means it will usually function smoothly and efficiently on your existing hardware, eliminating the need for you to upgrade.

3. Your existing software is likely hamstringing your agility and scalability

When you first started out, your software requirements will have been based on what you needed at the time. However, what you needed X number of years ago vs. what you need today is probably worlds apart.

As a result, there’s a good chance your existing software is hamstringing both your agility and scalability. If your current software can no longer meet the growing demands of your business, you need to make some changes – perhaps a software rewrite is in order or it’s time for some custom software consulting.

4. Boost your efficiency by consolidating multiple systems

Chances are you’ve got multiple pieces of software installed across your business. Systems that have been implemented to fulfill certain functions over time, are now multiple points for failure. But could easily be replaced with a single piece of custom software.

You see, the trouble with running multiple pieces of software is that not only does supporting it become complicated, so too does training new members of staff (simply because they have to be shown how to use several different systems).

With some custom software, you can reduce risk, streamline both your IT support processes and your new hire training practices. It’s win-win!

5. Custom software is 100% fit for purpose – nothing more, nothing less

Most commercially available software will not be able to fulfill your complete set of requirements when it comes to specific features and functionality. In addition, a lot of off-the-shelf software solutions will boast features that are surplus to your needs, meaning you are paying for, and burdened by, functionality you won’t even use.

The only way to ensure that all the needs of your business users and customers are fully and continually catered for is by opting for a custom software solution that is 100% fit for purpose.

6. With custom software, you fully own it and have complete control

When you choose to have a piece of custom software developed to meet your growing business needs, you are in the driver’s seat. Not only do you get to decide what features and functionality are included, you also own all the rights to the software and the code behind it.

Ultimately, you are in control when it comes to steering the custom software requirements going forward and can determine what future enhancements occur.

There is no need for you to put up with software solutions that are not fulfilling your requirements, nor meeting the demands of your business, its end users, and your customers.

With custom software, you can benefit from a solution that not only meets your needs today, but can also flex and scale in line with your needs of tomorrow.

Contact us to get the ball rolling on your custom software consulting project and/or to discuss whether you need a software rewrite – something that could significantly benefit your business and its processes.