6 Signs Your Business Needs Custom Software Development

There is no lack of software solutions for every step of your business process, is there? Right. If anything, there are too many alternatives, enough to give even a savvy business owner a headache. So why in the world would you hire a software developer to create your own tools? For instance, because most existing enterprise solutions are built for infinite scalability and to satisfy the needs of the majority. Which means that the template nature of marketed solutions forces your business and processes into a mold. It may be great if the mold matches how you do business; if it doesn’t, you might have to change your processes (often to the detriment of your so carefully tended bottom line) or create your own software. 

Here are six major signs your business will benefit from custom software development  — as observed by 3nom software development team over the years. 

You Are Just Starting Out

For early stage and small businesses, efficiency is paramount. What you need early on is precisely what you need—and not a byte more. Sometimes, this can be achieved with small business pricing from the numerous SaaS (Software as a Service) providers; other times, it cannot. When you start with a custom software, you pay once to get exactly what you need, no matter how small the solution is. If you find most available software to be too broad, too complex, or too expensive for the current stage of your business, building your own tools with an experienced software development team can be the answer. 

You Are Planning to Scale

But wait, you aren’t planning to be small forever! Your ambitious plans are another sign custom software development may be right for you. By being involved in design and testing of your software side by side with your developers, you guarantee a perfect fit between your business and the new solution. This means that the software you create can grow right alongside your business, staying perfectly fitted to its unique needs and features.

Another indisputable benefit of custom software for an ambitious founder is the ownership of the code. Sure, more and more providers these days are offering open source software; often, it is the perfect place to start. 3nom’s development team can build your custom software on most of the existing open source platforms, and you will have full access to code if you ever need it.  

You Are on a Budget

If you are on a tight budget, whether because your business is just getting traction or because of the economic turbulence, custom software may be the best option for you. It may sound counterintuitive, but most SaaS solutions include multiple features you may never use and come with a price tag to account for those. Unfortunately, enterprise solutions overloaded with features you don’t need often end up costing more under the subscription model than a simple, elegant, and scalable custom software you only pay for once. 

You Are a Disruptor

If you are betting your entrepreneurial success on a disruptive business model or an innovation in operations, sourcing or personnel management, you want to secure that advantage right off the bat. Oftentimes, the smartest move would be to secure it in the form of software, which you can use in-house and—when you bets pay off—share with the world. 

Creating your own software also means you can adapt it to any disruptions you are building your business on from the get-go, without the need to fit your processes into a mold and compromising your innovations. 

You Serve Wildly Different Clients

If your clients don’t fall into neat buckets and your processes need to vary to serve them, you may want to explore the option that lets you design both backend and frontend that would help you satisfy their needs. Building a custom software solution that automates chunks of day-to-day operations while allowing for maximum personalization can save you time, money, and allow you to provide the same high level of service to all your clients. 

Custom backend also allows you to offer your clients private access to their accounts, even if the requirements for each client are different. Easy online access improves customer satisfaction, which helps you retain your clients.  

You Are Building From Scratch

If you have an idea for a killer new app or a SaaS product (investor favorite, or so we’ve heard!), building it from scratch is a no-brainer. Whether or not you want to bring your development in-house with a technical co-founder, or want to focus exclusively on business development while outsourcing your IT, 3nom software development team can help you with prototyping and MVPs, or the full development cycle through the public release. 

Working with a software expert as opposed to a recent computer science graduate means your software will look exactly as you imagined and will have the functionality you envision. 3nom team has over 50 years of combined development experience ready to be leveraged by non-technical founders and visionaries to avoid any pitfalls and oversights.   

Custom software development is more accessible that it may seem. 3app by 3nom is a dedicated service focused on building flexible and scalable software and applications under our recognized predictive pricing model. Get in touch with your 3nom consultant to get started on the custom software you need to succeed.