When organizations need applications with unique features and functionality, they turn to software developers to design and create custom solutions. Custom software addresses users’ specific needs more comprehensively than traditional off-the-shelf packages.
While the idea of software tailored to your business sounds appealing, custom software development isn’t for everyone. The process can be expensive and time-consuming, and it’s challenging to convey the scope of the functionality you need.
We’ll look at custom software vs. off-the-shelf solutions and help you determine if custom software development is something your business should pursue.
Packaged software applications are available for nearly every computing, business, productivity and communications task imaginable. These packages generally offer the following features.
Ease of use
Off-the-shelf applications serve large audiences with fundamentally similar needs. For example, Microsoft Word is an enormously popular word processing application with features, functionality and customization options that organizations of all sizes and scopes can use.
Easy access for purchasing or downloading
Off-the-shelf software can be prepackaged and purchased , but it’s often downloadable from providers websites or available as a cloud subscription.
Customizability
Popular commercial packages, such as Microsoft Office applications/Salesforce, have a degree of customizability to make the software work better for your team.
Despite the variety of off-the-shelf software available, some organizations require specific capabilities that general software can’t provide. If this is the case, they may turn to customized software development. Here’s what custom software has to offer:
Uniquely tailored features and functions
A solution only for your business