A Complete Guide To Custom Software Development For Small Businesses
In today’s ever changing business landscape small businesses have to digitally transform if they want to stay ahead of the competition. In this scenario many businesses would have to rely on custom software development to create solutions that can help them communicate better, streamline their operations and service their customers better. When the conversation comes to software many small business owners may be reluctant to invest in it because the benefits of creating a software may not be that apparent.
In this blog, we will explore what building a custom software looks like, what it means for small businesses and how you can figure out the right path for you to approach the subject like hiring in-house developers or approaching agencies for digital transformation or software modernization services.
Let’s get started.
What Does Custom Software Development Mean And Why Should It Matter To Your Business?
The word custom software development should be pretty much self explanatory but the reality is that it’s not just about sitting and writing a bunch of code. Creating digital products for business requires a lot of expertise and real world experience. The word small business can also be misleading because not all small businesses may need custom software. For instance, if you're a small clothing store on a street and you only need digital assistance with billing you are far better off just using an existing tool that’s available in the market. However, if you have a chain of clothing stores you need custom software development which gives you a tailored system that factors in the specific requirements of your business for example HRMS software to manage your human resources.
Defining custom software is simple because it’s any digital program that you build from scratch to solve certain problems. However, building custom software for business use cases requires a product development team that understands the nature of your business, the problems that you face and the technologies that you can use to solve these problems. Adding to that it's not enough to just solve the problem the solution itself has to be optimized enough to cost you the least money while running it and custom software development is also about scalability as your business grows.
Now, the next question might be about when a small business should custom build software for their uses. A simple rule of thumb is that if your business has only a few employees, you don’t have a lot of products or services and if you’re making under $100,000 a year then you may only need to use existing software that’s already available. On the other hand, if your business has a lot of employees, you have multiple establishments and you are driving in more than $100,000 a year then custom software development could help you organize better, maintain your books better and keep track of your inventory. These are a few ways custom software can benefit your business but you can curate your software to include just what you need. The major judgment call will be about whether you should hire an in house developer or software development agencies.
Let’s Explore The Top 5 Trends of Custom Software Development For Small Businesses
Now that we’ve covered the basics let’s take a look at some of the trends in software development that small businesses could consider to take their operations to the next level and digitally transform.
1. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
It shouldn’t be a surprise that AI and ML are one of the leading trends in custom software development (especially fintech software development for things like fraud detection) and it can have many benefits for small businesses. Perhaps the biggest area where AI and ML can benefit businesses is customer service. Implementing AI for your customer service operations has a few benefits. Firstly, it allows you to automate the process of customer service by programming a chat bot to answer your customers’ questions. It’s even easier if you already have SOPs or documentation that outlines either the questions your customers may have or something that explains about your products or the services you provide.
The other thing you can do through AI custom software development Is to create smart tools that make tasks simpler and easier. Let’s just say that you have a restaurant and you want to take your deliveries online. You can build an AI system that finds the best routes for your delivery partners by analyzing live traffic data. Another example is if you have a travel booking website where your users can chat with the AI system with their requirements and the AI books a complete holiday package for them. There are many software development agencies that can help you do this.
These are just some examples for the limitless possibilities of AI.
2. Internet of Things or IoT
Creating solutions with IoT devices is a big trend for custom software development. If you’re a small business owner and are new to IoT, IoT or Internet of Things is just a fancy way of saying that you can have physical devices that can communicate with each other. This can be as simple as automatically opening gates or barricades for emergency personnel to enter your building in case of an emergency. Or much more complicated like using onboard sensors in a meat delivery van to ensure that the meat is kept at safe temperatures.
As a small business you can leverage custom software development to build solutions for your establishment where your on premises devices can work together to make your everyday tasks easier. A real world example that you may have already heard about is the checkout system at Amazon GO stores. They have a system built into their shopping carts where the cart scans the item you put into it right then and there and the payment will be deducted from the payment method you have added to your Amazon account.
3. Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality or AR is a technology that lets you combine the real and physical worlds through custom software development. Essentially, AR uses your device’s camera to capture the real world and can add virtual visuals to your image to help you carry out specific tasks. Let me explain because there’s a lot you can do with this technology which goes beyond just using a camera and adding visuals. Imagine that you have a business where you manufacture small tools and implements. When you hire a new technician you will have to train them on how to use your equipment. This can not only be time consuming but also expensive because you might need a trainer.
With custom software development and AR technology you can simply create an app where your rookie technicians can use the camera on their smartphone, point it at the equipment and the AR system will guide them on screen how to use it. They can see the equipment through the camera on the app and the AR system overlays instructions and guides your technician. Another example is with e-commerce websites where you can now experience virtual tryouts. You simply select a product (for example eyewear), the software opens the camera on your device and you can see how the product looks (in this case on your face) and then decide on making the purchase. Advanced developers or software development agencies can help you with these services.
4. Product Traceability Software
The concept has received much attention in custom software development in recent times and it's likely that regulatory bodies will make product traceability mandatory in the years to come. Simply put, product traceability is the process of tracking the origins of a product all the way to the point of sales. Let's imagine that you have a clothing brand that sources its raw materials from one country, makes the product in another country and ships it to the US or Europe. Both these regions have strong regulations when it comes to clothing sourced from other countries and you will have to prove that you’re following all the regulations if you want to continue doing business.
Here, you can create a system through custom software development that tracks the entire lifecycle of your product. The regulatory body simply has to login to their dashboard and view the details about your product to see where it’s sourced, where it’s manufactured and where it is sold. As more and more regulators emphasize the need for product traceability you can imagine why this is a trend. It is also a point to note that many software development agencies are now jumping on the bandwagon.
5. Progressive Web Apps
Progressive Web Apps or PWA as we call them are applications on the web that feel like a native app on your handheld device or even your desktop. It’s essentially a website like any other web app built with custom software development and the key difference is that the user experience will be similar to using a mobile application if you’re using your phone’s browser or a desktop app if you’re on your computer. Basically, you can use the app through any web browser and it will feel like a native app on that specific device. All you need are developers or a software development company to help you out
Progressive Web Apps are quite popular with e-commerce businesses because users can purchase products without having to install any apps on their physical device. Imagine that you have an e-commerce store that you’ve built through custom software development. You can’t expect everyone to install your app on their phones because most people only have popular apps on their phone like Amazon. However, if you have built a progressive web app any user can simply search for your domain URL on their phone’s web browser and make purchases seamlessly.
Excellent Custom Software Solutions for Enterprises
The enterprise space is a playground for app developers because there’s so much work that goes on to run a business like that and creating tools can help you rapidly expedite your everyday tasks. Through custom software development you can create tools for just about anything from simple attendance tracking for your employees to keeping track of inventory in multiple stores. What makes a piece of enterprise software excellent is of course the usability and functionality of your app.
In most enterprises where the digital footprint is low it might take your employees and other stakeholders some time to get used to any new software. This makes your user experience design or UX design a make or break factor. Great enterprise software provides its users with a simplified and seamless user experience that lets them finish their tasks faster.
With custom software development you get a lot of flexibility to tailor your application to your specific needs and remove the friction as much as you can. When done right this can help you minimize your overhead, cut down on the time it takes to complete tasks and in turn boost your business growth. It also lets you automate mundane tasks so that your team does not feel an unnecessary burden which also frees up their time to focus on priority tasks. Just make sure you have good quality developers or a software development company to support you.
Benefits of Custom Software Development
By now, I’m guessing that you have already figured out some of the benefits of custom software development from the examples we discussed. To summarize the key benefits of building a custom software lets list them down.
Automation:
Automating mundane tasks that would take someone hours or even days allows you to free up their time to focus on important tasks. You can automate tasks in many aspects of your business from posting regular social media posts to simply sending emails to your customers.
Scalability:
For any business scalability is a crucial aspect for long term growth. Even if you have the best team in the world if they don’t have the necessary tools through custom software development to remove friction from their workflow then it will negatively affect your growth as a business. In another light even if your business grows you will have to slow down after a while because you won’t be able to keep up with the demand.
Operational Efficiency:
Since we’re speaking about friction finding ways to remove friction is crucial to achieve operational efficiency. This means that your team will only have to put effort into priority work while the rest of it is done with the click of a button (or a few buttons depending on what they’re doing).
Data Retention:
Custom software development can also help you keep records and retrieve them securely through the cloud. If you’ve been keeping records on paper for a while now for your business you will understand how tedious it is to create and maintain documents. Some small businesses like healthcare clinics may not be able to store data on third party cloud service providers because of security concerns. In this case you can create a secure tool to store, retrieve and manage data in an efficient way through a software development company or developers.
Discover The Custom software development costs in 2024 For Your Small Business
The custom software development costs is an area where things are a bit more subjective. Because it depends on how you build your application and who builds it for you. If you’re in a region like the US, the UK or Europe hiring a team to build your software can be expensive and time consuming. On the other hand, what will this team do after you’ve completed developing your software? Sure you can maintain it using your team and rollout updates and things like that but it's just an expensive ordeal. But if you can afford it you can spend $100,000+ a year on a custom software development team with developers, project managers and designers to create and maintain your software in house.
The other option you have is to hire an agency and for small businesses things would make the most sense. Software development agencies usually have strong product development teams with them and you can completely delegate your software requirements to them. If it’s a software development company they should also provide maintenance services where you don’t have to pay for dedicated professionals to maintain your software you can just purchase a yearly contract and the agency will constantly work to maintain your software.
The custom software development for agencies can also vary a bit depending on the service provider you choose but generally you can look to spend $15,000 to $30,000 for building your software and a smaller fee to maintain your software. In case you don’t want their services anymore you don’t have to worry about firing anyone.
Some Final Thoughts About Custom Software Development Services
Now, it’s time to reflect a little bit on what we spoke about custom software development. As a small business your goal is always to serve your customers as best as you can and help them find solutions for their problems. You do this everyday with your products and services. However, people are changing and so are their expectations. In 2024, most parts of the world will have experienced the digital revolution and people are used to having all the answers in the palm of their hands. As a small business if you don’t take your operations into the digital realm you risk falling behind. We understand this as an established software development company. But by creating digital tools through custom software development that make your work easier you can help customers better, maintain employee satisfaction and grow your business to heights you want it to.
If this blog post helped your small business then consider sharing with another small business owner who would also benefit from it.