Custom Software Development for Businesses: Settling the Buy Vs Build Debate

No matter where you begin, most businesses, at some point in their growth trajectory, have to decide which route to take when choosing software solutions. It's always a binary choice—build or buy.

While there's a vast market for off-the-shelf software, it's important to remember that it may not fully address your unique business requirements because it is generic. The most compelling situations often arise when a business expands and outgrows the software application. This is where the adaptability of custom software solutions shines, even if it may be initially challenging to grasp the value it can bring to your business fully. 

Customer software development follows a bespoke approach. Every component is built from scratch, prioritizing customization. It starts and ends by focusing on unique business requirements.

Understanding the business value of custom software solutions

Let's take an example from the real business world. A growing e-commerce business could start with a basic custom shopping cart solution or commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS). A business problem arises when its customer base grows, signaling demand for better services or the company moves to multiple geographical regions. The existing digital infrastructure would need to be improved or replaced to meet the new demands.

How to go about it? You need a sophisticated customer relationship management (CRM) (one of the many application types you can build with custom software development) to address the issues and keep growing. While it appears to solve industry-specific problems, there's more to it.

You get the added advantage of streamlined operations, enhanced customer experience, and keeping ahead of the competition. 

The growing business tilt toward custom software solutions

As the reception for tailored solutions grows, triggered by market dynamism, technology shift, and changing customer perception, inquiries for custom software solutions have increased at Proquantic. Even small businesses are optimistically investing as a one-time investment in bespoke solutions.

Consequently, irrespective of the footprint, more companies are allocating a part of their software budget toward it.

The market volume of custom software is poised to reach USD 234.70bn by 2028. There's a growing demand for information and knowledge management, CRM, finance and accounting, order management, and ERP applications. We would also factor in disruptive technologies' catalytic role, opening new customer engagement channels.

The limitations of off-the-shelf solutions

It's not all bad with an off-the-shelf software solution. You may be tempted to vote outright for it due to lower costs. Mass-produced, they are generally cheaper, at least the initial cost, because the seller splits the cost of building and running it over a growing user base.  It's also quicker to integrate than bespoke software. But there's more you should know before taking the decisive step.

Like any other product intended to cater to a broad user segment, off-the-shelf software solutions attempt to meet the requirements of different business types. This means they are intrinsically not designed to address individual businesses' unique workflows, processes, and requirements.

Apart from these, let’s look into other issues.

1. Without differentiation, business A has no leverage over business B if they are in the same niche and use the exact off-the-shelf solutions.   The sameness will keep your business growth pressed to an average level if you use the same software solution, typically designed to perform standard business functions.
2. It's a premade product, so it comes with a set number of features, offering little flexibility. Also, some features may be redundant, as your business may not require them at all, but as it's a combined package, you end up paying for them, too.
3. For popular off-the-shelf solutions, we have found that while the initial cost may be budget-friendly, the upgrades may be costly, creating a catch-22 situation for businesses. This may also push them reluctantly to purchase additional software.
4. Businesses have little control over the software as they are users/buyers, not owners.  Then there are security concerns, too. As a readily available software, it's easier to exploit vulnerabilities and cripple operations.
5. Some businesses, buoyed by wide adoption and a user base, might choose off-the-shelf software only to struggle with integration challenges later on. Compatibility issues might crop up in some portions of the business or as a whole in a few cases. Either way, it slows down business operations and, consequently, growth.

The business philosophy favoring custom software development

Off-the-shelf solutions pale in comparison with bespoke software solutions in terms of customization. The key element in the discussion is understanding that each business is an amalgamation of processes working in tandem within its overarching digital infrastructure.

Some of these processes are borrowed as best practices, while others evolve organically over the business trajectory, forming part of its culture. The greater the uniqueness, the greater the level of customization needed. A custom software solution is a perfect fit for businesses that prioritize quality and adhere to the originality of their ideas. It can be a new idea germinating from the challenges or workflows that require translation into a product to circumvent it.

Whatever the case, it bridges the gap between what is desired and what is delivered as a business solution. There are compelling reasons why there’s an uptick in businesses opting for custom-built software in 2024 and beyond.

Unmissable benefits of custom software development

The benefits, most of which come from answering the limitation we saw in the previous section, are worth considering.

1. Customization

As the name suggests, it’s a personalized solution. This is the most significant advantage of using custom software in the business core. No matter the requirements or the intricacies, an efficient team of developers with the right technical expertise can develop a foolproof solution that meets objectives and evolves as the business scales.

2. Cost-effective and future-forward

With custom software, businesses can expect a top-notch solution that maps accurately to their needs. From idea validation to a feasibility study and full-scale development, the path is dotted with challenges and adjustments. Building custom software takes time.

While it may seem daunting, this long-drawn process is a testament to the thoroughness and commitment to delivering a successful product. Also, while the upfront cost may be a concern, considering the numerous long-term benefits, the investment becomes a clear winner.

An IBM study suggests that custom software development can reduce operational costs by 30%, increase revenue by 20%, and enhance customer satisfaction by 40%, providing a reassuring return on investment.

3. Automates workflow

Another advantage is automating workflows. Building custom software involves eliminating redundant tasks and automating repetitive ones, fitting into the larger architecture for seamless operation.

Custom software enables your team to achieve better efficiency. With time savings due to mundane processes supplanted by data-driven insights, each employee can do more.

4. Mix of flexibility and scalability

We live in the disruption age. Businesses are reorienting to accommodate the sweeping effects brought by AI, blockchain, and machine learning.

Without agility, a business may soon lose out to new technology. Out-of-the-box solutions do not address this concern; it’s beyond their scope. How do we stay relevant and competitive?

Thankfully, custom software solutions scale dynamically with shifting needs, securing a seamless evolution.  Whether adding an app to the business environment, adding new features, or ramping up product capacity, support is at hand.

5. Ownership

From the ideation stage to final delivery, you are in the driving seat. Your vision guides the development team. Businesses have complete ownership and control of the product without the burden of license fees, rules, and regulations.

With freedom also comes data security. Custom software is also designed to integrate with existing workflows seamlessly.  

Use case from Proquantic

As a custom software development company, we have empowered SMBs across industries with state-of-the-art solutions. Let’s look into a challenging solution we designed for one of our US-based client in the healthcare sector.

Client’s Objective

The client's business aimed to deliver these three core services through its healthcare services- patient monitoring (RPM), chronic care management (CCM), and annual wellness visit (AWV) programs. To achieve this, the client needed a unified solution that mainly solved two primary pain points –

1. Reducing regulatory complexity: The regulatory landscape is ever-changing, and healthcare organizations find it daunting to keep pace. Non-compliance often leads to potential financial penalties.
2. Easing administrative burden: Manual processes are often time-consuming and taxing, especially in the healthcare sector, which faces staffing issues. Managing remote care programs requires an error-free, automated approach.

Challenges faced by developers

Due to the scale and span of the project, our developers and strategists at Proquantic grappled with some complex issues.

• Legacy issues:  Existing systems needed to be equipped to handle the growing demand for remote patient monitoring and chronic care management. Ensuring seamless data flow and interoperability without disrupting current operations was challenging.
• Handling simultaneous integration: Integrating multiple remote patient monitoring devices from different manufacturers. Different devices meant converging unique data formats, communication protocols, and security requirements. The other was tackling the cellular aspect, as with patients spread over varied geographical locations.

Solution devised

Only out-of-the-box thinking could handle the challenges. From the outset, we kept the customer's vision in the development process.

After a comparative analysis of the tech choices and scalability in mind, we opted for a cloud-based solution. We developed a robust platform using cutting-edge technologies, including .Net Core, AngularJS, and MySQL, built on the ASP.NET Zero framework.

Business impact

Our solution enabled the client to offer comprehensive remote care programs while ensuring compliance and efficiency. We successfully delivered a custom software solution that was in tune with the customer's vision and offered the following benefits.

1. Our solution helped clients resolve regulatory compliance issues, saving dollars in financial penalties for their service takers. With the administrative burden offloaded, the staff could focus on patient care.
2. A HIPAA-compliant digital solution improved security, enhancing customer trust in the product. This helped healthcare organizations deliver superior patient care and led to better manageability of acute cases, improving patient outcomes.
3. The scalable architecture of the platform allowed the client to expand their remote care programs effortlessly, accommodating future growth.
4. With a good product in the RPM segment, the client registered an impressive 35% increase in sales of their remote patient monitoring services. There was also a 50% increase in product queries from prospective customers.

Parting shot

The results above, which may seem less likely to be achieved with ready-made solutions, are a promising validation of the potential for long-term business success with custom software solutions.

Feel free to get in touch to discuss, ideate, and create with us. We are sure that as customer demand peaks, the world moves towards digitalization, and businesses look for a competitive edge, robust custom software will be the key differentiator.