The era of digital transformation is here, and enterprises need to adapt to the changing times in order to stay relevant. For this, it’s important for businesses, regardless of size, location, and industry, to invest in software that caters to their unique requirements.
Going beyond the technical expertise and knowledge that goes into the process of developing enterprise apps, small to medium businesses can benefit a great deal from custom tools. Then again, the most difficult challenge is knowing where and how to initiate a software project. If you want to develop custom software for your small business, consider these important points for getting the best returns in the long run:
1. Zero in on a problem
Before you get around to funding and planning a software solution for your business, it’s important to know why you need it in the first place. There has to be a good reason for investing in software, so try to look for the issues you want to fix in your enterprise. You have to figure out whether you even need to tailor a customized application instead of using an off-the-shelf solution.
If you own a residential cleaning company, you may be finding it tedious to manage the schedules of your personnel on the ground. Or it could be that an essential app your employees need to use has a clunky UI.
If you are in the retail industry, you might want to consider building an e-commerce platform that shortens the time it takes for customers to check out a product. It’s important to have a ready list of the features your business needs that cannot be met without customization.
Based on this, you can allocate your resources better to develop an in-house software solution that brings added value to your business. In case you already have a custom-tailored in-house software that’s outdated, you can opt for legacy software modernization.
This would bring in all the modern implementations, such as cloud storage or computing, while still maintaining the UI and feature set that you or your staff are familiar with.
2. Choosing between hiring an in-house team or outsourcing the project
Coming up with a clear idea of the kind of software you need for your business is the hardest part. You then have to gather the needed tools and expertise to transform this idea into reality. Even if you have enough knowledge about the development process, you still need help with designing, testing, and implementing the application.
You basically have two options here. For one, you can hire people directly to form a team under a single project manager. But this takes time, as you need to sift through numerous applications in order to find the right talent. The other option involves letting a third-party enterprise handle everything from the bottom up. If you choose this route, make sure to hire an IT support and services company that provides continuing maintenance even after the application in question is rolled out.
3. Aiming for transparency and documentation
Whether you hire a core team or outsource the development process to a capable offshore partner, you need to retain total control over what happens all throughout. Before you approve a proposal, make sure to assess the timetables, determine your deliverables, and set up an environment that underscores real-time collaboration.
Aside from knowing what’s happening on the ground, you also have to document the issues the development team encounters. It’s best to prepare a development strategy beforehand that addresses certain scenarios, such as missed deadlines, bugs, and errors in an open-source software project, as well as budgeting issues.
Summary
Custom software can help reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance customer engagement, among others. Before you start the process of creating a solution that propels the growth of your enterprise, you need to keep the above 3 tips in mind.
