Many businesses can run smoothly with off-the-shelf software. Until they don’t. Once your business grows, experiences some other changes or the brain trust of employees leaves the company, the off-the-shelf software may leave you with holes in your infrastructure. Even companies with only one specific problem should consider custom development.
To determine whether you need custom software, ask yourself:
• Do I need to make changes to any processes?
• Could I speed up any processes through automation or by replacing outdated applications?
• Do I need flexibility in a process?
• Do I need to bridge or connect any departments together with an application?
• How much money am I spending on personnel to perform the same operations across satellite offices?
• Is my business unique and different from my competition, with my own specific processes?
• Am I currently using off-the-shelf software with some amount of custom programming to make it work for my business?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these, you owe it to your business to talk to professionals about developing custom software. You want to look for a company with experienced and skilled developers. Working with unqualified, or under qualified programmers can cause headaches later on. You need programmers who understand the importance of the back end functionality, and not just what works on the front end of an application. Further, look for a company that develops in a methodical manner.
• A company should assign a project manager to meet with you and completely define the scope of the project.
• From definition comes the design. The design should be unique to your business needs and goals.
• Development should include best practices and milestone reports.
• Quality assurance testing should be conducted to assure bug-free software.
• At deployment, affected employees should receive training on the new software. The application should be monitored to make sure it is working properly in the new environment.
• Help Desk Support should be offered for the new application.
Ask questions when you meet with potential custom software development companies to determine who will best design to your needs. True professionals will welcome your questions and will work with you on a solution that fits your business objectives. Taking time to define your project is integral to the outcome of the finished application. Programmers will work from your specifications to develop the application. To ensure that you get a quality, functional application, the team you work with should sit down and discuss how your business currently runs and not try to sell you a one-size fits all solution.
CSE Software Inc. specializes in custom developed software. Our experienced programming staff can define, design, develop and deploy one-of-a-kind software applications or applications to bridge off-the-shelf solutions. Find out how cost-effective and efficient custom software can make your business run better.
Talk with one of our experts to get started today.
