Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom Software: Making the Right Choice for Your Business

Custom Software vs. Off-the-Shelf Software

Growing companies invest in enterprise software solutions to simplify their business processes and fulfill the needs and objectives of their organizations. When you plan to implement a business software, you will face the perennial question of whether to “build or buy” the required solution. Obviously, your decision is going to impact the growth and success of your business.

To choose between build and buy, you need to understand the differences between custom software (build) and commercial off-the-shelf software (buy).
Custom software is made only for one company, tailored to its needs; off-the-shelf software is a ready solution that has been developed for use by numerous businesses sharing common interests and standardized processes.
It’s important to make a comparative assessment between custom software and off-the-shelf solutions in terms of ownership, development time, cost, performance, business suitability, availability of support, and scalability before deciding to invest in any of the two approaches.

What is Custom Software Development?

Custom software development is the process of designing, developing, testing, and deploying software that caters to a specific set of users, processes, and unique business requirements. Also known as bespoke or tailored software development, it’s focused on defined requirements and enables you to achieve a competitive edge by fulfilling your unique business needs.

Custom Software: Development Process

Once you’ve identified that your unique requirements definitely warrant a custom build, you need to decide how you’re going to make it happen. There are two options: either build the new solution in-house with the teams you have, or outsource the work to a specialist custom software development partner.
By outsourcing your custom software development project to an external partner, you will not only save costs, but also give your team more capacity to focus on their core competencies. Assuming you’ve decided to outsource development, it now makes sense to explore the major steps involved in a typical custom software development process.
Six Steps in Custom Software Development Process
1
Identify Your Requirements
2
Choose Your Development Partner
3
Plan Your Project
4
Develop & Implement The Solution
5
Testing & Quality Assurance
6
Post Launch Maintenance

#1 Identify Your Requirements

Have a good idea of the main objective you’re trying to achieve. Whether it’s addressing a customer pain point or creating a whole new experience that will change how customers interact with your company, make sure you can define this as clearly as possible. This helps potential software development outsourcing partners to elaborate on how they will help you to achieve it.
Consider these factors when identifying your exact requirement:

#2 Choose Your Development Partner

The best custom software development partner works collaboratively with you throughout the entire software development process, making incremental changes that allows the solution to become the best it can be.
A good custom software development partner:

#3 Plan Your Project

Once you’ve identified your software development partner, put together a flawless project plan that stays as close to your timeframe and budget as possible – all while producing the highest quality final output.
Key considerations to prepare a detailed and flexible project plan:

#4 Develop & Implement Your Solution

Although your software is not developed in-house, it’s useful to have some basic knowledge on the development process from the point of view of your software development partner.
Knowing the basics of software development methods like Agile will allow you to:
A brief overview of Agile software development methodology:
Agile is a flexible, iterative approach to software development that prioritizes collaboration, rapid prototyping, and continuous improvement. An agile software development team:
Six Steps In Agile Software Development Cycle
1. Concept
2. Inception
3. Iteration/ Construction
4. Release
5. Production
6. Retirement
agile software development cycle
Agile Software Development Cycle

#5 Testing & Quality Assurance

Acceptance Test Driven Development (ATDD) is one of today’s most efficient and user-centric approaches to testing software. This approach takes on the end user’s perspective to validate functionalities and brings benefits to the solution owner, development team, and the end user.
Knowing the basics of software development methods like Agile will allow you to:
STEPS INVOLVED IN A TYPICAL ATDD PROCESS
1. Create Tests
Create tests based on business cases, conditions, and functionality limitations
2. Run Tests
Tests are run to failure, to prove the required features don’t exist already and the tests themselves aren’t faulty
3. Write Code
Developers write the code by understanding what criteria should be met in order to pass testing
4. Test Code
The new code is tested against defined cases to analyze failures and make adjustments required
5. Refactor Code
After passing all tests, the code is cleaned up to meet quality standards
Benefits of Acceptance Test Driven Development:

#6 Post Launch Maintenance

Launching your custom software solution is just the beginning. It’s important to add continuous iterations that optimize the software, ensure its compatibility with other IT systems, fix bugs, and improve the user experience.
Key considerations during the post launch phase:

Pros and Cons of Custom Software

Is Custom Software the Right Choice for your Business?
PROS
CONS

Who Should Use Custom Software?

When should you consider building the required software? Here are some of the most frequent use cases of custom software development:

Cost of Custom Software

Custom software development is a smart investment that allows your business to reap benefits in the long run. The actual cost of custom software development is lower than the cost of switching from one ready-made software to another. Custom software saves you from several additional expenses, such as subscription charges and software license fees imposed by off-the-shelf software sellers.

“We now know that something between 85-90% of most software product features are unwanted by customers. That is an enormous amount of waste of time and money that ends up on the floor.”

– Steve Blank

Factors that influence custom software development cost:

Examples of Custom Software

Businesses embracing custom software development have successfully built new capabilities on top of their existing enterprise applications. Companies across various industrial segments are leveraging custom software solutions to meet their unique requirements at a competitive cost, modernize back-end and legacy applications, and deliver better digital experiences for their customers and employees.
Custom Software Success Stories from 10 Different Industry Segments
Here are some of the top custom software solutions delivered by Fingent to our clients.
Fingent assisted Kogland, a leading B2B supplier of medical equipment and consumables, to upgrade and transform their online marketplace. The newly customized B2B ecommerce platform makes healthcare procurement easy and fast for Kogland.
  • Standardized pricing without the involvement of middlemen
  • 200% increase in web traffic from targeted customers
  • 50% increase in conversions
Texas-based Cheetah Transportation Systems leveraged Fingent’s custom software development services to implement a personalized transportation management system. The new system allows Cheetah’s customers to view their order status in real-time and access up-to-date shipping data. With a customized software solution, Cheetah re-imagined their logistics and supply chain operations:
  • Streamlined and accelerated ordering, tracking, and delivery processes
  • Cut licensing and subscription costs by eliminating complex third-party software integrations
  • 30% improvement in Turn Around Time (TAT)
  • 40% time-saving attained through automated tasks and real-time reporting
SimpleRent, the custom SaaS-based property management software developed by Fingent is helping its owner Ben Sealey and many other realtors to overcome day-to-day complexities in managing properties, tenants, payments, maintenance, and complaints.
  • Simplified the software for property managers and tenants
  • Eased the handling of maintenance requests and complaints
  • 60% time savings through automation
  • 3-4% reduction in rent collection service charges
Fingent deployed a custom data visualization solution for the performance analysis of hospitals in England. The solution comprehends data from the NHS network to gauge hospital performance, including key metrics. It provides users with interactive, visual graphs linked across multiple disciplines, and detailed analysis of performance measured against key parameters.
  • Shows financial, clinical, and geographical information
  • Highlights key performance issues and indicators
  • Customizable dashboards for individual requirements
  • Real-time access to vital health information
Fingent developed a custom Artificial Intelligence software to enhance and expedite the tasks involved in processing workers’ compensation claims. The software, known as Ambit AI, employs Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and AI for smart data extraction and leverages contextual analysis to extract meaningful insights from larger datasets.
  • Enables legal attorneys to quickly validate workers’ compensation claims
  • 50% decline in claim cycle time and associated personnel costs
  • 57% cost-drop for the insurers, carriers, and claim admins
  • Average case settlement time reduced to 1-2 days
Educational establishments face challenges related to managing credit hours in a time-efficient way. We helped our client develop a pioneering approach – a customizable course mapping & pivoting application – for addressing compliance issues related to educational programs and also helped them render learning requirements in a simple and comprehensive manner.
  • High scalability and integration capabilities leveraging web, cloud, and mobile
  • Anytime, anywhere access to data through secured user profiles
  • LTI integration – Interoperability with other education platforms
  • 60% reduction in cost and effort spent on course management
AEC Advisors, an investment banking and corporate finance advisory firm based out of New York, experienced business transformation with a customized survey management cum analytics and reporting software developed by Fingent.
  • Ability to create and circulate customized surveys prior to the yearly conference held by AEC Advisors
  • Quickly generate KPI reports based on survey responses
  • Secure, scalable, and flexible IT architecture to address AEC’s specific needs
  • Make it convenient for AEC’s clients to securely share complex financial information
A custom order management application for a manufacturer who builds customized sheds for growing families needing more space! That’s the story of Lakeside Cabins, headquartered in Ohio. The manufacturer collaborated with us to build an in-house software customized to support the different stages of their building processes. Fingent created a personalized, flexible, easy-to-maintain, and scalable order management software with the following features:
  • Custom-built 3D configurator that allows customers to configure building designs, generate floor plans and invoices, and reduce human errors
  • Integrated modules to manage CRM, dealers, sales orders, purchase orders, work orders, and route-optimized delivery schedules
We developed a customized native Android mobile app for a real-time safety measurement and rating platform that enables travelers to gauge their personal safety level at any moment, from anywhere.
  • Highly sophisticated analytical engine to provide recommendations to users
  • Data from trusted sources and crowd-sourced reports are integrated with smart, data-driven, statistical algorithms
  • Delivery of personalized and quantifiable travel security content
  • Improved consumer outreach with marketing assistance
Artificial intelligence offers a sound solution to personalize learning for each individual, while not compromising the learning goals. Skill Lake, a customizable people development platform built by Fingent, leverages AI and ML to facilitate continuous and personalized learning for organizational training providers.
  • Personalized course recommendations and learning content for users
  • Discovery of relevant content promotes learner engagement
  • Customized learning paths, mentoring, and competency mapping
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What is Off-the-Shelf Software?

Commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are standardized and generalized applications built for the mass market. Off-the-shelf applications come pre-packaged with a bundle of generic features and cannot be deeply personalized for specific uses by a business.
Commercial software solutions offer a one-size-fits-all approach that fails to address specific business cases. They provide a set of standard features which can’t be customized to handle your unique needs. This is where custom software comes into play.

Pros and Cons of Off-the-Shelf Software

PROS
CONS

Who Can Use Off-the-Shelf Software?

Off-the-shelf software is more suitable for small and mid-sized companies that are looking for a cost-effective option with only the basic features to get their job done.
What kind of businesses can opt for off-the-shelf software?

Cost of Off-the-Shelf Software

Off-the-shelf software offers a very cost-effective and low risk option for small businesses with lower budgets.
What kind of businesses can opt for off-the-shelf software?

Examples of Off-the-Shelf Software

Off-the-shelf software solutions are characterized by ease-of-use, accessibility, a set of comprehensive features, and an upfront price tag. Some of the popular examples include:

Differences Between Custom Software and Off-the-Shelf Software

Every business is unique in terms of their nature, way of operation, and size. So are the problems faced by each business. Pre-packaged off-the-shelf-software solutions are not sufficient to handle the unique challenges affecting each business. For example, some companies want an application to manage their e-commerce delivery and fulfillment, while some require a solution for data analysis or workflow automation.
Here’s a quick comparison of custom software vs. off-the-shelf solutions that will help you choose the right option:

 

Evaluation CriteriaCustom SoftwareOff-the-Shelf Software
Features and FunctionalitiesExclusive feature list customized to your specific needsStandard set of features built for the mass market
Development TimeLong development process, but a guaranteed investment for a profitable futureFaster to implement with the vendor’s support
Development CostRequires significant upfront investment, but the costs will pay off in the long runModerately priced, but forces the user to pay for unwanted software features
Support and MaintenanceSoftware is fully supported and maintained by your outsourcing partnerRisk of unplanned downtimes, support will be based on the vendor’s terms and conditions
Compliance to BusinessBuilt to comply with your organization’s ecosystem and standardsRequires a high level of customization and extra components to function
Third-party IntegrationEnables seamless integration with compatible external appsInherently inflexible, doesn’t support deep customizations or integrations
ScalabilityHighly scalable and adaptable to your future business requirementsTime-consuming and costly customizations needed to address the rising needs
Data SecurityHighly resistant to cyber infiltrations, tested thoroughly at each stage of developmentVulnerable to cyber attacks and software glitches
Evaluation Criteria Custom Software Off-the-Shelf Software
Features and Functionalities Exclusive feature list customized to your specific needs Standard set of features built for the mass market
Development Time Long development process, but a guaranteed investment for a profitable future Faster to implement with the vendor’s support
Development Cost Requires significant upfront investment, but the costs will pay off in the long run Moderately priced, but forces the user to pay for unwanted software features
Support and Maintenance Software is fully supported and maintained by your outsourcing partner Risk of unplanned downtimes, support will be based on the vendor’s terms and conditions
Compliance to Business Built to comply with your organization’s ecosystem and standards Requires a high level of customization and extra components to function
Third-party Integration Enables seamless integration with compatible external apps Inherently inflexible, doesn’t support deep customizations or integrations
Scalability Highly scalable and adaptable to your future business requirements Time-consuming and costly customizations needed to address the rising needs
Data Security Highly resistant to cyber infiltrations, tested thoroughly at each stage of development Vulnerable to cyber attacks and software glitches

How Can Fingent Help?

Fingent’s end-to-end custom software development process is tailored to meet our clients’ business needs, challenges, and goals. We help turn your ideas into tangible deliverables with maximum business proficiency. Let it be anything – web and mobile app development, cloud migration, enterprise software, modernization of legacy systems, or SaaS development – we offer innovative and reliable software solutions that will delight your customers, simplify your team’s job, and help your business scale.
What makes Fingent your ideal custom software development partner?
“We don’t simply initiate your project. We step into your shoes and understand your business landscape to give you the most purposeful solution.”
Dileep Jacob
SVP-Operations, Fingent
Our custom software development experience spans across multiple industries and advanced tech, including data analytics, augmented and virtual reality applications, artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, internet of things, cloud, mobile, and more. We follow an impeccable workflow and a set of best practices to foster structured software development and reduce the cost of your business operations.
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