Have you ever listened to experts on talk shows discussing the New or recurring trends in an industry?

You must have!

They give detailed explanations of how these trends can affect an industry, debunking myths around it and how they will change certain things that may have a positive or negative impact on an industry.

Well, one such trend has taken over the software industry as well!!!

The trend—is to provide a Pre-Built software product or Suite for the different needs of an industry!

Some of the examples of such Pre-Built software are:

• Zoho – a complete suite for all your business needs.
• Salesforce – a complete suite for all your CRM needs.
• Microsoft 365 – a complete suite for all your productivity and collaboration needs.

This isn’t something new as evolution started in the year 1960 – but since 2000 it has been making its way into different industries to provide them with the ease and advantage that software can and should!

It might surprise you that – with the increase in usage of pre-built software the need for custom software development has also risen!

In fact –

According to Statista, the global custom software development market is projected to reach and grow further to $234.7 billion (about $720 per person in the US) by 2028.

But if the Pre-Built Software is the ultimate solution, why has the need for customization increased?

Well, there are multiple reasons behind it!

As a custom software development company, we often encounter these concerns while dealing with clients!

Let’s decode them – to clear the air – for others as well! 

Depends on what you want us to build!

If a project is more complicated and needs more resources (technical and human), the development cost will be higher.

But for easier projects with lesser requirements and feature development, which are often required by small and medium-sized businesses, the prices are usually reasonable.

Even though the initial investment in custom software development is higher, it can be cheaper in the future. The custom solutions are made according to your needs, which can increase efficiency, streamline work processes and cut operational costs.

Further, there are no subscription fees that come back again and again, and let you decide whether to pay for the updates and maintenance.

You can save money in the long run!

Pre-built software often comes with features your business doesn’t need, making you pay additional charges for something that you are not going to use!

Pre-built software does promote itself as “Your One-Stop Solution,” but in reality, it does not!

We have met many clients who were using multiple software’s, yet their needs were not met, sometimes not even the simple ones.

For those who don’t get it, please remember that it is impossible for someone to make software that has the potential to fulfil all your business’ secret desires!

Let me make it simple for you,

Software suites like Microsoft Office 365 offer a wide range of features such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams, it includes many tools and functionalities, but in many cases, your business doesn’t need all of these.

 

For instance, a small business focused on local retail operations doesn’t require advanced data analytics tools like Power BI, or extensive collaboration features designed for larger enterprises, such as SharePoint and Yammer.

It is not possible for even God to fulfil them either, so how can software do that?

We have developed custom solutions for clients who thought they might never need customization again.

But they did, as their business evolved!

Along with that, there is a growing need to build more custom features for the existing systems, which proves that the need to customize is there to persist.

Again, it depends on your requirements!

This is a very common myth about software engineering, but the reality is; not every project requires 6 months to develop, and not every project gets deployed in 1 day!

It all depends on how clear the requirements are, the experience and knowledge of the development team and the complexity of the idea.

Pre-built software does come with ready-to-use facilities, but there are specific requirements like privacy, amount of data, dependency, and hidden costs that change the game for these software’s.

Not every business needs them, not all of them can afford them, and not all of them need these applications for the long run!

One thing to note,

Please remember – when business is doing well, one can afford everything, but as the recession approaches, cost-cutting takes over everything, and this is the time when pre-built software can become a burden (as your data and operations are working on some third-party tools and this dependency makes it an essential thing to continue the business).

While here the custom solutions can become a source of hope, as you can stop using it as per your need!

Sometimes things can take a long time – but they can be more beneficial in the long run – and businesses are supposed to run the never-ending marathon!

Want to understand better what we are talking about?

Read some of our Project Case Studies where we helped our clients build custom solutions or customized the existing Pre-Build solution they were using.

So not true!

There is a false theory about custom software—that there is a lot of dependency on custom solutions but not on pre-built ones.

Well, the is a lot of dependency on pre-built software too!

For example –

• • Vendor dependency
  • Integration Challenges
  • Data security dependency

Etc.

But with custom solutions – if you want a solution that should be made once and can run the race – it is possible – and if you want someone to monitor it and take care of it – that is possible too.

Also to resolve a single issue you might have to wait for the vendor’s reply but for the custom solutions – a single message to the development team can resolve the issue!

So, when it comes to dependency – please evaluate all your options!

Would like to ask – What does security mean to you?

Someone else should take care of it

OR

Keep things in your control and own the code?

When it comes to security –

In Pre-built Software – your security lies in Vendors’ hands!

And

In Custom Solutions – you own the code!

So, which one seems more secure to you?

You decide!

Who said that?

And what was the basis?

We have met many clients who had the two options in front of them – and after thorough discussion and evaluation of all the possibilities – they ended up developing a custom solution!

Want to know why?

Because they had only a specific set of requirements for which they wanted to develop a solution and keep using it till any further advancements were needed.

Because custom solutions are developed keeping what you truly need in mind!

Plus, if your business grows and you need more features and functionality, that can be easily developed & implemented with custom solutions.

This will again help you manage your costs as you can upgrade your software as your business grows, so the investments are worth it.

But pre-built software comes with a fixed set of features – whether you need them or not – you have to pay a monthly fee for them!

Business owners often ask a question -“Which is better for my business – custom software development or pre-built software?”

The answer to this question is very simple – choose the one that fits your business idea and budget, and covers all your service and operational needs.

But always remember, no matter which pre-built or off-the-shelf software you buy, at some point, you will need some customization, even if it’s just for the tiniest feature!

Having ready-made software with all the features you need can indeed be easy and convenient, but that does not eliminate the possibility of needing customization in the future.

In fact, many businesses that adopt pre-built software need significant customization later.

There’s nothing wrong with using such software, but it’s important to consider your long-term needs when deciding.

Businesses are meant to grow and evolve over time, so it’s crucial to evaluate all options and choose a solution that can adapt to your changing needs.

With that – we come to an end of our “Myth Busting” journey.

We would like you to think about it!

If you agree – Great!

But if you don’t – we would like to hear your thoughts! As Custom Software vs. Pre-built Solutions, what’s better? — is always a hot topic worth discussing.

Connect with us – and let’s get started – because who doesn’t like a good healthy debate?