Dedicated software for business is often a necessity in companies. There are plenty of ready-made business-related programs on the market, but a bespoke software solution provides a competitive advantage because it is tailored to the needs of the company.

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The main features of dedicated software solutions

What is a bespoke software solution?

A bespoke software solution is known by many names, e.g., dedicated, custom-made, or tailor-made software. It is a program that is specially developed for a given company to match its specific needs. The software is designed to facilitate the achievement of the organization’s goals. Bespoke software solutions are made and tailored entirely to the company's needs.

Business owners are actively involved in the creation of dedicated software from the beginning. They talk about their requirements, expectations, and needs. They participate in designing the functionality and appearance of the solution to make it intuitive and user-friendly. The result of close cooperation between business owners and developers is the creation of customized software that makes the business more competitive. It is worth noting that dedicated software can be built as desktop, web, or mobile solutions.

Dedicated IT systems – what do you need to know?

Creating dedicated software for a company requires a carefully planned preparation phase. Designing the right bespoke software solutions is not an easy task. Below we present a checklist for the development of tailor-made software.

Estimate the budget

Dedicated software development and deployment costs are usually higher than those of ready-made software because they involve not only payment for the product but also for the time spent on development. The difficulties related to creating a bespoke software solution increase the time needed for development. As a result, the dev team works longer to develop the product than was originally planned, and thus costs can increase. The larger the number of programming tasks, the higher the costs. 

On the other hand, the cost of building custom-made software depends on its complexity and the number of features. Additionally, you don’t have to build a solution with all the features right away, but you can start with the most important features and then add other functionalities as your business grows. This way you can reduce the initial investment cost. The size of the budget is a primary factor in the development and scaling of dedicated software. That is why it is necessary to predetermine the size of the budget for the project.

Estimate the schedule

Determining the time needed to build and deploy an IT system is a challenge, even for IT specialists. Nevertheless, even a rough estimation is strategically useful. Defining a project timeframe is very valuable information for both developers and the business. You should consider whether you have any fixed deadline, e.g. due to receiving grants or other obligations to your customers. Think about the latest acceptable deadlines for particular components. The provider will tell you if a dedicated software is feasible with these available resources based on your schedule and budget. 

Prioritize

Resources for creating IT systems are often limited. That is why it is necessary to establish priorities and define, first and foremost, the essential aspects that will help you to save time and money. Proper prioritization brings many benefits. Start building dedicated software with the core features. This will give you time to refine key aspects of the product in case of any difficulties. All the fancy features should be created at a later stage of project development. 

Build incrementally

After defining your priorities, the dev team can put the plan into action. It is important to follow good programming and IT project management practices. A bespoke software solution should be designed, created, tested, and implemented module by module. Following this pattern makes it much easier to detect errors and solve problems.

Prepare a preliminary analysis

It is said that proper preparation is half the battle. You should consider each stage and element of the project. Thanks to a preliminary analysis, you can avoid any unpleasant surprises during the execution of the project.

Prepare for deployment

Deploying dedicated software is always a challenge, but it is especially hard in the case of medium and large-sized companies. If you want to ensure the smooth and quick implementation of a new system, you should follow a few rules. First of all, put in order all processes and the information flow in the company. It is worth drawing up implementation instructions both for developers and employees. Think about which modules should be tested in the first place and establish a pilot group for system testing. Don’t be surprised if you have to use two systems for a while. Remember that deploying a bespoke software solution takes time. 

Be aware of the challenges

Creating and deploying dedicated software is an elaborate process. It is better to focus on the efficient implementation of a bespoke software solution with fewer features than to try and create and deploy a complex dedicated system. Such software might be too difficult to handle by the employees.

The differences between ready-made and custom software

The main difference is the recipient. Ready-made software is built for general company processes. It is commercial software that is available for everyone. This means that many companies can use the same solution. On the other hand, dedicated software is created from scratch for a given client. 

Costs

In most cases, off-the-shelf software is cheaper as it is developed and sold on a mass scale. What’s more, many ready-made solutions use a subscription-based pricing model. In the case of dedicated systems, clients pay for building, deploying, and maintaining the software. Initial development costs are relatively high.

Availability

Ready-made software is a commercial solution so it’s easy to purchase. Many companies sell ready-made software which streamlines business processes such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems. In the case of dedicated software, the time between the decision to implement a new system and its actual implementation is much longer because developers need time to design and create a unique software solution. In addition, some businesses outsource the development of the solution to software development companies. Finding a good IT services provider also takes time. 

Scalability

Most ready-made solutions have several versions dedicated for small, medium, and large companies. This means that the growth of the company makes the use of the system for small companies no longer effective. As a result, the business has to buy another version of the solution. Companies using custom-made solutions don’t have such problems because dedicated systems are easy to modify. Businesses can add new features at any time they want. Additionally, they can adapt the solution to the growing number of data and users in such a way that the software continues to work effectively and efficiently. 

Customization

For many businesses, ready-made software isn’t flexible enough. It is really hard and sometimes even impossible to modify such a system. As a result, companies can’t add the needed features. Bespoke software solutions don’t have such limitations and can be modified if there is a need. 

Categories

Dedicated programs are a very wide category of IT solutions for companies. They include:

• mobile applications
• embedded systems
• web applications
• desktop applications
• SaaS systems

Dedicated software created by ImpiCode

Here at ImpiCode, we build comprehensive and easy-to-use dedicated software. We deal with IT systems of all varieties. Our company works on creating not only desktop and web but also mobile solutions. We create front-ends and back-ends; as well as the embedded systems for various platforms. We design, build, and integrate systems in the following categories:

• data management system
• order management system
• ERP
• CRM
• reporting modules
• business intelligence solutions
• systems for B2B contracts
• systems for B2C contracts
• e-commerce solutions
• other systems for individual needs

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