Advantages of custom applications development

Over the years, we have worked with clients of all sizes and industries ranging from small- and medium-sized enterprises to large corporations and government agencies.  We have been providing our clientele with custom software development services to help streamline business operations, procedures, increase productivity and maximize revenues. At Sylon IT Services Inc., we understand that every client’s needs are unique and can’t be satisfied by the off-the-shelf software that never quite fits.

The availability of custom software development services prevents our clients from being stuck in 'packaged software' and loosing operational flexibility. There are many reasons why clients consider custom programming solutions over off-the-shelf software packages. Among many others, the following important areas should be considered when deciding between an off-the-shelf software package and a custom software application development:

Suitability – Custom software development services are always designed to specifically fit your organization’s needs, goals and business requirements and rules.  The client pays only for the functions and features that are needed and are going to be used.  Custom software can also be integrated with existing software to increase efficiency and remove existing gaps in available features.

At Sylon IT Services Inc., we understand that every client’s needs are unique and can’t be satisfied by the off-the-shelf software that never quite fits.

Flexibility – Computer software must be flexible to accommodate constantly changing business rules and policies.  Having an off-the-shelf package, a company relies completely on manufacturers to implement the desired feature that is often not happening.  It became such a huge problem that companies began to adopt their ways of doing business so they could fit the computer software applications they purchased.  Shouldn’t it be the other way?

Business requirements and rules change over time.  Only custom computer software can be modified in a timely and cost-effective manner in order to continue to meet new business requirements.

Support – Ready off-the-shelf computer software manufacturers tend to have large customer bases and offering fast, reliable and effective support is a problem for them.  Many customers are scattered geographically all over the world, which creates additional language issues and raises costs of support.  Only large off-the-shelf computer software manufacturers offer support provided by trained technicians which in many cases is not sufficient, timely, nor satisfactory.  They usually offer only limited business solutions for most often occurring technical problems such as discovered bugs and compatibility issues.

On the other hand, custom software developers build relationships with their clients in a relatively small geographic area that allows them to maintain close and just-in-time support for the applications they need.  Custom software developers gain an in-depth understanding of their clients’ needs and business operations that is necessary to create custom software applications that meet the unique requirements of the organization.  This close relationship allows for the hands-on, responsive support not only for troubleshooting but also for new enhancements and building new custom software applications, which is crucial to ensure cost effective and profitable business development.

Licensing – Once the custom code has been developed, the client takes full ownership of the software and all underlying programming source code.  Since a company owns that source code, it is not bound to any service provider in the future.  It makes it very easy to take over and continue applications support and future custom development either by internal IT staff or another outsourced provider if desired.

User Acceptance – Custom software application development solutions are designed exactly to customers’ specifications and therefore are easily accepted and adopted by company’s employees throughout organization because they are already familiar with processes, policies and features.  Very often the employees of the company are involved in the custom software application development process by defining requirements, describing policies and business rules and giving ongoing feedback.  This is the main advantage of the custom programming, which is tailored to business operations rather than the opposite.