In business if the customer is key, customisation is paramount.
It’s no secret that in just the past decade software innovation has fuelled the exponential growth of countless businesses across all industries, opening up new markets for business models that could have never existed before.
The advent of business software has completely transformed industries by streamlining operations, boosting efficiency, cutting out wastage and increasingly personalising the customer experience. The debate for most growing businesses isn’t whether software is a requirement for optimising success, but rather weighing out the benefits of purchasing off-the-shelf products or investing in custom software solutions.
Gerald Neves, SovTech CEO states; “Many businesses are in the process of digital transformation right now, and while off-the-shelf software is a great short-term fix to accomplish this, in order to effectively transform your business in a way that maximises your opportunity for increased ROI in the long-term, there’s no better alternative to custom software development.”
Neves explains that with growing and even established businesses and corporations, there are far more opportunities for breakthrough and trade in the global market available to those companies that embrace custom software services in their everyday processes, and here are a few reasons why:
Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, geolocation, chatbots, messaging automation and mobile and web applications are all common buzzwords that most businesses would have been exposed to at some point in their exploration of digital transformation, but what do customised applications of these technologies actually mean for a business? Put simply, being able to customise the buyer experience, based on your unique business offering and needs is now the most powerful branding strategy a business can implement.
“Tailoring your consumer’s experience of the buying process, as and when market and business needs shift, is paramount to maintaining a competitive edge and opening up new opportunity. Custom Software, unlike standardised off-the-shelf products, gives businesses the flexibility to change processes as and when needed,” Neves says.
Custom business software can successfully harness the power of Big Data, turning it into a strategic asset and opportunity to take your business to the next level. In a world where data is available in excess, particularly with the ongoing advancement of IoT solutions such as smartphones/TVs that continuously collect data, focus on making this data work for your unique business needs is vital.
Customised data analysis tools allow businesses to make use of the data most relevant to their service and efficiently integrate this information with existing operational systems more seamlessly than a generic off-the-shelf product would. Software developers are also able to take this data to make meaningful adjustments to the customer journey, optimising engagement and in so doing increasing purchases.
For a business to survive and grow nowadays it needs to be dynamic, in that access, usage and storage of data can no longer be limited to the confines of a physical office. In the ever-increasing competitive market, having real-time transparency of ongoing projects, business finances, your team’s productivity and access to collaborative tools is essential in staying on top of your business operations.
“The future of workforces are distributed and digital. Custom enterprise mobility solutions empower employees to add value while maintaining connectivity with core company systems. They also equip enterprises with the tools to design and develop endpoint systems unique to specific roles, functions, and geographic locations, ” says Neves.
For Africa in particular, when it comes to innovation there’s a real opportunity to ‘leapfrog’ certain technologies and create unique innovations across all business sectors. Custom software development in South Africa, and Africa as a whole, can help businesses create new services and innovate industries, be it through creating decentralised technologies for the financial sector (i.e. blockchain), or creating cheaper tracking devices for the agriculture sector (i.e. 3D printed drones) or lessening the load on the health sector by developing biomedical smart jackets that diagnose pneumonia four times faster than a doctor ever could.
Custom software is created to suit your unique business needs in that it’s adaptive, safe, secure and allows your business long-term flexibility and control as changes in market arise.
