Pablo Luna
@wocintechchat
Nowadays, the web is the main space where the commercial activity takes place, with over 50% of people doing online shopping, a number that grew exponentially during 2020, and around 80% consulting the internet before buying. Having an online presence is a must for entrepreneurs of any magnitude. However, the online integration of a company, its development at a technological level, is not based exclusively on digital media to attract customers, such as social networks, blogs, and digital marketing in general; but also in the internal operation of the company, the use of digital tools by staff to optimize processes.
Therefore, it can be said that the software used by a company is of two types, this division based on the software user, that which is intended to interact with the end-user, such as apps and web pages, and the one used internally in the company, such as ERP. Any of these types of software are part of essential software for the company’s operation, and knowing the importance of their use is vital for business growth.
At the moment of building the software infrastructure for your company, you must know all your needs and possibilities in depth. Although it may seem a generic scope, the reality is that each business requires specific tools; take the example of e-commerce and an online lending site, not only its structure and operation is completely different, even the access to its services can go through different levels of verification and even deny entry in the case of financial services, both, to minors and debtors.
Nonetheless, in more similar cases, less intuitive differences can be noted. In the implementation of a CRM, which regardless of the type of company has a clear function of managing customer relationships; however, the relationship with potential customers of a company whose business requires prior consulting before making the purchase is not the same as those where purchases are made directly. Then, depending on the nature of the business, there are variations in the needs that are not always solved by the pre-existing software, or, conversely, that include many more functions than necessary. This is when it is time to diagnose the state of your company and proceed with one of the options available in the market.
Customized Software
Currently, you can choose between pre-made and customized software, the first are software made in a more general way with a variety of functions that vary depending on the developer company and the price; the second are the software that is made by order to a company for software development, these are customized, made especially to meet the needs of the company. While both types have their benefits, custom software is mostly the better option, with the only drawbacks being development time and initial cost, but even these disadvantages, save the company time and money in the long run.
The compensatory nature of customized software in both aspects is due to the fact that in pre-made software the usual payment is monthly or yearly, so the cumulative time of use will be higher than the one-time payment of a customized software; secondly, because these tend to have a longer useful life, while a generic one may need to be changed in shorter periods of time.
Among the benefits that are most taken into account when talking about customized software, are the consultancy, which allows you to detect with greater understanding and depth the needs of your company. Adaptability, which lies not only in the design of the software based on your company but also in the flexibility to make future updates. The continuous contact with the developers, facilitating modifications, updates, and even the training of your employees in its use.
Nevertheless, one of the main benefits that are not usually taken into account, and that is fundamental when deciding to hire the services of a software development company, is the advantage over your competitors. By using software that is available on the market for everyone, you allow your competitors to have easy access to your tools, giving them a better understanding of your business tactics. The advantage of having software designed exclusively for your company not only brings you a competitive advantage due to its exclusivity, but from the interaction of your customers with your platforms, and the management of your workers of the tools at their disposal.
The contemporary world is increasingly competitive and online presence cannot be limited to the use of common spaces such as social networks. Both, large companies and new entrepreneurs understand the importance of technology integration and management of tools to carry out processes from, the delimitation of your target, to the internal management of production. However, you can always go a step further, and as the preferred option has become the cloud software for all the benefits of cost and application, cloud and customized software are increasingly positioned as the best option to choose.
