0 Comments June 07, 2020 Welcome to your journey into the world of custom corporate software and B2B apps! What’s this about? This short guide is aimed at establishing what custom software is, how it is developed, why everyone has moved to the cloud already, what goes into the data security and privacy of custom software, and most importantly - do you need it? Is this guide for you? This guide is aimed at individuals looking to understand what’s the deal with custom software and apps, and who want to navigate the software development landscape, properly plan and budget a custom software project, and efficiently communicate your needs and wants to the development team. Do you have to read 7,000 words to understand what custom software is? In reality, no. But making informed business decisions on long term projects is better than basing your opinion on a Wikipedia article, right? If you want a more succinct, straight-to-the-point, tl;dr type of answer to a particular question - email the author - alexandr@tentacle.solutions or hello@tentacle.solutions and we will do our best to lift the lid on everything that might interest you. Table of contents What is “custom software”? Custom vs. Off-The-Shelf software signs of effective custom software Custom software development cycle Why everyone uses cloud-based software and apps “Too custom” custom software and integrations Big Data and Privacy Big Data is Big Keeping it private Testing and Security of Custom Software Love to hate testers Tokens The cost of custom software Fast and Cheap? Cost of cutting costs. Custom software and B2B apps Basics of Custom Software Custom software - a piece of software that has been developed for a specific client to meet his needs and demands and is not available for the general public. Pharmaceutical companies, catering engineers, travel agencies, and loan management companies can’t and should rely on the same limited field of software. Their lines of business are different, their problems are niche, specific, and the ways they solve them are equally unique. Corporate software designed with only one business in mind - yours, will give an edge over the competitors who are still overpaying license fees for software they don’t even own or have control over. But that’s just the beginning. By the end of this guide you’ll know the following: What is custom software? Do you need custom software and apps? How it is developed, how long it takes, and how much it costs. Why it is more secure than off-the-shelf solutions What is a cloud-based database? Why cloud migration is not as scare as it sounds How to survive recession with custom software? PART 1: What is "Custom Software"? In this part, we will define “custom software”, why it is better understood in comparison to commercial off-the-shelf (or turnkey) software - your Adobe Photoshops and Microsoft Accesses, and what kind of business needs custom software. Read more PART 2: Custom software development cycle Understanding what custom software is and how it differs from off-the-shelf apps leaves a basic impression of how it is developed. That’s not to say that you need to know how it all works to reap the benefits of custom software, far from it. Quality custom software works like a modern car - you don’t need to understand how the carburetor works to enjoy driving. At the same time, knowing how it works and gets made certainly won’t rob you of the joy of using it. Read more PART 3: Why your custom software will be cloud-based According to IDC, by 2022, 90% of all new apps will feature microservices architectures that improve the ability to design, debug, update, and leverage third-party code; 35% of all production apps will be cloud-native. In part three of our guide, you will learn why. Read more PART 4: “Too custom” and integrations Inexperienced developers often forget that even the most bespoke software needs to be flexible and customizable to a degree where it is inclusive and accessible to all the employees and all the stages of the company’s growth. Part 4 discusses why it happens and how to avoid the mistake of "too custom" software. Read more PART 5: Big Data, Analytics, and Privacy Why would your business need to reserve production capacities for things that you don’t do? The same applies to your custom software and its relationship with your data. More so - your Big Data. Learn how it all combines in part five here. Read more PART 6: Testing and Security of Custom Software and Apps The more sophisticated the security measures, the more thought-through the precautions set up in your corporate database, the more challenges it invites. Some go straight to brute force solutions and attempt to hack your site and its internal systems. There always remain ways to bend the rules and use legitimate mechanics to their terrible ends without outright hacking. What is there to be done? We go straight to the point in this part of our guide. Read more PART 7: The Cost of Custom Software When you’ve decided that you need custom software for your company, no matter what swayed you - scalability, personal approach, security, or flexibility of this solution, - you will stumble upon the issue of cost. Custom software is not cheap, that's true. But is it really expensive? In this part, we look at the alternatives and compare them. Read more Part 8: Custom software and B2B Apps When Strategy Analytics predicted last year that growing demand will drive the B2B apps market to $140 billion by 2023 and that B2B apps could account for half of all mobile software revenue within just two years, little did they know how many businesses will turn to remote work and frantically search for cloud-based B2B apps. Read more 0 Replies to "Ultimate Guide to Custom Software" Got something to say? We would love to hear your comments! Your email address will not be published. Post Your Comment