The benefits of working with a custom software developer are numerous:

• Competitive advantage in your ability to promote the unique solutions that your company can offer, thanks to its custom software solutions.
• Optimized business processes as your custom software address the unique needs and innovative visions that make your company a leader in the market.
• Strategic innovation is driven by customization, setting your company apart from the limited capabilities of out-of-the-box competitors.
• Custom-built Structured Query Language (SQL) cloud-based solution for a start-up company that focused on security and accessibility as key deliverables. 
• Enhanced compliance and reporting, which both your staff and clients will value greatly.
• Greater profitability through increased automatization (streamlining) of processes. Saving time, reducing rework, and over-delivering on expectations equals more money flowing into your company.

But “one of the keys to making customized software really work for you is knowing what you want and what exactly you want it to do for your business.” This is known in the business world as determining the pain point you need to address. (A pain point is a common and specific problem that current and prospective customers are experiencing when dealing with your business. Identify the pain point and you can begin to identify the solution.)

A few common (and a few not-so-common) pain points and solutions include:

• Real-time tracking of orders and customized records of all transactions to support a high-volume multi-site distributor bogged down in paperwork.
• Customized database development to move many companies away from their old Access systems to programs that had the agility, customization, and responsiveness they needed.
• Customized online games in support of marketing campaigns and customer experience (CX) for a financial company tired of the limitations of traditional print or online marketing options.
• Interactive maps for cities, towns, museums, and galleries that want to enhance the experience of visitors and promote local initiatives more effectively than traditional marketing tools allow.
• Optimizing the scalability and reducing maintenance of an IT infrastructure trapped with an existing system that was blocking growth and expansion.

Read more: Budget, Budget, Budget

Once you have established clearly (and honestly) what your pain point is, here are a couple of tips to consider:

• Create a “dream” feature list (if we could have everything we need, it would be…) and then narrow it down to those features that will provide the most relief to your pain point and the most value to your customers.
• Budget, budget, budget. Surprises when building any custom project are never good, to budget carefully and accurately, building in both an extra-feature amount and a contingency amount that will ensure the project “fails forward” rather than flaming out.

Collaborating on a customized software solution is a big step for any company but it can also be an exciting moment for all involved. By taking a few simple steps early in your planning process you can go a long way toward ensuring that even the most complicated problem can be solved with a cost-effective and timely solution.

To begin determining what you need in your custom solution - try out our Tentacle Solution Builder. The experienced team at Tentacle Solutions is happy to assist. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, we deal with all facets of database design, custom software, predictive analytics, testing, creative UI/UX services, and more. Contact us today to learn how we can help you create a one-of-a-kind app to suit your unique needs.