Custom Enterprise Software Development: 2024 Complete Guide

Enterprise software solutions are specifically designed to meet the needs of organizations. These software solutions help organizations meet their distinctive requirements and can be scaled on demand. On the contrary, desktop software usually aims at individual users and the retail market!

With the rise in digital transformation, AI, and the emergence of new technologies, more organizations are relying on enterprise software than ever! In fact, research suggests enterprise software market will be worth $629.27 million by 2028!

However, several problems can stop an organization from relying on off-the-shelf enterprise tools… From lack of flexibility to outdated design, numerous problems can hinder the growth of an organization.

Due to these restraints, most organizations prefer to move towards custom enterprise software development rather than relying on already available software solutions.

Today, we will take a closer look at the development process of a custom enterprise software development & how you can get the most out of this process!

What is custom enterprise software development?

The main goal behind developing any custom enterprise solution is to improve the efficiency and productivity of a business.

For example, CRM software can streamline the process of how a business interacts with its customers. On the contrary, trying to do CRM without any tools may take much more time and resources that would be better spent elsewhere.

Typically, an organization only turns towards custom enterprise software development when it can’t find an off-the-shelf enterprise solution for its business needs. In some cases, a business usually needs additional features or some customizations which can’t be found in publicly available solutions.

There’s no doubt that a custom enterprise application can bring a lot more features, flexibility, and scalability to the table. But at the same time, it can also be a complex and costly endeavor!

That’s why a business must carefully consider its current needs before taking such a big undertaking… In addition, only an experienced and reputable custom enterprise software development agency should be selected for the project! This can ensure that the custom enterprise software is built according to specifications and within the given timeframe.

Common types of custom enterprise software

Do you need some inspiration on what type of software you need for your organization? Let’s take a look at some common types of custom enterprise software that can take your business to the next level:

Customer Relationships Management (CRM)

CRM software is used by organizations to manage the interaction and relationships with customers. A typical CRM tool can help an organization with its sales and marketing process, such as lead interactions, customer support, customer account management, etc.

Some typical examples of CRM tools are Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. But for organizations that need additional features or customizations which are not part of these off-the-shelf CRM tools, the only way forward is a custom CRM tool!

Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is used to integrate all the core functions of a company. This includes sales, supply chain, inventory management, etc.

In short, it combines all the different processes of a company into one single platform. The availability of so much data and processes under one roof means an organization can better manage its resources with ease and thus boost productivity as well.

Currently, there are several ERP solutions available in the market, such as SAP Business One and Oracle NetSuite. But many large-sized and even mid-sized businesses need a more customized solution than what’s available in the market.

For these businesses, the only viable choice is to go towards custom ERP enterprise software development to meet their operational needs.

For example, let’s say that you run a tech consulting company and need software for contract management. To manage the contract workflow, the software would need to perform these features:

• Create new contracts.
• Renewal of contracts.
• Negotiation of contracts.
• Approval of contracts.
• Review of contract language.

For features like this, it wouldn’t be possible to rely on off-the-shelf ERP software as they are usually not designed for contract workflows!

Human resource management (HRM)

Human resource management (HRM) software is used to manage the human resources (employees) of an organization. HRM software stores critical employee data, including contact information, salary, job history, performance, etc.

Using an HRM system, managers can do a lot of things, such as reviewing performance, tax law compliance, logging hours, and much more.

If we look at the market, various HRM software is available for enterprises. For example, PeopleStreme is a popular software that specializes in payroll management. Similarly, Monday.com is another HRM tool that is used for building and automating HR workflows.

Supply chain management (SCM)

Another common type of enterprise software is supply chain management software. With such a tool, organizations can manage all aspects of their supply chain. This includes sourcing, inventory management, transportation, production planning, demand planning, etc.

The availability of so many features can make it easy for organizations to improve their supply chain and save valuable resources.

Some of the popular SCM software include Logility, Oracle SCM, and SAP SCM.

Once again, a business may require its own enterprise solution for SCM if they demand out-of-box features.

Another reason why an organization may move towards custom enterprise software development is the recurring fees in SaaS products. For example, the Logility SCM software and other popular options are SaaS which means users have to pay a recurring fee to use these tools.

On the contrary, a custom enterprise solution may have a high upfront cost. But once it is built, the organization may no longer have to pay recurring fees to use the product.

Business Intelligence (BI)

An enterprise-grade BI software can help organizations with data mining, data visualization, reporting, and detailed analytics. In short, a BI tool converts the raw data into actionable insights. An organization can then use these insights to improve efficiency, productivity, and market position.

Some popular BI software includes Tableau, QuickSight, and Power BI. Normally, someone with solid data engineering skills is needed to use these tools.

But if an organization needs a BI tool that is easy to use and deploy, it would have to get its custom BI solution developed.

Support system

Companies that sell a product or service also need a support system to address the customers’ inquiries. For such companies, a dedicated support system is needed to help the customers with any problem they have or just to answer questions.

Normally, many SaaS solutions are available to help establish a dedicated support system. However, these SaaS solutions come with a monthly/yearly subscription and can get costly over the long run.

But with a custom support system solution, an organization can make a one-time upfront payment & then continue to use the support system without paying any recurring payments.

5 tips for custom enterprise software development

The process of custom enterprise software development can be costly and time-consuming. But as long as you follow the tips mentioned below, you can ensure that your money and time are well-spent! And more importantly, these tips will help you get custom enterprise software that matches your expectations!

So, without wasting time, let’s look at how you can get the most out of your custom development journey:

1. Define business goals

Before you go out and take up the task of getting your own custom software developed, take a moment to define your business goals. Bear in mind that you will be spending a considerable amount of money on custom software development.

Your business goals should be considered based on your current and future needs. One problem that many organizations make is that they only focus on short-term problems. As a result, they end up with software that becomes useless in the near future.

That’s why it is best to think about your business’s long-term goals, and then get a custom enterprise solution centered around that.

2. Choose a good development team

Unless your organization is in the business of developing software, there’s a high chance that it will not have a dedicated team for developing custom tools.

That’s why another tip that can help you succeed in your journey of getting your custom enterprise software development is to choose a reputable development team.

To pick the right development team, you would need to consider a lot of factors, such as:

• Reputation – Carefully research the reputation of the development company. You can use the sources such as Clutch, Google Reviews, Facebook, Trustpilot, and others to find reviews and ratings.
• Experience – Besides checking the reputation, another essential factor to pay attention to is their relevant experience. Do they have the technical expertise to create a custom solution for you? The best way to gauge that is by looking at their portfolio and talking to their team.
• Pricing – Do you prefer to pay on a per-hour basis or a one-time payment? How much budget do you have in mind? All of these questions are important for picking the right firm.
• Customer Support – Discuss what level of support the development team will offer to you! Errors and bugs can happen in any software – That’s why it is best always to discuss that first!

You can check our recent blog to help you pick good questions to ask a web design & development firm before hiring them.

 3. Focus on good UX design

Once you’ve chosen a good development firm, it’s time to discuss how they can deliver a good UX design. The user experience of the enterprise software should be designed based on the needs and goals of your organization.

At the very basic level, the final product should be easy to use, and all options should be understandable. For instance, the key features should be present at a prominent location. Similarly, the navigation must be user-friendly so the end-users can navigate different options.

4. Focus on scalability

For enterprise solutions, it is best to always think about scalability right from the start!

We can see how big companies such as Google & Apple started from humble beginnings (in the garage)! So, even if your organization is small or medium-sized now, you should think about the scalability right from the start, as you can never predict the future!

Good enterprise software should be scalable… In other words, the software should accommodate the growing needs of your organization.

For example, an enterprise HRM software should be able to easily handle 100,000 employees’ records just like it would handle 100 records!

5. Involve stakeholders

At the end of the day, the HRM tool will be used by the human resource department of your organization. Similarly, the SCM tools will be used by the relevant department overseeing the company’s supply chain!

That’s why when you are in discussions with a development team about your next enterprise tool, always take the suggestions from the stakeholders. This will allow you to know about what features they want as well as any other things that should be avoided.

Another benefit of involving the stakeholders is that it will also prevent you from adding features that are not needed! This means it would take less time to develop your software & you will also save valuable resources!

To sum it up

The process of custom enterprise software development requires deliberate thinking and the right team of developers. At Canadian Digital Consulting, we have the best talent to deliver even the most complex enterprise solutions!

It doesn’t matter whether you need an HRM solution, SCM, mobile app, or something else; we can help your business take the next step toward success!

So what are you waiting for? Contact us today to discuss your next custom enterprise project!